Kerala edge Kolkata as favourites in the quest for ISL's first championship

Two of the best supported clubs have made it to the Indian Super League final — Atletico de Kolkata, which didn’t raise any eyebrows — and Kerala Blasters, which certainly did, considering their patchy league form and the absence of a big name in the team. But in that patchy period, Kerala have a one-up against Kolkata — they haven’t lost to the Spanish-infused side in the league stages. They’re one of the few teams which came back from the Salt Lake stadium with a point — and then beat them at home for good measure. The 2-1 win came exactly a a month back and since then Atletico’s form and prowess on the pitch has waned — another sign that they’re in the final for the taking. Kolkata will be without powerful striker Fikru Teferra — the Ethiopian is out of contention for the final with a hamstring injury and Antonio Habas’ side have hardly looked as dangerous without the 28-year-old’s pace up front. [caption id=“attachment_1922357” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] ISL[/caption] His counterpart David James is wily enough to know the pressure on a Kolkata team and a depleted outfit. The first champions go into folklore — and there is no better way for Kerala’s football revival to hit its peak by winning tonight — when they are slight favourites. James was slightly agitated a few minutes before the pre-final press conference on Saturday, but was back to his jovial best while taking questions alongside star players Iain Hume and Luis Garcia and Antonio Habas. “It’s been a fantastic competition but there have been times when I’ve wanted to pull my hair out. I’m a winner and I expect the same from my team,” the former England No 1 said — refusing to divulge whether he will be in goal for the final or not — something which looks unlikely anyway — with the way Sandip Nandy has been performing between the sticks. But you never know with James. The player-manager was in goal for Kerala’s league fixtures against Kolkata — and that was when Fikru was on song. Atletico’s playmaker Garcia has also been battling a hamstring issue, but declared that he should be fit for the match. Kerala don’t have any such problems. Hume, who has already put Atletico to the sword twice in the tournament, has been in top form going into the game — he is their engine, running all over the pitch and is their most creative outlet. He’s also unfazed by the challenges of the ISL: “I’ve not come to India any other time than this period so I don’t know what it’s like in January or February,” he responded to a question on whether the ISL should be postponed a couple months to allow playing in cooler conditions. “But playing in Kerala hasn’t been hard — the support has been fantastic. We don’t bother about the temperature at all.” Hume, Garcia and James have all played English football and have the big-game mentality — and James said that this was as big a match as any he would take part in. “You’re all sitting here and that should be proof enough of how big this match is. No one’s interested in the I-League, but the world’s media is present here and there is interest in the ISL from all over. So if you think that this is not as serious as the other big matches I’ve taken part in, then that’s wrong,” the 44-year-old said. As for the tactics, Kerala have employed a fast-paced all-men-behind-the-ball approach in the opening phases of their matches in the latter stages. This is in contrast to Atletico, who have reverted to a patient build-up after a flurry of injuries caused them to tinker with the starting lineup quite often. Antonio Habas’s fiery touchline tantrums and vocal displeasure on the number of games played in a short time will have to be kept on the backburner now. He has repeatedly spoken about the bad refereeing quality and specifically mentioned once that the gap between the semis and the final was very little. He’s got into tunnel scuffles and needed medical attention at the touchline once — such is his passion to win. To his credit, he has played with an Indian attack in the semifinals — one which couldn’t score over 200 minutes of football. And that will worry him. His team have, however, scored 16 goals to Kerala’s 13 in the competition. The gruelling league stage is over. The travel, the training, the check-ins and check-outs from hotels and the celebrities have been shunted out of the picture — tonight, it’s just about football. Even though Kerala are a safer bet, the unpredictability remains. It has been the selling point of the inaugural ISL season and will carry into the final — just like it should be.