Mumbai, Dec 19: After nearly 10 weeks of exciting action featuring 60 scintillating encounters, a mouth-watering clash between Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) and Kerala Blasters promises to provide the perfectly high-voltage finale to the inaugural edition of the ISL football tournament here Saturday. It will also see mind games between two former India openers who batted together a lot of time for the country – Kerala Blasters co-owner Sachin Tendulkar and ATK co-owner Sourav Ganguly.
“Yes, it is a bit strange that we will be opponents of sorts,” stated Ganguly after his arrival here Friday. “But thankfully, it is not the cricket field,” he added with a smile. Ganguly also stated that he will sit with Tendulkar and watch the game.
Despite being the finalists, both Blasters and ATK have had contrasting league rounds and semifinal matches. The Blasters struggled in the initial few games and from being the bottom placed, they bounced back and started peaking at the end of the tournament.
On the other hand, ATK endured a drop in form after some initial blitz. They were the league leaders in first few weeks but lost the plot and managed to scrape through to the semifinal to enter the final. There have been lot of rumours regarding infighting within the team and players have also been critical of the way coach Antonio Habas has been running the side.
The Antonio Habas coached-team has secured just one win in their last 12 matches and the Spaniard would hope his side gets back to form when it matters the most.
They will be without the services of their talismanic striker Fikru Tefera against Kerala. Habas stated that Fikru is injured, but insiders informed that the Ethiopian has been disciplined and has been sent back to Kolkata. Even during the semifinal against FC Goa, the striker who has so far scored five goals, was not allowed to stay in the team hotel.
The return of striker Cavin Lobo and Spanish midfielder Jofre Mateu Gonzalez have certainly boosted the struggling side and skipper Luis Garcia would be the key with his skills in the midfield along with Borja Fernandez. The defence will be manned by Arnab Mondal, who one can safely say, has emerged as the best defender of the tournament.
Blasters will have the psychological advantage as they have never lost to ATK – winning one game and drawing the other. Scottish-born Canadian international forward Ian Hume has been consistent with his performances and will be at the helm of the attack with Mehtab Hossain and Stephen Pearson helping him out in the centre. The other players to watch out for will be CS Sabeeth and Penn Orji.
PTI