KOLKATA: In August last year, the committee entrusted with the responsibility of building the Mohammedan Sporting team for the upcoming I-League, unexpectedly found itself in the middle of a paradigm shift.
The team was busy playing simultaneously in the Durand Cup and Calcutta Football Club at the time and coach Mehrajuddin Wadoo - who took charge of the black-and-white dugout barely six months ago, replacing more high-profile Kibu Vicuna - looked set for a longer rope. However, the club's Gurugram-based investor Bunkerhill made it clear that the team's Mission I-League must be led by a foreign coach. This paved the way for the return of Andrey Chernyshov, a season after the Russian was fired from the post in December 2022.
The result is now for everyone to see. Mohammedan Sporting have finally laid their hands on the coveted I-League crown, thus becoming eligible to gain promotion to the Indian Super League.
Chernyshov's first stint with the club in the 2021-2022 was quite promising. The CFL triumph and Durand Cup final was followed by the team's so-close-yet-so-far push for the I-League when they lost the national crown by losing to eventual champions Gokulam Kerala FC in the final match of the league.
Both for the club and the Russian coach, it was business which remained unfinished. And his return could perhaps be described as the proverbial deus ex machina - the divine intervention - to help the team get over the line this time around.
"Right from Day I of our I-League preparation we played as a team this season. We suffered together in the past and would now like to celebrate this success as a team," former India forward Dipendu Biswas - now serving the black-and-white brigade as team manager - said.
"It has been the result of our days of hardship, hard work and determination with an unflinching belief that we would allow nothing to come in our way of achieving the goal," Biswas added.
Chernyshov echoed the sentiment, hailing it as his "best win" as a coach.
"Credit should go to my players. It was not an easy title to win. I'm thrilled to work with this bunch of boys," the Russian coach maintained.
Encompassing a rollercoaster ride from hardship and hard work to hurrah, the century-old club's march to the I-League summit and taking a significant step towards reclaiming their lost ground in Indian football has been quite fascinating.
A PROJECT BACKED BY SPONSORS
Since their promotion to the National Football League, the precursor to I-League, in 2002-2003, Mohammedan Sporting have suffered relegation four times from what had once been the country's top league. However, their re-entry to the league in 2019-2020 after winning the I-League second division, coincided with the arrival of Bunkerhill in the club's landscape. Dipak Singh, Bunkerhill director and the chairperson of the Mohammedan Sporting board of directors, has since taken active part in building and moulding the team for regaining its lost glory. The Gurugram-based sponsor is understood to have spent more than Rs 40 crore in the past four seasons.
EMBRACING A NEW APPROACH
Standing on a relatively financially stable ground, the team management decided to tick all the boxes in a way never done before. The pandemic forced the team to be herded in a city hotel for a couple of seasons. But this was where the script for success came into being.
"Doctors, masseurs and dieticians have since become an integral part of the team. What the players would eat or when they would train or how they would prepare for a game - all this was left to professional hands," Biswas pointed out.
FOREIGN FLAVOUR
Mohammedan Sporting in the past recruited the likes of Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan and Chennai FC's I-League winning Uruguayan star in search of the coveted trophy. However, with success remaining elusive, they stopped going on an expensive buying spree and instead focused more on a player's talent and efficacy. From hiring Argentina's Alexis Gomez and Honduran forward Eddie Hernandez, meticulous planning went into the process. Even Russian Evgeniy Kozlov - who struck the match-winner against Lajong FC on Saturday on way to sealing the league for Mohammedan Sporting - was handpicked by Chernyshov.
YOUNG AT HEART
While the foreigners contributed handsomely to the team's cause, Chernyshov's side is also essentially young at heart, providing a platform for a host of talented youngsters to stand and deliver. Goalkeeper Padam Chettri - who joined from Kenkre FC, a team which finished at the bottom of I-League twice - has transformed himself as a picture of confidence. In-form forward David Lalhlansanga is now a target of many ISL clubs. Midfielder S Bikash Singh and Lalremsanga Fanai have shown that they have the potential to shine on the bigger stage.
"We looked for a balanced side with a strong bench. And in the end, it paid off," Dipak now said with evident satisfaction.
