ATK vs Kerala: Two creative attacking forces ready for battle, with 'God' in the stands
BOTH SIDES ARE UNBEATEN. Both teams are coming off a win followed by a draw. Both teams have an even-stevens record from the three times they faced off with each other last year; winning one match apiece, and a draw.
Both sides struggled to make it to the top four of the ISL last year. Both went into the semi-finals as underdogs. Both went through two rounds of gruelling contest to somehow make it to the final by whiskers.
Both teams participated in a maiden ISL final where a 0-0 stalemate prevailed until the very end when a sneaky header by Mohammed Rafique found its mark and decided who would become the first ever ISL champion.
Now, facing each other once again, Atletico de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters, the franchises representing two major focal points in Indian football, will take their rivalry narrative forward in an occasion made even more special by the presence of someone special.
That's the setup for the occasion as ISL returns to the place where it began its journey: Kolkata. And to make the two finalists' meeting more special, the city will be graced by the presence of football legend Pele, 38 years after he took part in that famous friendly match between his club Cosmos and Mohun Bagan.
About to play their first home match of the season, Atletico de Kolkata are dealing with a number of absentees. Marquee Helder Postiga is off recovering from injury and won't be back for almost a month. Arnab Monal and Rino Anto are still with the Indian national team. Oftense Nato, too, has left to join the Bostwana national team for World Cup Qualifiers. Extra trouble has come in the form of a two-match ban that Baljit Singh Sahni received after he head-butted Gregory Arnolin in the FC Goa match, allegedly following racial remarks from the French defender.
Stretched thin, ATK coach Habas may be forced to bring Javi Lara down to fill in for Nato in the defence. He will welcome the return of captain Josemi from an injury and add him to the midfield next to Borja Fernandes. Syed Rahim Nabi and Valdo may be given a start in the wings, next to Arata Izumi as number 10, with ex Kerala Blasters man Iain Hume remaining as the lone target man up front. For the right wing, Nadong Bhutia also makes a good choice, but Habas is likely to favour Nabi due to his familiarity with the Salt Lake Staium.
For Kerala Blasters, things have been more stable. They beat NorthEast United 3-1 and held their own in the 0-0 draw against Mumbai City. They too are without the services of their marquee player, the Spanish defender Carlos Marchena. Further absent from their defence is Sandesh Jhingan, now with the Indian national team. But so far they have been able to defend well without them, thanks to the leadership of Peter Taylor's British recruit Peter Ramage.
Up front, though, things didn't go up to the mark in the last game. Chris Dagnall has been a disappointment for two games now, but Taylor has for some reason insisted on starting him ahead of the pacy and younger Sanchez Watt, who has only been introduced in latter stages. Similar thing happened to Mohamad Rafi and Josue Currais who were benched in the second match after performing well in the first match, even scoring a goal apiece. In fact, the combination of Sanchez Watt and Mohammed Rafi was looking like one of the best in ISL. But Taylor, perhaps to experiment or maybe to allow them some rest, chose to field other players against Mumbai City.
But ATK, being the first away match for Kerala, and the potentially toughest game yet for them this year, Taylor would do well to bring out his best guns. That means Rafi-Watt up front from the get go. Josue deserves a run out too, but the presence of the heavyweight Pulga who wasn't that bad against Mumbai City, means he will probably remain on the bench, perhaps coming on for a second half cameo as the sitaution demands.
Key to Kerala Blaster's challenge can be players like C.K. Vineeth and Mehtab Hossain who have played for Kolkata clubs for a long time. But mostly, the battle is expected to see two creative attacking forces straining each others' defensive capacities to the limit. ATK will be especially weary of letting the visitors take a lead because their defence has shown itself quite capable of biting down and denying opponents any opening.
A lot is riding on this game for Atletico de Kolkata. As defending champions they are facing sky-high expectations, both in terms of on-field performance and ticket sales. With the combination of a good match-up as their first home game, bang in the middle of the Puja holiday season, and the presence of Pele in the stands, the team management have everything in place to start their 2015 business with a bang. Only thing left is for the players to deliver.
Probable Starting Line-Ups:
Atletico de Kolkata - Amrinder Singh, Augustin Fernandes, Javi Lara, Tiri, Denzil Franco, Borja Fernandez, Josemi, Valdo, Arata Izumi, Syed Rahim Nabi, Iain Hume
Kerala Blasters FC - Stephen Bywater, C.K. Vineeth, Gurwinder Singh, Bruno Perone, Peter Ramage, Rahul Bheke, Marcus Williams, Pulga, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafi, Sanchez Watt
