ISL 2016: Atletico de Kolkata's Road to the Final
ISL 2016 has been the most curious season of the three for one of its finalists. Atletico de Kolkata are the only side to make the semi-finals in each of the three years – after Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa capitulated this season. But the men from ‘The City of Joy’ have certainly not set the league alight with their football this season.
Including the two legs of the semi-final, Kolkata have drawn nine and won five. If anything, Kolkata are in the final more on the back of their ability to not lose games than their ability to win games.
But they are at the final hurdle now. They are more experienced playing at this stage than their opponents, Kerala Blasters. So Jose Molina will definitely fancy his side's chances on the big day.
Steady Start
True to how their season has been, Kolkata began their campaign with a 2-2 draw at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium against Chennaiyin. From then, no Kolkata match was half as exciting until the first leg of their semi-final against Mumbai City FC at the same venue.
Molina’s side didn’t lose their opening five games – they had three draws and two 1-0 victories. That sparked a little stutter as they lost to Pune City FC too after that, but Kolkata are unbeaten since.
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In the early part of the season, Kolkata didn’t have one talisman, one star player, but they stuck together as a unit and almost always got something out of the games that they played in. With the experience that they had, Kolkata managed to grind out points even when they were not playing too well.
That will stand them in very good stead as they have gone on an eight-match unbeaten run and in a final, most teams play not to lose first. It is important also because one cannot guarantee that they will be at your best on the big day. And Kolkata have not played anywhere near as well as they are capable of through most of this season.
The stars hit form
Towards the end of their season, though, Iain Hume and Helder Postiga seemed to hit some semblance of form, especially the Canadian. That was down to the fact that the manager found a system that suited both of their strengths.
In the beginning of the season, Molina deployed Hume on the left wing and Postiga as the central striker – the focal point of the attack. But as the tournament went on, that system changed. Javi Lara was not starting as regularly as he was in the beginning of the season and Hume took Postiga’s role as the central striker. That meant Postiga dropped back into the no. 10 role.
For that to happen, there had to be a spark. And that spark was the arrival of Stephen Pearson. He took the deeper role in midfield and formed a nice axis along side Borja Fernandez.
Consistency
Throughout the season, there was barely a point of time when Kolkata were outside the top four. They were not getting three points out of most games, but never were they in any sort of trouble. They might not have won a game by a margin of more than one goal, but the two games that Kolkata lost were only by one-goal margins.
The huge push towards achieving that consistency came from the performance of Kolkata’s Indian players. That contingent was led by the experience of Arnab Mondal and the exuberance of youth flourished around that experience.
The find of the season for Kolkata is undoubtedly Prabir Das. The ‘Bengali Maldini’ as he has come to be known, he delivered some fabulous performances and displayed his versatility too. Das looked equally comfortable playing at either full-back position as he delivered some all-action performances.
From what we have seen in this tournament, there doesn’t seem to be an identifiable weakness in Prabir’s game. He looks a good all-round defender, but as he himself will admit, there is plenty to improve upon.
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Two other youngsters caught the eye too. The wingers, Abinash Ruidas and Bidyananda Singh were thrust onto the big stage whenever Molina needed them and they did deliver, even though they didn’t score a goal or assist too many goals.
But possibly the best Indian performer for Kolkata this season is their goalkeeper Debjit Majumder. He played in all but two of Kolkata’s games this season. In the 14 games that he did play, he conceded only 14 goals and he kept three clean sheets in the process.
For Kolkata, they have got the experience of being here before. Many members of their squad – Borja, Hume, Arnab, have been in the same situation before and against the same opponent. But come Sunday, the situation will be different in that it will be at Kerala’s own fortress.
But for Kolkata, they know how not to lose games. They know how to win a final. So there is no reason why there cannot be a repeat in 2016.