In the world of football, they say, stability in the squad and the coaching staff contributes a lot to the success of the team. While Atletico de Kolkata, the champions of the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League have done well on the first metric, a change in personnel has undone all the progress the unit had made in the last couple of years. It is almost like a new start for the Kolkata-based side, which is co-owned by Sourav Ganguly.
Antonio Lopez Habas, a shrewd tactician who guided Bolivia to the Copa America final in 1997, was the face of the ATK side that made it to the final four of the competition in both the seasons. However, the gaffer’s demand for an astronomical pay-rise did not go down too well with the officials of the team, who allowed him to join rivals FC Pune City. In consultation with co-owners Atletico Madrid, they have now appointed former Villarreal head coach Jose Francisco Molina.
Appealing to the Kolkata faithful
The club took an unorthodox approach to signing players during the domestic transfer window. With the lone exception of Keegan Pereira, the rest of the 13 senior players signed up are all from Kolkata. They either play for the two big clubs, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, or hail from the city.
This is a rare pattern, but what lies behind it? If local football aficionados are to be believed, the reason is not entirely positive. In the past couple of seasons, it was Indian football stalwarts Jose Ramirez Barreto and Bhaichung Bhutia who scouted players for Atletico de Kolkata. But this time it was left to club officials to zero in on prospective signings. They chose to go with well-known faces from the city’s football circuit and didn't cast their nets either. If this is true, it will certainly mean the team is deprived of some talent.
Of course, the move also means that Atletico de Kolkata will have depleted the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan sides if the clubs join the ISL, as might happen in the near future.
The ins and outs
The club officials were was very eager to sign goalkeeper Debjit Majumder last season, but failed to persuade Habas, who chose Amrinder Singh instead. This year, Majumder was one of the first players to be signed, and will fight with 37-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Dani Mallo for a start. With Arnab Mondal, Keegan Pereira, Kinshuk Debnath and Pritam Kotal on board, the team arguably has the best defensive unit among all eight sides.
In the midfield, last season’s star performers Ofentse Nato, Borja Fernandes and Sameehg Doutie have been retained, and former Kerala Blasters winger Stephen Pearson has also been roped in. All eyes will be on Lalrindika Ralte, the immensely talented Indian midfielder who will be making a come-back to top flight football after a lengthy injury. Bikash Jairu and Prabir Das can be the surprise packages for the side.
Upfront, Helder Postiga is back as the marquee player and has some unfinished business in the ISL. The former Tottenham Hotspur striker had scored twice within the opening 70 minutes during the curtain-raiser against Chennaiyin FC last season before a hamstring injury ruled him out for the entire campaign. He will share the responsibilities of goal-scoring with Iain Hume, the former Leicester City forward who scored 11 goals in the last edition. The team does not have an Indian striker, but will have Juan Belencoso, who had worked with Molina at the Hong Kong club Kitchee SC.
Molina,who successfully fought testicular cancer during his playing days, has very large boots to fill. Unlike the trio of Habas (Pune), Marco Materazzi (Chennai) and Zico (Goa) does not have any prior experience in Indian football. He will, however, feel at home with Spanish players forming the core of the side and former Real Madrid midfielder Borja Fernandes wearing the armband.
Time for some free-flowing football
Among the ISL outfits, only ATK might struggle to secure a loyal fan-base if the two big Kolkata clubs are also incorporated in the cash-rich league, as has been proposed. If the Red and Whites chuck Habas’s pragmatic approach and play a more free-flowing, attacking football, it might retain some of its current fans. It will be interesting to see whether Molina, adopts these tactics.
All things considered, the Kolkata side has a decent squad, with experienced players on both foreign and domestic fronts. Their home venue still remains in doubt though: they were supposed to play at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium this season, since the iconic Salt Lake Stadium is under renovation for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup. However, a Public Interest Litigation, citing environmental reasons, has been filed against this move, with the verdict due on September 27.
Atletico de Kolkata do have the potential to make it to the last four for the third consecutive time but will have to look to their midfielders to take the pressure off the forward line. The squad does not have a lot of match-winners, and this can be a big opportunity for the likes of Lalrindika and Bikash Jairu to make their presence felt.
If it goes down to the wire, Kolkata may have to grind out a result against Habas's Pune City in their last home match. For neutrals, it already looks like a mouth-watering fixture.