Sitting alongside Manolo Marquez and looking sullen, Lalengmawia Ralte had little choice but to agree with the head coach’s assessment. “We were lucky to have got a draw,” Ralte said after the 0-0 against Bangladesh in Shillong last month. On Monday, Ralte, Apuia to the football world, was the toast of nearly 60,000 at Salt Lake stadium. Disappointment to delirium in less than two weeks.
Another season of the Indian Super League (ISL) ends on Saturday. From Sunil Chhetri’s ability to fly, Khalid Jamil’s defensive masterclass that needed a record 71 penalty box entries and a joint-record of 35 shots in Kolkata to be breached and had Albino Gomes notching up 102 saves in a season (also a record), Armando Sadiku’s “crotch” celebration and late goals, the semi-finals provided drama worthy of the occasion. And they were played in front of packed stadia in Jamshedpur, Bengaluru (on a night the city hosted an IPL match), Goa and Kolkata where over 58,000 turned up at the start of the week.
Home advantage
There are many reasons why Mohun Bagan Super Giant have been unbeaten at home this term but significant among them was the “welcome to hell” atmosphere created by the fans. “Maybe, rivals don’t feel so comfortable here,” said Jose Molina. Not sure Jamshedpur have experienced such a crowd,” was Jamie Maclaren’s pre-match banter.
The Salt Lake stadium is way bigger than the other venues, which amplifies home advantage, but if this trend continues, the 12th player will be a force. As per figures provided by ISL, the attendance in Kolkata was 58,123, 20,698 in Jamshedpur, 16,875 in Goa and 19,223 in Bengaluru. Asked whom he preferred in the final, Gerard Zaragoza simply said, he wanted it to be at the Kanteerava.
As ISL hit the home stretch, I-League went into its last match day with four teams in contention for the title. I-League’s ability to produce final day suspense has been unmatched among domestic competitions across sport. And it was no different this time fortunes fluctuating in places as diverse as Kashmir and Kozhikode are from Kalyani.
State of affairs
Now the bad news. We won’t know who will be declared I-League winners till April 28 which is when the appeals committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will meet. It is a pity that a decision on the Inter Kashi-Namdhari match could not be taken before the final match day but people at AIFF told me it was not for want of trying. The committee is an independent body and not all members were available before that, they said.
But in a way it sums up a season where AIFF stayed mired in court cases. A season where its cup tournament has been shoehorned into the calendar and youth leagues conducted in the height of summer.
ISL’s future?
I have left the worst for the last. What is the future of ISL? The master rights agreement ends this year and there is no clarity on the way forward. AIFF officials will tell you a couple of meetings with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), who organise the league, have happened and depending on whom you speak to, you will hear proposals one weirder than the other. Such as a company will be formed to run the league where clubs will be stakeholders and it will be the company’s responsibility to generate funds (Will ISL stop if there isn’t a taker?). Another was a league with 10 ISL teams and six I-League teams will be formed (which ones?). All of this is said in the nudge-nudge-wink-wink mode.
Last year, AIFF was not keen on forming a committee to negotiate with FSDL because matters were sub-judice. Guess what? Matters are still sub-judice but AIFF has formed a committee to discuss “whether they will do the fandango.”
As the season wends to a close, and with little over one month from the summer transfer window, the is no clarity on the future of ISL, its franchises, the whole football ecosystem which runs largely on the ₹50 crore annually provided by FSDL. Everyone is hopeful it will be alright but did we need such uncertain times after what should be a fine finish to a season?
Play of the week
