With ATK Mohun Bagan winning ISL 2022-23, Indian football comes home

Indian Super League (ISL) has been a revolution in many ways in Indian football and then there are its clubs that have become an intrinsic part of the sporting system in the country.  There’s Kerala Blasters FC and Manjappada, redefining how football is followed in his country. There’s Mumbai City FC, the City Football Group-owned giants who are undoubtedly the best club currently in India, denied the 2022-23 crown only by the added layers of playoffs. Then there’s Bengaluru FC, the most successful club in India in the past decade.

But in the context of Indian football, there’s never been a club bigger than Mohun Bagan or ATK Mohun Bagan as they are called now. There’s an added surprise here which we will talk about later.

The victory over East Yorkshire Regiment in the 1911 IFA Shield final, the first for an all-Indian side against a British team was just the start of what has been the greatest story of football in this country. 5 I-League titles, 14 Federation Cups, 16 Durand Cups, 20 IFA Shields and numerous other trophies later, the Mariners, established in 1889, have clearly been the biggest club on the field in India. While they kept winning trophies on the pitch, the way they got woven into their followers’ everyday lives off the field is their grandest achievement.

A Mohun Bagan fan swearing on the Sobuj-Maroon is a usual sight.

Often referred to by its fans as the ’national club of India’, the Kolkata club is now once again the champions of India, and for the first time, the ISL champions, albeit with a different name and as a new entity.

The moment @atkmohunbaganfc wrote their name in the history books! 🏆#ATKMBBFC #HeroISL #HeroISLFinal #LetsFootball #ATKMohunBagan pic.twitter.com/E3ETMeW6Q2

— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) March 18, 2023

Win-win situation

Their entry into ISL has been convoluted. The merger with ATK led to the establishment of a new entity — ATK Mohun Bagan — and the entry of the legendary club into what is now the first division of Indian football.

Runners-up in the first season. Semi-finalists in the second. And champions in the third. It’s been business as usual by the standards the Mariners had set for themselves. More importantly, it’s been a big win for Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the league.

আবার ও ভারতসেরা মোহনবাগান 💚♥️#ATKMohunBagan #JoyMohunBagan #আমরাসবুজমেরুন pic.twitter.com/HHePjF4Fxp

— Mohun Bagan Super Giant (@mohunbagansg) March 18, 2023

Since disrupting and transforming the structure, FSDL has strengthened its position with every season, but ATK Mohun Bagan — a club that brings in century-old legacy and history — winning the league has to be their crowning glory.

Petratos leads the way for gritty ATKMB

Coming to the thrilling final.

Defensive solidity has been a major force behind ATKMB’s success this season. They are not the most pleasing side to watch but as a unit has its basics sorted and the practical approach has eventually led to the big title win.

They have the second-meanest defence this season in the league and they carried forward that form into the playoffs, winning all three games ahead of the final without leaking a goal. Goal scoring, however, had been an issue.

In the final, they were up against a red-hot Bengaluru, who were on a 10-game winning streak before Mumbai finished the run but lost in penalties in the semi-finals. Having already scored 21 goals in the last 11 matches, Bengaluru posed a tough challenge to the Pritam Kotal-led backline and scored two goals in the summit clash. But the player that maintained parity was the ATKMB and Australian striker Dimitri Petratos.

The 30-year-old got both goals in regulation time for ATK Mohun Bagan and while both came through penalty corners, the strikes were so clean that they turned the hero of Bengaluru’s semi-final win — India’s No 1 goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu —  into a mere spectator.

The former Sydney FC striker proved to be a constant nuisance for defenders and created the most chances (6) in the match and forced the defenders to make last-ditch saves to keep him at bay. Like the goal line clearance by Prabir Das in the 93rd minute to deny a sure-shot goal or Gurpreet awkwardly parrying off a swirling shot in the 119th minute.

Petratos struck once again confidently in the penalty shootout as ATK Mohun Bagan won 4-3 to script history with their maiden ISL title and usher in a new era.

Amid the celebrations, owner Sanjiv Goenka announced that the club from next season will be called Mohun Bagan Super Giants.

THE NEWS YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!#ATKMohunBagan #JoyMohunBagan #আমরাসবুজমেরুন pic.twitter.com/lLE8voz3tM

— Mohun Bagan Super Giant (@mohunbagansg) March 18, 2023

The supporters for long have been protesting against the prefix ATK and the latest decision must come as music to their ears.

With the maiden ISL title and a new name, it sure seems like the start of a new successful period at the club and looking at their past, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

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