A decade without a league title, Kolkata clubs continue to go backwards

East Bengal were the last Kolkata club to win the title in 2004

One of the longest streaks in Indian football is the wait of Kolkata clubs to land a league title and it got extended to a decade as Bengaluru FC clinched the I-League title in their debut campaign on Monday.

For eight of the previous nine years Kolkata clubs have been undone by Goan opposition while on one occasion it was Mumbai’s Mahindra United. This time around Kolkata’s East Bengal could finish the highest among teams from Kolkata and Goa but they will still be second best behind Bengaluru FC.

The success of Bengaluru is actually a big lesson for the Kolkata clubs because the JSW-owned club have achieved it by being professional, a quality which teams from Kolkata continue to lack and are actually going backwards in that respect.

While Bengaluru have set an example for others to follow despite only being formed in July 2013, the same old problems of unprofessionalism, unnecessary interference from club officials in football matters, lack of stability, participation in too many tournaments and lack of balance in squad have been responsible for Kolkata’s failure.

Just like the last three seasons, East Bengal have come the closest again this term but they have actually underachieved as they failed to win the I-League trophy despite having the best squad in the country. Last summer East Bengal got rid of the stability which they had in the previous three consistent seasons as they parted ways with English coach Trevor Morgan and that unnecessary change has turned out to be the main reason for them falling short again.

Parting ways with Trevor Morgan proved to be the wrong decision

Brazilian Marcos Falopa, who had very little idea about Indian football, was appointed as the replacement and even before the Brazilian got used to the players and environment in India, he was removed. During his tenure, Falopa did guide East Bengal to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup but pre-season training methods raised question marks as key players were getting constantly injured. The main reason for hiring Falopa was because he was a cheaper option compared to other candidates like Armand Colaco and the club even allowed the Brazilian to have his son Americo to bizarrely function as both the physical trainer and goalkeeping coach.

The four-month tenure turned out to be a disaster and realising their mistake, East Bengal finally hired their original choice Armando. The five-time I-League winning coach likes to play a completely different style compared to Morgan but the squad that he had at his disposal was more accustomed to the system which Morgan used. So once again the club officials decided to form the team and then select the coach, a formula that only highlights the unprofessionalism prevalent at the club.

As a result even the legendary Colaco took time to get the best out of his squad and recognise his best eleven. By the time he managed to do that, East Bengal were already left with too much to do in the title race and fell short. The injuries to foreigners Uga Okpara and James Moga also didn’t help East Bengal’s cause but the club could have easily replaced one of those injury-prone foreigners in the winter transfer window.

East Bengal’s club management however decided not to make any changes, reportedly citing financial reasons and remember this is the same club that midway through the campaign spent a fortune on a concert involving Bollywood stars Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha to start their centenary celebrations seven years beforehand! The club officials think they have made progress off the field by refurbishing the club tent but in truth they have actually taken a step backwards by once again delaying the start of an academy. The club have been around for 94 years now but still don’t have an academy

Still no academy after 94 years but East Bengal spent heavily on their pre-centenary celebrations

The lack of youth development program is a long-term problem of course and is the not reason why East Bengal didn’t win the league this time but the club once again didn’t address the issue of competing in too many tournaments. For example during the I-League break, East Bengal played 12 extra fixtures, in the IFA Shield and local league, than Bengaluru. The same period could have been used by Armando to work with his players and give more time to those carrying injuries to recover.

Also the unnecessary pressure that officials tend to create on the highly-paid players by criticising them in the media for every poor performance doesn’t help the dressing room confidence. One of the big victims of that was Japanese Ryuji Sueoka who was struggling initially as he was being played out of position. Eventually Sueoka showed his class and nearly took East Bengal to the title but losing his self-belief midway through the season didn’t help matters.

So there have been so many factors behind East Bengal’s failure to end the drought and the most disappointing aspect for the fans will be that the reasons are repetitive as the club is not learning from past mistakes.

Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting have been in the bottom half of the I-League table for almost the entire campaign

The situation is even worse with the other two big clubs of Kolkata – Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting – as the two have been in the bottom half of the table for most of the season with Mohammedan Sporting still not assured of a place in next season’s I-League.

It has been a roller coaster season for Mohammedan Sporting as at the start of it they signed four proven foreigners in Indian football and won the Durand Cup to end the club’s 26-year wait for silverware. But the lack of balance in the squad eventually showed as they struggled to get results in the I-League.

The IFA Shield triumph came as a false dawn because their inability to compete in the I-League didn’t go away despite the change of coach and even a win in the last game against Mumbai FC on Sunday could see them get relegated.

Once again unprofessional is the keyword while discussing Mohammedan’s problems as throughout the season players haven’t been paid their salaries on time. A classic example is Australian Tolgay Ozbey who underperformed at Mohammedan largely due to several delays in the payment of the wages but he immediately started to perform after joining Dempo in the winter window.

Similar off-the field problems have been prevalent in Mohun Bagan also this season with their excuse being the state’s chit-fund scam. Even the highly successful Karim Bencherifa couldn’t solve their problems on the pitch as the squad that was formed by the club officials lacked quality, experience and balance with all the focus on Odafa Okolie who remained injured for the majority of the campaign.

Since Bencherifa’s first spell, when he nearly took the club to the I-League title, the Mariners have had eight different coaches and are likely to replace the Moroccan again and name a new coach for next season. But the real problem lies in the running of the club and it is the main reason why this great club has endured fourth-straight trophyless seasons now. Worryingly there seems to very little competition for the current administrators of the club and hence the dark days aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. If anything, Mohun Bagan have fallen further behind the I-League elite after this season.

The performance of United Sports Club is actually the only positive for the so-called Mecca of Indian football this season. United SC only avoided relegation after winning the penultimate fixture of the campaign but throughout the season the players showed great determination to keep their focus on the pitch although the club was unable to pay the salaries due to the absence of a sponsor.

The commitment of the United SC players despite the club’s financial problems is the only positive for Kolkata this season

Thanks to the investment of Prayag Group they finished fourth in the I-League last season and won the IFA Shield. They started this season well too but midway through the campaign coach Eelco Schattorie lost patience and left the club saying that he struggled to motivate the players due to the ongoing financial problems. Star striker Ranti Martins also left in the winter window but senior club officials Nabab Bhattacharya and Alokesh Kundu never lost hope and brought in Subroto Bhattacharya as technical director.

The team under Bhattacharya didn’t play any eye-catching football but eventually got the results to survive and have now given Nabab and Kundu further motivation to find sponsors next season instead of contemplating a shutdown.

However United SC too don’t look like ending Kolkata’s wait for the most coveted trophy in Indian football as they must sort out their internal problems first. Hence once again East Bengal remain Kolkata’s best bet to challenge for the title next season but their club officials must quickly learn a thing or two from Bengaluru.

With the potential emergence of more franchise clubs like Bengaluru and the progress of Pune FC and the north-east teams, the wait could extend to another decade if Kolkata clubs don’t get rid of the ‘Stone Age’ administration and make an effort to become professional because history and an enormous fanbase is no longer enough to become the champions of India.