With over two-thirds of the season gone, the 2016 season of I-League, the premier domestic competition in Indian football, has largely followed the script of the previous one. A three-horse title race, involving the usual suspects, is brewing at the top and another classic final-day showdown is on the cards when Mohun Bagan host Bengaluru FC in Kolkata on April 24. This is followed by a mid-table melee of clubs that threaten to join the relegation battlers. Last season also saw the relegation of Goan giants Dempo SC to the second round. This season, crosstown rivals Salgaocar FC also find themselves facing the drop, currently languishing at eighth spot in the table.
Most recently, though, the league has been shrouded in controversy. Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen was handed a massive eight-match ban by the All India Football Federation for controversially stating that the I-League’s governing body had been “sold out”. His words came after the All India Football Federation refused to reschedule the Kolkata club’s league fixture against DSK Shivajians in Pune on January 30, which was only two days before the second leg of their Asian Champions League qualifier against Shandong Luneng Taishan in China.
No room for dissent?
Sen’s comments should not be condoned, but he did voice an opinion endorsed by a vast majority in the Indian football fraternity. A punishment amounting to eight matches or half the season is unprecedented. It only suggests that the All India Football Federation is well aware of, and desperate to suppress, the discontent surrounding its poor governance.
The impact of this judgment on the side’s form remains to be seen and adds another dimension to an intriguing title race. Bagan, sitting atop the league, is the only unbeaten team this season. The defending champions are level with Bengaluru at 22 points (the Blues have played a game more) while East Bengal are five points behind in third.
The top two have been more professional than spectacular this season. Sen has preferred to stick to a steady starting line-up. Only suspensions and players away on national duty have forced his hand. The energy and industry of midfielders Katsumi Yusa and Pranoy Halder has stood out for the Mariners, along with the solidity of defenders Kingshuk Debnath and Dhanachandra Singh – the league leaders have conceded the fewest number of goals (seven). Forwards Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sony Norde have continued to be impressive while striker Cornell Glen (six goals), on loan from Shillong Lajong FC, has blown hot and cold after a prolific start to the campaign.
On the other hand, Blues coach Ashley Westwood has preferred to rotate more, albeit keeping the core of the team intact. Westwood’s side, on a mission to win back the league, has missed the services of injured playmaker Eugeneson Lyngdoh for nearly the entire season. His absence is often evident in Bangaluru FC’s lack of control in matches. Continuity has been key at the back – Curtis Osano, John Johnson and Rino Anto have started in all league games. Up front, skipper Sunil Chhetri (five goals) has come up with the goods when needed, including a couple of stunning free kicks, while the likes of forwards Kim Song-Yong and CK Vineeth have chipped in with crucial match-winning strikes.
The perennial bridesmaid
East Bengal, meanwhile, have remained in character. Not a single match involving the club goes by without veteran journalist and commentator Novy Kapadia reminding us how they’re the “perennial bridesmaid” of Indian football. And not a single season goes by without the club proving him right over and over again.
Once again, when things looked relatively rosy, with Ranti Martins (eight goals) leading the line, Bikash Jairu flying on the wings and the charismatic Bernard Mendy joining the ranks, they managed to implode. Travelling to face the bottom two clubs, Salgaocar FC and DSK Shivajians, coach Biswajit Bhattacharya’s side had the chance to go top of the league. Instead, the Kolkata giants lost both their games culminating in Bhattacharya ripping his players to shreds publicly.
A straggle at the bottom
Closer to the bottom, managerial changes have infused life back into Salgaocar FC and Aizawl FC. Santosh Kashyap replaced Malcolm Thomson as coach of the Goan club and opted to deploy a five-man defence but his side continues to leak goals (now 21 in total, three times more than the leaders and seven more than the next worst). Signs of an upsurge in form, though, have been visible in recent weeks. The Goan club had been losing matches despite possessing the league’s current top scorer, Darryl Duffy (nine goals). Kashyap’s biggest challenge, however, remains how to get the best out of midfielder Jackichand Singh, whom he coached to the status of the league’s best player last season at Royal Wahingdoh FC.
Jahar Das has imparted into Aizawl the necessary pragmatism to eke out points – a trait that was missing under Spanish coach Manuel Retamero. The Mizoram club, first from the state in the I-League, has been one of the stories of the season, outplaying the league’s top two with expansive football played by young local players and earning praise from opposition coaches. Recent results – a win and a draw against a stubborn Mumbai FC – show that the club might just be capable of surviving relegation.
Draw specialists Mumbai FC, meanwhile, have seen a dip in form after an impressive start to the season when they beat Bengaluru and held the Kolkata clubs at home. Coach Khalid Jamil’s team have now regained their usual mid-table, flirt-with-relegation persona after a bizarre hat-trick of 2-2 draws. Injuries to key players, namely defender Minchol Son and midfielders Taisuke Matsugae and Arata Izumi, have played a major role in the decline, even forcing Jamil to overhaul the squad at a crucial time in the league.
With away fixtures against the top three clubs still to come, Mumbai could easily find themselves in a pickle, come the end of the season. So can Shillong Lajong, who have coped poorly with the departure of Glen and managed only five goals in 10 matches (the lowest in the league). DSK Shivajians, who are still finding their feet under coach Derrick Pereira, sit at the bottom of the table but are immune from relegation owing to this being their first season as a corporate entity in the I-League. Two recent mid-season signings, centre-back Sandesh Jhingan and left-winger Juan Quero, have already made their mark in beating East Bengal 2-0 in Pune. Pereira’s players are now preparing to nick points off other clubs in the final phase of the season.
Finally, Sporting Clube De Goa occupy a unique position in the table. Sitting fourth in the league, the Goan club can neither challenge for top spots nor can they realistically be sucked into the relegation mire. Coach Mateus Costa’s side, powered on by the presence of Odafa Okolie (six goals) up front, has made itself hard to beat. Victories, though, have been hard to come by – only three, alongside five draws.
The I-League goes on a two-week international break after the upcoming weekend (March 12-13), giving enough time for coaches to gear up for a gruelling final four weeks in which each club will play at least five times.
Akarsh Sharma is a Delhi-based writer whose Twitter handle is @Akarsh_Official.
