Mohun Bagan Super Giant will start as overwhelming favourites when they face Mumbai City FC in the ISL-X Cup final at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
With the Shield already in the cabinet which earned them the tag of ‘league champions’, the Cup triumph will give them ‘double’ joy. If they win on Saturday, Bagan will also become the first team to bag the ISL Cup back-to-back. Last season they had won under Juan Ferrando who made way for Antonio Lopez Habas in January this year.
Bagan will also have the bragging rights of a treble with the season-opening Durand Cup in their pockets. Bagan’s record against Mumbai City this season is impressive. They have won twice — in the Durand Cup quarter final and in the last match of the ISL-X league stage — and both were at home.
The home advantage is something Habas’s men want to capitalise on. On April 15, when the two sides met to decide the league champions, more than 61,000 spectators were present in the stadium.
“They are our strength. They make such a noise that on the pitch we cannot hear what our teammates are saying,” Bagan frontliner Dimitri Petratos, who thinks Calcutta is his second home, said indulgently at the pre-match news conference on Friday.
Against Odisha FC in the second-leg semi-final on April 28, more than 62,000 were at the stadium. “Fans will help us push for the title,” said captain Subhasish Bose.
The fans may have played a huge role, but two factors defined Bagan’s 2023-24 season. Depth of the side and pragmatism of Habas. So you can afford to have Sahal Abdul Samad on the bench for 72 minutes and he comes in and scores the goal which takes Bagan to the final.
One of the first things Habas did was to bring in midfielder Joni Kauko and release a sulking Hugo Boumous. That gave Anirudh Thapa, bogged down as the No. 6 during Ferrando’s reign, much more freedom up the pitch. His top-drawer performance against Odisha FC vindicated Habas’s decision.
“The decision to replace Boumous was one that I had to make. It was my call to take these tough decisions. Fortunately, this has worked out well. Kauko has proved himself,” Habas said.
On Saturday, Habas’s men will be tested by Mumbai City’s two speedy players, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Pratap Singh. Captain Bose promised to keep Chhangte on a leash. “Chhangte is a very good player, but I’ll prove myself on the ground by stopping him,” he said.
Chhangte is in rousing form this season and barring that sitter miss against Bagan on April 15, he has not put one wrong step. With ten goals in 24 matches, Chhangte is the top Indian scorer in ISL-X and he is followed by teammate Vikram Pratap who has eight from 22.
“The Indian players have the talent and the confidence. Chhangte, Vikram Pratap, Rahul Bheke, Bipin Singh,” coach Petr Kratky said.
When Mumbai City scripted that dramatic comeback at FC Goa in the first leg of the second semi-final, they had 10 Indian players on the pitch. Down 2-0 till the 90th minute, they scored three goals.
Mumbai City will be missing influential midfielder Yoell van Nieff due to suspension. The Bagan captain, though, did not buy the idea that Bagan would get an advantage. “No, I do not think so. We will also miss (Armando) Sadiku due to suspension.”
For those who have a liking for history, Mumbai City had beaten Bagan (then ATK Mohun Bagan) to bag a double. That was in 2020-21 behind closed doors in Margao. On Saturday, Bagan will have a chance to exact revenge in front of a jam-packed stadium. “Not a revenge match for me. Revenge is what the mafia does. For me, it’s one more match against a good team,” Habas said.
