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Atletico de Kolkata won the first ever Indian Super League title in 2014. They defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the final minute of the stoppage time to clinch the title as the substitute Mohammed Rafique headed home a corner from Jakub Podany to win the match and the championship.
They went on to win the ISL title again in 2016 against the same opponent but this time on penalties. Let's have a look at what the starting XI that won the inaugural edition of the ISL is up to, now.
Apoula Edel
The former Paris Saint-Germain first choice goalkeeper did not keep many clean sheets but managed to keep it in the most crucial game of the tournament. The Cameroon born Armenian managed to win the ISL title again next year, this time with Chennaiyin FC. He also had a brief stint with his former club Hapoel Tel Aviv, with whom he spent 3 seasons prior to winning the title with ATK. He then went on to play for FC Pune City in the 2016 season but could not find a club after that. He is currently a free agent.
Kingshuk Debnath
The right back played a key role in his 11 appearances for ATK in the first season. He was on a loan from his parent club Mohun Bagan to Atletico de Kolkata and again in 2016 when he won the ISL with the same club. He featured for Mumbai City FC in the second season of ISL. Apart from his ISL laurels he also won the Federation Cup 2015-16 with Mohun Bagan.
Arnab Mondal
Arnab Mondal carried on with his pre-ISL success and has become one of the most sought after center backs in the country. He stayed with Atletico de Kolkata in the future seasons and featured in almost every game of its campaigns. He won the title with ATK in 2016 as well along with the SAFF championship for India in 2015. He plays in the I-League for East Bengal.
Josemi
He acted as the club captain in replacement to Luis Garcia, who was injured right before the final match. Both Josemi and Garcia had won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool FC in 2004-05 and carried on the success with Atletico de Kolkata in 2014 as well. Josemi formed a formidable centre back partnership with Arnab Mondal though out the season. He renewed his contract with ATK for one more year but was ruled out of the tournament due to injury after just 3 games. He did not play further for any club and announced his retirement in 2016. In 2017, he returned to his boyhood club Malaga as a match delegate.
Jakub Podany
The Czech left back was on loan from Sparta Prague when he won the title with Atletico de Kolkata in 2014. He took the corner that Mohammed Rafique headed to glory in the last minute of the final. Podany made a few appearances for Sparta Prague post his ISL stint with ATK and was later sold to the Slovakian club SK Slovan Bratislava as a free transfer. He was sold again next year to the Czech club Dukla Prague as a free transfer and has made only 5 appearances since then.
Borja Fernandez
The former Real Madrid man played as a defensive midfielder for Atletico de Kolkata in the 2014 season. It was his first stint at a club outside Spain and proved to be a successful one as he played 16 games and won the title for ATK. He continued to play for ATK in the next two seasons and won the title again in 2016. He made his last La Liga appearance with Eibar in 2015 and subsequent ones in the Segunda Division with Real Valladolid and UD Almeria respectively.
Ofentse Nato
He was supposed to be loaned to Atletico Madrid by his parent club Bidvest Wits but was loaned instead loaned to Madrid’s satellite club in the Indian Premier Soccer League, Atletico de Kolkata. He is still playing for ATK, and had also won the title for them in 2016 as well, making a total of 61 appearances for the Botswana national team.
Arnal Llibert
The Spanish forward featured as a Central Midfielder for Atletico de Kolkata in ISL. He scored his only goal of the campaign in the opening day 3-0 drubbing of Mumbai City FC and his career went in a downward spiral after it. Although he appeared in 11 games in that season but got no suitors after ISL. He went on to play for AEC Manlleu, a Spanish club in the group 5 of their Tercera Division and is currently a free agent.
Baljit Sahni
The former Indian forward did not have a very illustrious career after winning the title with ATK in 2014. He scored just the 2 goals in 16 appearances in his first season in ISL and featured in 5 games in the second season with Atletico de Kolkata. He featured for Chennaiyin FC in 2016 and will lead the attack for FC Pune City this season. He has been an on and off player in the i-League with DSK Shivajians in 2016 and Mumbai FC in 2017.
Sanju Pradhan
The winger scored no goals in his maiden ISL campaign with Atletico de Kolkata and was not given a new contract by the club. He went onto play for North East United in the second season and failed to score again. He signed a season long deal with Salgaocar in 2015 and was loaned to his former club East Bengal next season. Owing to his performances in the ISL season 1, he was handed 2 games with the Indian national team and played a crucial role in helping India win the SAFF Suzuki Cup in 2015. He will be representing Mumbai City FC in ISL season 4.
Mohammed Rafi
He was the only ATK player substituted in the final match, and his replacement turned out to be the lone goal scorer of the game. He played for 74 minutes in the match and then paved way for Mohammed Rafique. He had a great spell with Kerala Blasters next season scoring 9 goals in 25 games and will be representing Chennaiyin FC this season.
