“It’s like winning two trophies in a single match,” says Dave, an ATK Mohun Bagan fan, after his team won their first Indian Super League (ISL) title by beating Bengaluru FC on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw in Goa.
Following ATK Mohun Bagan’s surprise victory, owner Sanjeev Goenka announced on the pitch that the club would ditch the ‘ATK’ from their name and be known as the Mohun Bagan Super Giants.
Fans are delighted after campaigning to “remove ATK” since 2020 — perhaps even more so than about winning the trophy.
Mohun Bagan are one of India’s oldest clubs and the Kolkata Derby against East Bengal is Asia’s oldest football rivalry. Bagan have a huge following and see themselves as the “national club of India” after playing a key part in India’s road to independence by beating the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911, the first time a native team beat the colonial British.
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But in 2020, Bagan merged with Atletico de Kolkata, a team founded in 2014 with ties to Atletico Madrid. Mohun Bagan fans were outraged, seeing the move as tarnishing their traditions.
“For the past three years a large part of the Mohun Bagan fans have been agitating against ‘ATK’,” says Rajdeep Saha, a journalist for The Bridge. “People were not happy, it was an identity crisis.”
“ATK is no more, it is Mohun Bagan,” Dave tells The Athletic. “Mohun Bagan was there, Mohun Bagan is here, and Mohun Bagan will be there forever.”
European football is increasingly looking towards India and its booming economy as a fertile market to sell shirts and TV subscriptions. But the country has its own vibrant football culture too.
It can seem rather chaotically organised to an outsider. The logistics of travelling to cover the event were complicated, for example, by the fact that the host city was confirmed just one month before the match.
Next season will probably start in October but nobody knows the dates. The same teams will play in the Indian Super Cup next month but this tournament is lower-profile with less slick TV coverage.
The Athletic went to find out more about Indian football by attending this year’s Indian Super League final, the showpiece event of the world’s most popular sport in what recently became the world’s most populous country.
The ISL’s 11 clubs are not evenly distributed geographically. Five are in the south where football is traditionally popular, especially in Goa and Kerala. As well as the two Kolkata clubs there are three more in the north-east of the country.
That just leaves Mumbai City, the country’s biggest city represented by a club which is part of the City Football Group run by the Abu-Dhabi based owners of Manchester City.
Punjab FC in the far north will join the league next season. The sport is far less popular in what Times of India journalist Marcus Mergulhao calls the “Hindi heartlands” in northern India.
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Around four-fifths of Indians are Hindu and most of the rest are Muslim but the southwestern state of Goa, a tourist destination owing to its gorgeous beaches and year-round sun, has a different religious make-up.
This is a rare pocket of India which was not part of the British Empire but rather a former Portuguese colony, and Catholicism is prevalent, particularly in the city of Margao where the 18,000-capacity Fatorda Stadium is located. Rather than temples and mosques, Christian chapels and shrines to Jesus line the tangled streets around the stadium.
Religion is not the only thing that marks this place out from most of India, where cricket is the No 1 sport. Football is the official state sport of Goa and the streets are full of people wearing football shirts.
Many European clubs can be spotted but the most popular is the blue and white of Argentina, with Lionel Messi’s World Cup triumph resonating deeply across Asia. There were passionate celebrations in Kerala and Bangladesh, too.
“India is like 20 countries in one country, with very different types of people,” says Manolo Marquez, the Spanish coach who led Hyderabad to ISL victory last season. “In some states football is the No 1, in another state it doesn’t exist, in another state it is in the beginning.”
FC Goa seem to have a genuine presence in their community. Their orange shirts are a common sight, with shops carrying pennants saying ‘Forca Goa’, a nod to the community’s Portuguese roots.
Indian football has a rich history — the Kolkata derby is a century old — but because of its vast size and immense diversity, there have been many different leagues and competitions featuring different teams. From the Durand Cup to the Super Cup, the I-League to the IFA Shield, it is easy to get confused between competitions.
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But the front-runner these days is the Indian Super League founded in 2014. It is a franchise format like Major League Soccer in the US as well as the Indian Premier League, the cricket tournament that is now one of the world’s most valuable sporting competitions. There is currently no promotion or relegation in the ISL although there are plans to change that in time.
Clubs are owned by some of the most famous businessmen and corporations in the country, who all lose money but gain “glamour and status” according to Mergulhao, one of the foremost voices on the Indian game.
In the ISL’s early years, clubs had “marquee players” including Alessandro Del Piero, Roberto Carlos and Robert Pires. This was designed to get attention for the league but the expensive recruitment of players in the twilight of their career has been phased out as Indian football tries to stand on its own two feet.
The ISL has 11 teams who play each other home and away before the top six teams face off in a play-off format, culminating in the ISL final.
“One constant disagreement… is why even have these play-offs,” says Mergulhao. “A lot of Indian football followers, the purists, they do not agree to this play-off system.
“But the play-off matches are the most-watched games. Everybody knows that the league is most important, but the club that wins the trophy get the bragging rights.”
While the play-off winner gets a trophy and a Saturday night final on live TV, the league champions — this time Mumbai City — gets a route to the AFC Champions League, the continental competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, which is arguably the bigger prize. The winners receive around $4million (£3.3m) in prize money.
“I hope they change the format to a league system, not a play-off system,” says Englishman Stephen Constantine, the East Bengal coach who has twice been in charge of the national team. “The players need more games, there needs to be better competition.
“The reason they don’t want to extend the season and have more games is because of the IPL,” he adds, describing the extremely lucrative cricket tournament which runs from March 31 to May 28.
This is the fourth final in a row to be held at the Fatorda Stadium. The whole ISL was played in Goa for the two seasons before this one, with the region’s plentiful stadiums, hotels and training facilities making it ideal to create a biosecure bubble during the pandemic.
“That not just denied crowds the ability to watch matches, it robbed clubs of revenues, it made it hard it harder to attract players,” says Mergulhao.
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But now fans can travel — and they do. Bengaluru is a one-hour flight or 11-hour drive to Goa and The Athletic spoke to many Bengaluru FC — or BFC, as they are known —fans who piled into buses and cars to watch their team try to continue a 10-game winning streak.
They are buoyed not just by their greater numbers but also their excellent form after unexpectedly beating Mumbai City in the semi-final. City were the runaway league winners but lost to fourth-placed Bengaluru.
Others, like five young men The Athletic spoke to outside a liquor store, took a short flight that morning.
Srinivas Jayaram (centre) speaks glowingly about Bengaluru’s English coach Simon Grayson, who played for Leicester City and Aston Villa and managed Leeds United and Sunderland among others.
“He has turned this season around for us,” says Jayaram (centre), who peppers his speech with words like “gaffer” and “lads”. “We were at the bottom at the turn of the year, now we are in the final.”
The fans are carrying a plastic bag full of whisky to be consumed after the match, whether Bengaluru win or lose.
Drinking alcohol, though, is not a big part of the football culture inside the stadium itself where its sale is strictly prohibited alongside things including phone chargers and umbrellas.
Bengaluru fans outnumber those supporting ATK Mohun Bagan partly because of the vast distance from Goa to Kolkata, which is three days away by road or an expensive flight at short notice. But Bagan have a big national reach and The Athletic speaks to many fans from Kerala in the south.
The biggest reason for patchy support is the merger, with many Bagan fans protesting and boycotting matches since 2020. They do not recognise this side as the successor to the historic Mohun Bagan, and share the hashtag #RemoveATK on social media.
Those who are continually asking whether we will still say #RemoveATK if that hybrid wins trophy today.
Well, to make it clear again, We didn't follow any match of ISL and do not consider this team as our Mohun Bagan till the time #ATK is getting removed. Stand remains same. pic.twitter.com/avCN54WE1t
— The Mariners' (@MohunBaganFans) March 18, 2023
They get their wish from the club owner on the turf after the match; a vindication of their boycotts and noisy protests.
Outside the Fatorda Stadium, the atmosphere builds ahead of the 7.30pm kick-off. Even in March, the temperature is still around 30°C (86° F).
Supporters of both teams congregate in a special “fan carnival” zone inside the perimeter of the stadium with live music and entertainment stalls, including one marketing EA Sports’ FIFA Mobile game.
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Many Bengaluru fans wear shirts carrying the name of 38-year-old Sunil Chhetri, a legend of Indian football and the third-highest international goalscorer of all currently active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
He is in the twilight of his career but still the most famous name in the sport in this country.
As kick-off approaches, music booms out from the PA system and the crowd gets increasingly boisterous. But the stadium is only about half-full despite the cheapest tickets costing just 200 Rupees (£2; $2.40), less than an FC Goa league match.
Many more will be watching on TV though, with almost uniform agreement that the ISL has done a good job of turning it into a television spectacle.
“What needs to change now is the level of the football on the pitch, which needs to come to the level of the production of the ISL,” says Constantine. “The production level is very good.”
The Fatorda Stadium is a converted cricket stadium that has held India international matches in the past. Now it is football-only but its shape cannot be changed, meaning fans are a long way from the action.
Chhetri started the final on the bench but Grayson put him on when promising young forward Sivasakthi Narayanan came off injured after just three minutes.
Eleven minutes later, a Bengaluru defender handled the ball from a cross, with Bagan’s Australian striker Dimitri Petratos hammering home the subsequent penalty.
A brace in the #HeroISLFinal and a menace in the final third earned #DimitriPetratos the Hero of the Match 🏅🏆#ATKMBBFC #HeroISL #LetsFootball #ATKMohunBagan | @atkmohunbaganfc @HeroMotoCorp pic.twitter.com/hs8JKFzW0K
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) March 18, 2023
But Chhetri’s moment came on the stroke of half-time. Bengaluru were awarded a penalty and he sent the keeper the wrong way with his trademark one-step run up.
In the second half, the pace slowed. But 15 minutes from time, Bengaluru came from behind with a headed goal, only for Bagan to get the opportunity to level things with a highly contentious penalty call. Kiyan Nassiri was brought down on the edge of the box but replays made it look just outside.
European football fans like to complain about VAR but, in this game, two of the three penalty calls were highly controversial and could not be overturned. The ISL is introducing a form of ‘VAR-lite’ next season after officials have come under fierce scrutiny from fans who are now used to seeing the technology in European leagues on TV.
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Bengaluru reached the final after one of the most controversial incidents in ISL history. In extra time of their match against Kerala Blasters in the first play-off round, Chhetri scored from a quickly-taken free kick. Kerala Blasters believed the goal should not have been allowed and their coach took them off the field, forfeiting the match.
On social media after the final, many fans of Kerala Blasters — one of the country’s best-supported clubs who regularly pack out their stadium — gloated in the “karma” of Bengaluru falling at the final hurdle.
ATK Mohun Bagan won 4-3 on penalties, with keeper Vishal Kaith the hero.
“Those in the upper tier please stay away from the railing,” an announcer said over the tannoy, as fans ditched their allocated seats and crowded to get a closer view of the pitch.
Bengaluru fans stayed long after the whistle, chanting the names of Chhetri as well as their coach.
Simon Grayson has become a hero in India…
He’s taken his side Bengaluru into the final of the Indian Super League 🇮🇳
pic.twitter.com/G5ivnq6TdQ— The Second Tier (@secondtierpod) March 13, 2023
Grayson won English Football League play-offs as a manager with Blackpool, Preston North End and Huddersfield Town after losing as player with Leicester City in 1994 and 1996.
“This hurts just as much,” he said.
Juan Ferrando, one of several Spanish coaches to win the Indian Super League, was jubilant if exhausted. Many involved in Indian football seem permanently tired from the constant travelling.
“The plan is to take a shower, eat something and go back to Kolkata,” he said. “We don’t know how we’ll celebrate. I just want to rest. I think it’s possible to reach Kolkata and sleep more than five hours. That is my dream.”
But on the streets of Margao outside the stadium, the Mohun Bagan fans — that detested ‘ATK’ now ditched from their famous name — do not plan on sleeping any time soon.
This piece is the first in a special series about football in India. Look out for more throughout the week.
(Photos: Joey D’Urso)