ATK Mohun Bagan begin their ISL VIII campaign with a match against Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Friday.
The expensively assembled side is one of the favourite this season to win the title after missing out to Mumbai City FC in the seventh edition. Finnish international Joni Kauko, Hugo Boumous, goalkeeper Amrinder Singh and Liston Colaco are some of the names roped in by ATK Mohun Bagan this season. Add regulars like Roy Krishna, David Williams, Manvir Singh, Pritam Kotal and Subhasish Bose to the mix.
In between, though, they lost India defender Sandesh Jhingan to Croatian club HNK Sibenik. But at least on paper, ATK Mohun Bagan are not only ahead of their Friday’s opponents but also the other nine teams in the League.
The new foreign player rule, however, may put ATK Mohun Bagan in a spot. From this season, only four foreigners would be allowed in the playing eleven. Last season five foreigners and six Indian players on the field at all times were allowed.
“Our plan is the same as last season, which is to win matches. Now the rule is to play four foreigners and we have to adapt to the situation.
“We have six players who are good enough to play all the games. Yes, it’s very difficult for a coach to choose every time which player can or cannot play a game. But that is my job, that’s why I am getting paid,” coach Antonio Lopez Habas said.
The Spaniard, however, questioned the rationale behind the number of foreigners being capped at four. “I have one question. Does it help to reduce one foreign player? Because, only quality foreigners play in the ISL.”
Habas said he doesn’t have even an iota of knowledge on Kerala Blasters but that doesn’t mean there will be no respect for the Ivan Vukomanovic-coached side.
“We respect our opponents. True, we don’t have much information about the quality because they have a new coach and a new set of players. We analysed according to the individual qualities they have.”
Last year, ATK Mohun Bagan lost the Winners’ Shield as well as the ISL trophy to Mumbai City FC due to some horrendous defensive lapses. The 64-year-old Spaniard, however, did not want to read too much into what happened earlier in the year.
“It depends on the players a coach has at his disposal. We need to decide whether to attack more or attack less. You have 90 minutes to win different matches in different situations. You might need to win three points at any cost or defend doggedly to save three points. You have to adapt to different situations,” he said.
“The main thing is transition. When the team has the ball, you attack and when the team doesn’t have the ball, defend. It’s as simple as that. It’s not possible for a team to play the same way all the time. It’s not the same to play against a Real Madrid or a Barcelona or another team with lesser quality.”
ATK Mohun Bagan will once again look to Krishna, one of their three captains with Kotal and Bose being the other two, for the goals. He will have support from David Williams, Manvir Singh and also Boumous.
The former Mumbai City player will surely give a new dimension to ATK Mohun Bagan’s attacking prowess. “He is a very good player but my focus is always on the team and not on any particular individual,” Habas said.
ISL IN NUMBERS:
The winners:
2014: ATK; 2015: Chennaiyin FC; 2016: ATK; 2017-18: Chennaiyin FC; 2018-19: Bengaluru FC; 2019-20: ATK; 2020-21 - Mumbai City
Goals galore:
Total matches: 583
Total goals: 1567
By foreigners: 1135
By Indians: 432
Top scorer:
Foreigner: Ferran Coromimus (FC Goa), 48 goals
Indian: Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City, Bengaluru FC ), 47 goals
Chhetri needs only two goals to become the overall top scorer
Most matches won:
FC Goa: 58 matches
Most goals scored
FC Goa: 238 goals
Biggest margin
FC Goa beat Mumbai City 7-0 in 2015
Hat-Tricks:
Total: 25
Indians: 4
Foreigners: 21
Kick-off: 7.30pm
(Live on Star Sports 2)
