-Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
ATK Mohun Bagan vs Bengaluru FC. Unlikely opponents in this season’s ISL final? Yes, perhaps. Unlikely contenders for India’s most prestigious football crown? No way. Two of the country’s most illustrious and dedicated football units are up against each other in the pinnacle match to be played in Fatorda, Goa, today.
The format, without promotion or relegation, is an oft-heard criticism of this ambitious project called ISL which started in 2014. A version of the IPL in football, teams owned by film stars and celebrities from other walks of life, a tournament featuring franchises sans the traditional entities of Indian football. The ISL was a much talked about yet frowned upon venture when it started.
Course corrections made, getting more in sync with the international football culture, getting closer to the grassroots in India, duration of the league expanded and having settled down, ISL has succeeded in hanging in and becoming India’s most important football league. The I-League has been relegated to a feeder system. The poorer older brother has not lost relevance, but it has been reduced to a secondary character and plays the role of supply line these days.
What makes this ISL final fascinating? It’s the coming together, rather coming up against each other, of two streams which have supplied oxygen to the Indian football system in contrasting ways. Mohun Bagan was founded in 1889, Bengaluru in 2013. No comparison between the two in that sense. Right? The answer is ‘yes’ from the historical point of view and ‘no’ considering the practical part of the tale.
Having merged with ATK in 2020 and becoming ATK Mohun Bagan, the Kolkata based institution has enriched Indian football in many ways. To remain prominent for 134 years is an achievement and although a section of their members and fans are not happy with the association with ATK, the club has done well when it comes to performance.
Before joining hands with Mohun Bagan, ATK had won the ISL thrice in the first six years. After becoming ATK Mohun Bagan, they finished runners-up in 2020-21 and lost in the semi-finals in 2021-22. By reaching the final again, they have maintained the good run which makes them the most consistent side in the brief history of the competition.
On the other hand, Bengaluru FC has been a trendsetter in their own way. Owned and run by a corporate giant, they have set new standards when it comes to functioning professionally and coming through the ranks. They first competed in the I-League and won it. Then came a smooth transition to ISL which they won in 2018-19 after finishing second the season before.
In just a few years, Bengaluru FC have become what many other clubs aspired to be. They have developed a fan base and it’s not uncommon to see people wearing the club’s blue shirts to matches even when they are not playing in Bengaluru. A former Mohun Bagan star himself, Sunil Chhetri has become their iconic player and the club has grown a reputation of taking good care of their recruitments.
Players repay that faith. This season, nobody expected them to come this far. Languishing near the bottom of the table, they suddenly turned things around, won 10 matches in a row to stay alive till the last day of the competition. Other than reliable overseas players, they have a strong core of Indians including goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh, defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Roshan Naorem, midfielder Suresh Wangjam other than rising star Siva Narayanan.
They will be up against a side which believes in no-nonsense football. ATK Mohun Bagan prefer a hardnosed and practical approach. They get the job done without frills and will once again look up to the likes of Dimitri Petratos and Hugo Boumous to get the job done. The likes of Pritam Kotal, Asish Rai, Ashique Kuruniyan will also have to play their part.
Having said that, this match is not just about players, coaches, strategies and formations. It’s a clash of two cultures of Indian football. One has survived and thrived for well over a century to remain a tower of presence. The other has shown that success can be achieved within a short period if the effort is organised and the outlook modern. This makes the ISL final a clash of different cultures and ideologies. Who start favourites? None. Each can outdo the other. Little separates the teams.