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The 2017-18 Indian Super League season started on 17th November with a blockbuster opening day fixture between ATK and Kerala Blasters and unlike what is being said about the game being a repeat of last season's final, it will be anything but.
We have already seen Kerala Blasters ring in the changes this season and ATK are also set to follow suit as the new season kicks off with their eyes set on a hat-trick of titles. On that note, let's take a look at why ATK will be a different unit this season but their focus will still be on the trophy come the end of the season.
Here are five reasons why we will see a different ATK next season.
#1 Change in philosophy
While the last three ISL seasons saw ATK play as Atletico de Kolkata, inheriting the name and colours of parent club and Spanish giants Atletico de Madrid, this time out, there will hardly be any trace of the Spanish philosophy that was so prevalent at the club in the past ISL campaigns.
Spanish coaches led the team and both Antonio Habas and Jose Molina landed the ISL title in their first seasons at the club, with the help of big Spanish influences on the pitch like Luis Garcia, Josemi, Jofre, Borja, Javi Lara and Tiri. This season, however, ATK have gone with a distinctly British flavour when it comes to recruitment of personnel, as exemplified by Teddy Sheringham and Ashley Westwood at the helm of the first team and Robbie Keane, the Irish legend, being roped in as a marquee acquisition.
The winds of change at ATK are pretty obvious; whether it leads to a title remains to be seen.
#2 A plethora of top Indian signings
Stephen Constantine, the Indian national team head coach, forces a lot of head scratching when he names the national team squads before international games, and although the likes of Jayesh Rane, Ashutosh Mehta, Keegan Pereira, Prabir Das, Debjit Majumder, Rupert Nongrum and Darren Caldeira are not in the latest India squad, they are exciting talents who will put on the red and whites of ATK this season, making for a fine collection of Indian players to watch out for in ISL-4.
With the likes of Robin Singh and Eugeneson Lyngdoh among the players who regularly make the India squad, ATK will be no short of top-class domestic players and that is something that couldn't be said of the past seasons considering most key positions on the pitch were occupied by foreigners.
#3 A return to the Salt Lake Stadium
The refurbished Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata will once again play host to ATK's matches this season after a one-year hiatus due to renovations for the FIFA U17 World Cup. With the shadow of the U17 World Cup no longer there, ATK fans will throng the 66,000-capacity stadium this season instead of the markedly smaller Rabindra Sarobar Stadium which was their home during the 2016 season.
ATK have fond memories of the Salt Lake Stadium, having won the 2014 title having played the entire season there and a return to the famous ground will definitely add an edge to the club this season.
#4 Robbie Keane
While many would argue that Kerala Blasters' Dimitar Berbatov is the biggest marquee this season, Robbie Keane also has a strong case for himself having scored everywhere he has been in a career laden with goals. Berbatov has himself conceded that he will be playing as a midfielder this season instead of up top, hence Keane will be the one who would be banging in the goals in ISL-4.
The 37-year-old might be an old warhorse, but his busy style of play suggests he will be an instant fit at ATK. Whether he will be able to replicate his golden goalscoring days of yore remains to be seen, but ATK have made a big statement of intent with Keane's signing.
#5 A fresh start
A lot has been written about ATK's new signings and their change in approach heading into ISL-4, but the end of their three-year tryst with Atletico Madrid has given the club a chance for a fresh start. Whether that transpires in another title win remains to be seen, but ATK will have an inherent unpredictability next season with not a lot of their play expected to be along similar lines to last season's wing-heavy approach.
Westwood has done wonders in Indian football during his time at Bengaluru FC and although he will not directly be in charge, he will be the man coach Sheringham will fall back on at every step of indecision. A fresh start was what ATK needed after last season's title win, and they exactly have that in the form of their players and technical staff.
