Mohun Bagan will look to end their fairytale season with a historic treble when they take on Mumbai City FC in the ISL summit clash at the Salt Lake Stadium, with 62,000 partisan fans expected to cheer and line the stands in green and maroon painting, creating an exciting atmosphere here on Saturday. The season started with the Mariners winning the Durand Cup for the first time in 23 years. After dropping to fifth place halfway through the stage, Antonio Habas took over from Juan Ferrando and led them to their first League Winners Shield.
Two weeks after beating Mumbai City FC 2-1 to win their first Shield, the two teams return to the same venue, the Salt Lake Stadium, aiming to complete a rare double in the ISL and a hat-trick of titles in a single season complete.
According to noted football statistician Hari Prasad Chattopadhyay, the last time Mohun Bagan won three or more titles was over 23 years ago when they won the erstwhile National Football League (NFL), Federation Cup, Calcutta Premier Division League, Sikkim Gold Cup and Bordoloi- trophy. The coach was India captain Sunil Chhetri's father-in-law, Subroto Bhattacharyya.
Mumbai City FC have done it before in 2020-2021 and the stage is clear for Mohun Bagan to follow suit.
“Statistics are not relevant. We have to keep playing well and complete the circle,” the 66-year-old Spanish tactician said in the pre-match media interaction.
Three years ago, Mohun Bagan had blown a 1-0 lead and suffered a 1-2 defeat to the same team in the ISL final in Margao, which was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But revenge is not on Habas's mind.
“For me, it's not about revenge; those are things you see in movies or in the mafia. It's just another match against strong opponents, and it will be a great show for the ISL,” Habas said.
However, the aim is to complete the match within “45 minutes”, Habas said and made it clear that he will go all out in attack with Anirudh Thapa, Jason Cummings, Dimitri Petratos and Manvir Singh.
When asked about this strategy, he said: “To complete it in 45 minutes.” “Obviously we don't want to go to an extra team. It's hot there, so it's better to finish it in 90 minutes.” The 66-year-old, who has two ISL titles including Winners Shield, making him the most successful coach in the top flight, further said that he is at the end of his career.
“I am in the final stages of my coaching career and it is a proud moment for me.” Mohun Bagan's attack will be boosted by fit-again Indian midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad, who came off the bench to score the winning goal against Odisha FC in the ISL second leg semi-final.
While Sahal will be fit, Armando Sadiku will miss the match.
Mumbai City, on the other hand, will rely on Vikram Pratap Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte, while their Dutch midfielder Yoell van Nieff will miss out due to suspension.
“For the past four years, the ISL battle has been all about Mumbai and Mohun Bagan, fighting for this shield and the trophy. The recipe for our success is to stick together and play together. When the season started, we were a group, now we We have become a family and we have to play as one family.” Mohun Bagan have often struggled to maintain their lead and conceded goals due to defensive lapses, a vulnerability that Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky will surely take into account and seize the momentum.
“Players want to play in front of a full stadium, I think it will be an extra motivation to do well,” he said.
He went on to say that losing the shield was difficult. “We knew what was at stake, it is always difficult. We tried to regroup and bring ourselves together. After a few training sessions the spirit was a bit less, but now we can move on.”
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