At the end of an enthralling season of India’s national football league, the I-league, Aizawl FC (AFC), an unfancied small club from Mizoram, pipped Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan (MB) and East Bengal (EB) to become champions of India. A story to be told for ages to come.

But this season offered plenty more. It had splendid flavour added by newcomers Chennai City FC (CCFC), who qualified for their first-ever Federation Cup, and Minerva Punjab (MPFC), who didn’t feel out of place in the division. Churchill Brothers (CB) returned to the fold as the only Goan representative, while Mumbai FC (MFC) finally fell on the sword of relegation after avoiding it for years.

Meanwhile, the sight of defending champions Bengaluru FC (BFC) struggling was a first on Indian shores but only reaffirmed the unity prevalent at the club and Shillong Lajong (SLFC) took youth football to a whole new level.

In numbers, here’s a tribute to the 2016-17 I-league season.

0

Home defeats for AFC and MB, the top two finishers. AFC became the fourth club in 10 I-league seasons to lift the trophy after an unbeaten home season (Goan club Dempo has done this twice). MB is the only club to twice achieve an unbeaten home season yet not win the league. It reflects the Kolkata club’s woes away from home. In fact, MB hasn’t lost a league match at home in three years yet has only one I-league trophy next to its name.

AFC and MB’s 89% win ratio at home this season is only bettered by MB’s 90% figure in their title-winning 2014- 15 campaign.

23700

The official attendance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong for the final-round fixture between SLFC and AFC. This, in a poorly marketed, poorly broadcasted and largely neglected league. It’s a figure which, again, begs the question: how could Indian football not protect the interests of these clubs? Only the two Kolkata derbies in Siliguri this season did better. League’s average was a little less than 5400, though that’s a distorted number: the league’s five least-attended clubs averaged only 2430 with attendances even as low as 300 for a match in Ludhiana.

4

Defeats in a row for East Bengal in March and April, an astonishing collapse for a side sitting top of the league and with a real chance of winning the club’s first-ever I-league title. Only relegated Mumbai FC, with six losses in a row, suffered a worse losing streak this season, while MPFC too suffered four on the trot at the start of their campaign.

7.7

Average number of Indian under-22 players in Shillong Lajong’s starting XI this season. The league average stood at 2.4. If not for AFC’s fairytale triumph, the club from Shillong would’ve been the story of the season. With a young squad playing some of the best football seen in the league, SLFC achieved its highest ever finish of fifth place—and also threatened to pip BFC to fourth spot. SLFC is a role model for Indian clubs striving to form a senior team composed exclusively of academy products. Next best were MPFC and DSK, which averaged 4.2 and 3.5 respectively.

46

Combined total of the number of under-22 players used by MPFC (17), SLFC (16) and DSK (13), which is 66% of the league’s overall figure of 70. Unlike last year, the 2017 I-league showcased a heartening trend towards adhering to the league’s U-22 rule, which mandates the inclusion of at least one Indian U-22 player in every starting XI. Even though three clubs, namely MFC, MB and KEB, did occasionally circumvent the rule by making early substitutions, these were only minor black spots on the league’s otherwise clean slate.

7%

Of BFC’s goals were scored by foreigners, the lowest in the league. Aside from relegated MFC, BFC was the only club whose top goalscorer wasn’t a foreign forward. Which sounds great in theory but it eventually cost them their league title. While BFC’s head coach Albert Roca has been taking the flak for the failed signings, it’s the club’s top management, heavily involved in the decision making, who must come under the scanner. Hondurian forward Roby Norales did not fit in at the club, while his replacement Serbia’s Marjan Jugovic too failed to ignite BFC’s campaign. Both scored only one goal each.

18

Points earned by EB on the road, easily the best in the league. Ironically, the Kolkata club’s home form, a paltry 15 points from 9 matches with three defeats, ended its title charge. Crowds in Kolkata are known to be demanding, ruthless and critical. The EB fans’ first major protest against head coach Trevor Morgan came at a time when their club was sitting top of the league. Do players enjoy playing in such a fickle and fractious environment? Perhaps not. Next best on the road were the two North-East clubs AFC and SLFC with 12 points each, which tells a tale of two clubs, strugglers on the road, now growing in stature.

21

Players used by Khalid Jamil, the head coach of unfancied champions AFC. It’s the lowest number in a league which averaged use of 27 players per club. It’s a number which sums up the Mizoram club’s season: a tightly-knit unit, a little family so to speak, which took on the heavyweights and came out on top. More pertinently, this figure includes fourteen players from Mizoram, four foreigners and only three Indian players from outside the state.

Unsurprisingly, the bottom two sides used the most number of players—a sign of instability throughout the season. MPFC used a league-high 36 players, chopping and changing throughout, while 28 played in MFC’s colours.

1.1

Average number of starting XI changes made by AFC and SLFC, the lowest in the league. This formed the spine of AFC’s title-winning campaign and SLFC’s highest ever finish. Continuity and consistency which led to cohesion. Jamil named an unchanged line-up five times throughout the season and never made more than two changes to a starting XI, whereas MB and KEB could stick to the same starting XI only once and twice, respectively.

SLFC head coach Thangboi Singto, on the other hand, did it eight times—which means he played the same starting XI for half the season. Absence of injuries and bans to players helped both SLFC and AFC although suspensions to key players before the final match threatened to hamper the latter’s title dreams.

Again, MPFC and MFC were the worst teams in terms of chopping and changing their starting XIs with an average of 3.5 and 3.3 changes, respectively. The two teams’ best form this season unsurprisingly coincided with a period of stability in their starting XIs.

10

Points gained by MB from losing positions, the most by any club this season. With comeback wins over CCFC both home and away, another over DSK at home and a last-gasp equaliser to deny MFC in Kolkata, an unimpressive MB hung on in the title race. A team, powered on by Haitian winger Sony Norde and Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa, rarely played to their potential this season and you always felt MB had a slip-up around the corner. But they did well to delay the fans’ agony.

On the other hand, MB also dropped seven points from leading positions—which proved costly. AFC, in contrast, only dropped three points. MB’s topsy-turvy matches at least made it exciting for neutrals.

8

Goals scored by AFC after the 75th minute mark in matches, joint-most in the league. But it’s the effectiveness of these goals that matter the most. Five of them came as winners in one-nil victories, and the other three sealed wins in closely-fought contests. Jamil’s side did well to go the distance and grind out wins when the opponents began to tire—it’s testament to their fitness, belief and concentration. It’s perhaps apt that AFC sealed the title through late goals: Zotea Ralte’s 83rd-minute winner against MB set up the final day and William Lanunfela’s 68th-minute equaliser gave AFC the win they needed.

Quick takes

33

Goals scored by East Bengal, most by any club this season, especially boosted by Trinidad and Tobago forward Willis Plaza (9) and Haitian midfielder Wedson Anselme (8) who finished second and third in the scoring charts.

11

Goals scored by SLFC’s Cameroonian forward Aser Pierrick Dipanda, the most by any player this season. The top Indian goal-scorers were BFC’s Sunil Chhetri and CK Vineeth with seven goals each.

12

Goals conceded by MB this season, the least by any club. It’s marginally better than AFC’s title-winning 14. MPFC leaked the highest number of goals (33) but were involved in two classics: a 5-4 win in Goa and a 4-4 draw in Pune.

10

Clean sheets by BFC this season, the most by any club. The defending champions started with three clean sheets at home and finished the season with four on the trot. It’s the middle of the season they couldn’t navigate well.

All statistics used in this article are compiled by the writer himself.

Akarsh Sharma is a sports traveller and writer who contributes to various publications. His work is collated on akarshsharma.comhere.