Panchkula: Twenty two years. That’s how long North India had waited for a national league title. And on March 8, 2018 that wait ended on a Thursday afternoon in front of joyous fans, dancing to the Bhangra beats as Minerva Punjab FC were crowned I-League Champions.
Kiran Kumar Limbu, a keeper from Nepal, pulled off multiple saves against Churchill Brothers to deny the Goan club an equaliser on the day of the coronation. Chencho Gyeltshen, a Bhutanese player, was the star over the season with seven goals. William Opoku, a former Middlesbrough player from Ghana, scored the all-important goal on the last day. Manipuri Wanghem Khogen Singh, a teammate of East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil at Air India, had exuded calm on the bench, when Minerva’s title challenge was crumbling in the latter half of the season.
But, in the end, their origin stories and the backgrounds didn’t matter. What mattered was the space for the shiny new trophy in Minerva’s cabinet wouldn’t remain unfilled.
Those present at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula didn’t exhibit any nervous energy. If there was any in the dressing room, it didn’t filter through to the Minerva faithful or simply didn’t register in the stands. The majority were in a festive mood, Punjabi Christmas might have come early as Bhangra beats blasted out from the bleachers. They were on top of the league, and were they to slip up at the very end, they were determined to bow out with a song and dance.
Minerva Punjab - the club is named after the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare and is very much sculpted in the mould of it’s owner Ranjit Bajaj. Cocky, brash and - often times - over the top.
The coat of arms features two swords and the word ‘Warriors’ features heavily whether on social media or on physical branding. Lest you forget it, the bold, printed words - ‘You are in Warrior territory’ - serves as a reminder of the Minerva path. The club’s attachment with the eponymous defence academy, the overt nationalism and Bajaj’s social media presence only add to the persona.
Bajaj would later claim that his team were slightly nervous, but also pumped up. “We were disappointed after the East Bengal result. But we backed ourselves. It’s validation for my methods, my beliefs,” he beamed.
And wouldn’t you know it. When the final whistle blew and Minerva were crowned champions, the players ran to Bajaj and hoisted him up on their shoulders.
Chencho and Khogen, meanwhile, came across as unruffled in the aftermath of the title win. “I was calm throughout. I knew we could pull it off even while we were going through a bad phase,” said the Bhutanese forward referred to as ‘CG7’ in honour of his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Khogen would not talk of match-fixing allegations in the aftermath of the title victory, “I never look back. I asked my players to ignore all chatter for the final push.”
For the entire season, Bajaj had waged a war against the AIFF and the other clubs. That extended till the last day when he wondered why the trophy wasn’t present at the venue.
This ‘us versus the world’ narrative had effectively been the story of Minerva’s season.
The final word on the day, came from an apt source. Sukhwinder Singh, the coach of the winning JCT team in 1996, was also present on the occasion, made a poignant note: “It can’t be the end of the revolution for Punjabi football, it has to be the start.”