Kolkata: Gerard Zaragoza helping Jose Molina understand a question, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu clicking a selfie with Subhasish Bose. Four men on high chairs – Sandhu’s size though made his look like a regular chair – occasionally sharing a laugh while taking questions. Camaraderie before competition? Old pros adept at masking pre-final nerves? Both would be correct.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant are in the Indian Super League (ISL) cup final for the second consecutive season. This is Bengaluru FC’s fourth final appearance. Molina and Zaragoza have never lost one, Bose and Sandhu have played three of them, only Mohun Bagan’s Manvir Singh has featured in more (4) . They know this hinges on resolve, reputations don’t matter.
For if it did, Bengaluru FC need not have bothered to show up. Mohun Bagan won the league shield by a record eight points and with two rounds to spare. They have not lost at home this term, not conceded in their last seven home matches in which they scored 13 goals. “A football machine,” said Zaragoza referring to Mohun Bagan’s 17 wins in the league, six more than Bengaluru FC.
The best team wins the league was how Sandhu assessed his opponents. That said, Bengaluru FC beat Mohun Bagan 3-0 at home and are among the three teams that have defeated them this term. And it took a late screamer from Liston Colaco to subdue Bengaluru FC in the reverse fixture. Their Durand Cup fixture stretched to penalties after Bengaluru FC blew a 2-0 lead. They have a slew of India players and foreigners comfortable in ISL. And they have Sunil Chhetri.
An assistant-coach in 2018-19 when Bengaluru FC won ISL, Zaragoza began his first full ISL season with five wins and five clean sheets. The high-fliers then fell with a thud in what Zaragoza, 43, had termed as “fatal January”. Bengaluru won nothing in the first month of 2025 losing four.
Exactly a year to Friday, Zaragoza said, they had lost 0-4 to Mohun Bagan and finished 10th in ISL. In 2022-23, after two wins in their first nine rounds, Bengaluru FC won their next 13, including one that Kerala Blasters forfeited, en route to the final. Triumph and disaster, they are well versed in. Turnarounds too. “Tomorrow, we will also play for the fans and the people at the club who trusted us,” said Zaragoza.
After February began with a loss at home to Punjab FC, Bengaluru FC were unbeaten in their next eight matches winning six including 5-0 against last year’s cup winners Mumbai City FC in the play-off. “We are in the mood for the final,” said Zaragoza.
One that will be played in Mohun Bagan’s jungle, according to the media conference emcee. Tickets were sold out within hours and social media handles of Mohun Bagan’s fan clubs are full of images of people queuing up to redeem them ignoring sun and rain. “They are lucky to play at home but they earned their luck. That is what I want at my club,” said Zaragoza.
Sandhu knows all about it, having played the second match of his professional career at Salt Lake stadium, its loyalties split down the middle, heaving with nearly 100,000 people. “I was lucky to be thrown into the fire early. It has moulded me,” said Sandhu of his time at East Bengal. “We want to be involved in such games. It provides extra motivation,” said the goalkeeper.
Molina said he and his players don’t need any of that. “Mohun Bagan are always expected to win so the motivation is anyway high.” Add to that the chance of a first ISL double and “it is impossible to be more motivated.”
Through I-League and ISL, Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan have, over the years, served up last-round encounters that had late goals, comebacks, penalties and the tie-breakers. Another humdinger please.
