ATK aims to regain their lost pride. Source : Xtra Time[/caption]Internet Desk : Atletico de Kolkata have been relatively low-key this season. No over-the- top signings, no flashy results in pre-season friendlies and certainly no tom-tomming their chances in this edition of the Indian Super League. The fact that they now have a new coach and will play their home at a new venue could have led those beyond Kolkata to believe the perennial favorites would have lowered expectations but nobody in the Mecca of Indian football settles for second.
Former Atletico de Kolkata coach Antonio Lopez Habas knows all about the expectations. He marshalled his resources superbly to deliver the title in the inaugural edition but bowed out of the semi-finals last season. That wasn’t good enough and Habas decided he wanted a fresh challenge, opting to join FC Pune City.
Atletico de Kolkata lost little time in finding his successor as they turned towards Jose Francisco Molina, a former defender with Atletico Madrid, their partner club from Spain. Molina was in charge of Villarreal in 2010 without great success but when he set foot on Indian soil, he tasted success instantly, winning a domestic treble with Kitchee SC in Hong Kong.
In India, there is no scope for a treble. The Indian Super League is the only competition that he will aim for, and should he manage to do that, Kolkata would have found its latest football hero.
Atletico de Kolkata surely has the wherewithal to regain the title they lost last season. Look nowhere than right in front to get a sense of just how strong they are in the striking department. Helder Postiga, the former Portugal striker, and Iain Hume, ISL’s Golden Ball winner in the first year, can form the league’s deadliest strike pair with their proven goal- scoring records. Postiga did not last too long last year but a fit Postiga it needs no reminding can give nightmares to rival defenses. Ditto with Hume, whose industrious approach to the game makes him a winner.
To Molina’s advantage, most of the foreign players at Kolkata are those who have been there and done that. The franchise has retained as many as seven players from last season and players like Helder Postiga, Iain Hume, Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo (Tiri), Sameehg Doutie, Ofentse Nato, Borja Fernandes and Javi Lara will need no time to adjust to the rigors of the league.
There is no way Kolkata can afford to be ordinary in any league. That’s not even an option and they will certainly not be like any other team, especially after signing domestic players with proven talent. Nowhere is it more visible than in midfield where Bikramjit Singh, Lalrindika Ralte and Bikash Jairu leave the coach with a good problem of plenty. Then there are players like Debjit Majumder, Keegan Pereira, Kingshuk Debnath and Pritam Kotal who can be both stylish and solid.
Ask any fan from Kolkata and they will tell you that the odds are that the title will return to the Mecca of Indian football. Never mind the change in coach, never mind the new venue that can accommodate far less spectators, there is growing optimism even before the first match has been played. This season, Kolkata will be resuming their designs on the title.
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