How the league was won

But as Mumbai FC flattered to deceive in the long run,Yadav feels inexperience finally got the better of them. “The bigger clubs woke up to the occasion and we crumbled under pressure.”

October 25:
b>Bagan’s early woes
That flying start from Mumbai FC had dealt a severe blow to the Kolkata football fans. To make things worse,Mohun Bagan had their poorest start in years,managing just three points from their first five matches. Ultimately,the draws against Air India,Mohammedan and then East Bengal cost them more dearly at the end of the season than the 2-1 loss to Mahindra United in the 22nd round. At that point,face-saving was what topped coach Karim Bencherifa’s priorities. “We didn’t get enough rest after the Kolkata league. We couldn’t get into I-League mode as easily as the other teams did and the loss against Mumbai FC in the first match was very demoralising,” says defender NS Manju. “At that time we were more concerned about keeping ourselves out of the relegation zone. Realistically,we had set ourselves the target of finishing among the top five.”

November 8:
Sporting Clube 1 Dempo 0
Sporting Clube capitalise
The first team to capitalise on Bagan’s slip,and perhaps,defending champions Dempo SC’s focus on AFC Cup,was an unheralded one. Sporting Clube began on the strongest note in the I-League,winning six of their first seven matches. The victims of the rout included Bagan,the surging Mumbai FC,and the defending champions Dempo. Churchill Brothers and India defender Gourmangi Singh explains Sporting’s latent threat. “Sporting don’t have the big names and so aren’t usually under the spotlight. That’s why people take them lightly and pay for it. I don’t know about other teams,but after following them closely here in Goa,we were always on our guard. We were also cautious about Bagan,but being the leaders,Sporting commanded more respect,” says Gourmangi.

January 25:
Sporting Clube 0 Vasco 1
Churchill: The silent creeper
Churchill’s Gourmangi and his team,however,were waiting for a chance to pull the carpet from under the top team’s feet and Sporting Clube gifted them an opportunity. Instability grew among the top three with Sporting’s slump starting with their loss to relegation-threatened Vasco SC,an off-colour Mohammedan Sporting and Bagan. The sense of things having slipped away had already caught up. “After ending the first leg on top,things went down for us immediately in the second leg,” Sporting Clube right-back Chandrasekhar says. The streak of losses in the Federation Cup had done the damage,where Sporting lost all the matches,including the one to minnows New Delhi Heroes. “We carried on the poor form from the Fed Cup into the second phase. Suddenly everything went wrong,” Chandrasekhar adds.
For Churchill,the success story kept building up slowly,but steadily,amid the ruins of Bagan and Sporting. “We lost only two matches the whole season. In the first leg we were always in the top three. We knew that Bagan had the better combination of players,so we changed focus,” says Gourmangi.

February 6:
Mohun Bagan 1 Sporting Clube 0
Empire strikes back
Bagan began their resurgence by trouncing Dempo in their own backyard and slowly,winning became a habit. It wasn’t the big victories that put them back into the running,but a streak of one-goal triumphs. From being mired in the relegation zone,they went on to win 10 matches in a row — an I-League record — to dislodge Sporting from the top on February 6 with a 1-0 win. None among Churchill Brothers,JCT,Vasco SC,Mahindra United,Chirag United,Mumbai FC,Air India,Sporting Clube and Mohammedan Sporting were let free. The 1-0 upset over Dempo in the sixth round showed the way,says Bagan defender NS Manju. “Our victory over Dempo in Goa,when we were desperately looking for one,lifted the spirits. We started taking it one match at a time and kept winning,” Manju says.
He rates the ninth of the ten-victory streak as the most memorable. “The victory over Sporting put us on top,which we hadn’t dared to dream of after the first five rounds,” he adds.
Dempo’s diminishing interest in the title defence fuelled Bagan’s charge. “Dempo had their priorities. At the end,it worked for them as they had a better run than us in the AFC Cup. Luckily,we didn’t carry our AFC Cup form into the I-League,” says Manju.

The next day,Sporting Clube coach Vishwas Gaonkar was sacked for failing to Sporting’s traditional “stylish” and “samba style” football. Former coach Clifford Chukuwama was reinstated. The results improved — 10 points in the next three matches — but the loss of the top berth proved symbolic.

February 20:
Churchill 9 Vasco 1
On a roll
Okolie Odafe slammed in six goals in Churchill’s 9-1 thrashing of Vasco in the 16th round. Bagan questioned the result but the Goans didn’t let it distract them. They gave it back to Bagan two rounds later — a 3-1 come-from-behind victory — at the Fatorda stadium. Churchill’s belief was long gathering wind,but the storm didn’t come until they found themselves on top. “It was after the 2-1 victory over JCT that we believed for the first time that we could win. But we really wanted to give it back to Bagan. We beat them 3-1 after being one down. And we found ourselves on top,” says Gourmangi.

Bagan’s joy lasted precisely for a month,as they lost the lead on March 5.

April 12:
Mohun Bagan 2 Dempo 1
The final burst
Bagan didn’t quite have the opportunity of repeating their 10-win act,but they still did enough to make Churchill players huddle in one room,watching their competitors on television. Gourmangi’s home had changed into a mini-theatre. “I never watch football matches on television for more than ten-fifteen minutes. But the way Bagan bounced back,we were left following them and praying,” Gourmangi says.
Bagan’s clash against Dempo that went into extra time was where defender Manju displayed his striking abilities. “All of us were counting the minutes when Karim (Bencherifa) sent me into the box for a final try. Bhaichung (Bhutia) and Barreto were thoroughly marked and they (Dempo) weren’t expecting me to score. It’s not the best goal of my career but certainly the most significant,” Manju says.
In Gourmangi’s room,the heads had dropped and “this is football” were the words of consolation going around. Churchill twisted the tale further by sharing the spoils in Mumbai against Air India in the penultimate round. “Our draw against Air India was key in making things so close in the end,” Gourmangi says.

April 16:
Bottom: Vasco,11th: Mohammedan Sporting,10th: Air India; JCT 1 Mumbai FC 0
Battle at the bottom
Churchill’s 6-2 victory sent Mohammedan Sporting back to where they had come from a year ago — the second division. Vasco had long booked one of the two relegation spots with sixteen losses,but Mohammedan had to fight with former I-League champions JCT,Mumbai’s Air India and Kolkata’s Chirag United. Chirag had an easy last-round match against Vasco,but JCT and Air India had daunting opponents in Mumbai FC and Sporting Clube respectively. The Punjab team escaped with a win over Mumbai FC at home,while Air India had to thank luck and Mohammedan after losing 3-1 to Sporting Clube. Air India coach Bimal Ghosh and Mohammedan coach Shabbir Ali come together on one-point — bargaining. “By the middle of the season most players seemed disinterested. They were already in talks with other clubs. That told on the performance,” says Ali.

April 16:
Leader: Churchill (on goal difference),Second: Bagan; Churchill 6 Mohammedan 2,Mahindra United 2 Mohun Bagan 1
Anticlimactic end
With Churchill’s massive goal difference of +26,Bagan were praying for history to repeat itself. “Five-six years back Churchill had lost to us in the final round to finish second. Last year too they lost to Dempo on goal difference. Their goal difference was huge,but we just banked on history,” says Manju.
Odafe and Co,however,defied all those records and the four-time runners-up took the title fair and square. Bagan lost to Mahindra United to finish second. “Ultimately a win wouldn’t have mattered. But I regret the booking I received during the Dempo match. It was a loss to the team,” says Manju who,along with Lalkamal Bhowmick,couldn’t play the last match because of suspension.
In Goa,Churchill’s maiden title came after a long wait,and it was sweet. “The build-up to the final round was exciting,but we were confident. This was worth the wait,” Gourmangi says.