ISL final: Can skipper Sunil Chhetri end Bengaluru FC's title drought?

For anyone who had witnessed their run of form, the thought of reviving their dismal season sounded highly improbable. Then again for the Blues’ faithfuls, it was never an impossible proposition.

“We needed seven wins out of the remaining eight games to qualify for the playoffs. The instruction from the coaching staff was simple - take it one game at a time,” recalls Bengaluru skipper, Sunil Chhetri.

Six days later, the team lined up against NorthEast United FC in Guwahati. This was an opposition that was right at the bottom of the table, having won just one of their 12 games in all of 2022. Yet at the 90-minute mark, the scores were level at 1-1.

“A lot of the senior players couldn’t do what they were supposed to do. It wasn’t like we were lacking something - we were just not clicking,” says Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri (Image: ISL via Facebook)

“I remember we were really low going into that game. We were hurting, our reputation was on the line. It would have been easier to give up on the season, but we didn’t,” Chhetri says.

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, the dreaded hangover made way for a little dream when Alan Costa headed home the winner. There was more relief than ecstasy - one win down, six more to go.

Before they realised it, that tally had added up to 10 in all. And come Saturday, Bengaluru will be stepping out at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa to contest the ISL final against ATK Mohun Bagan FC.

“We kept things simple, despite suffering multiple losses. And we didn’t complicate things going into the next game. Football is a simple game and you have a better chance at getting results if you keep things simple,” says Bengaluru goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Making the final is perhaps as shocking as their dismal run at the start of the ISL season, given the weapons in Grayson’s armoury. For starters, Bengaluru boasted of six players who have turned out for the national side in the past. Then, they had made key signings of previous ISL winners, Prabir Das, Roy Krishna and Javi Hernandez. And they handed their fans a pleasant surprise during the open training session in August by unveiling defender Sandesh Jhingan as their prized possession.

It all seemed to have fallen in place after clinching the Durand Cup at the expense of Mumbai City FC in the final. But the same set of players put on a listless show as the ISL season unfolded.

“A lot of the senior players couldn’t do what they were supposed to do. It wasn’t like we were lacking something - we were just not clicking,” Chhetri says.

The frustration stemming from this dismal performance needed a release. Chhetri recalls it all unfolding during different occasions at training - one moment when Sandhu and Grayson got into an argument, another time when Jhingan lost his head, and a third when the usually composed Krishna was fuming to vent his ire.

Bengaluru FC's new coach, Simon Grayson, landed them the Durand Cup in September 2022. (Image: ISL)

“It wasn’t pleasant. The fact that we were hurting, yet not wanting to give up was not the easiest thing,” Chhetri says.

During these trying moments, it was the younger players who laid down the marker for the rest. The likes of Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Naorem Roshan Singh put in the extra yards at training, ensuring a high tempo for the rest to maintain. Off the pitch, Grayson was gradually cracking the code in his new surroundings, the first time he had ventured out of England as a player or manager.

“Most don’t realise that this was a new country for me and I didn’t have a clue about my players, the opposition, about Indian football and what’s required. It wasn’t until the turn of the year that I started understanding things,” Grayson says.

“There was a lot of belief that carried us - whether it was belief that I was doing the right things, belief that the players could execute my instructions and belief that they would eventually get the results they deserved,” he adds.

That game against NorthEast also had an uncomfortable surprise in store. Chhetri didn’t feature as part of the starting eleven - an anomaly, given the leader he is on any team, both on and off the pitch.

“The hardest decision I’ve made in my entire career was to leave somebody of his quality, experience and professionalism out. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him. But he responded in the right manner and continued to train hard as part of the group. I have tremendous respect for how he reacted to this tough call,” Grayson says.

In his absence, another poacher rose to the occasion and featured among the goals. A fringe player until last season, striker Sivasakthi Narayanan had announced his arrival after top scoring for Bengaluru in the Durand Cup. During most of his time on the first team, he had been a keen observer of senior strikers like Chhetri and Krishna. And amid all the nerves surrounding the NorthEast tie, he opened the scoring as well as his ISL account for Bengaluru. Another youngster, midfielder Kumar, found his touch around the same time. Together, Narayanan and Kumar accounted for seven of Bengaluru’s 11 goals in their first four matches of 2023.

“Sivasakthi is a hardworking boy with humility and a natural instinct for scoring goals. Within the BFC group, we realised we had a talent on our hands,” Grayson says.

Kumar and Wangjam stepped up to provide the impetus for Hernandez to get into scoring positions. On the flanks, Naorem and Das worked tirelessly, whipping in balls during attacks while standing tall while defending. Krishna was back to his enterprising self, scoring and providing assists at will. All along, Chhetri watched from the sidelines, hungry for the next opportunity to make his presence felt on the pitch.

Younger players of the Bengtaluru FC, like Suresh Singh Wangjam (in the centre) put in the extra yards at training, ensuring a high tempo for the rest of the team to maintain. (Image: ISL)

“The others on the bench knew that if this guy could sit, relax, train hard and wait for his chance, they all had to do it. It was difficult initially because you want to play, but then you also realise that you can be called upon at any time. And if you see our bench strength in the last 7-8 games, everyone who came on as a substitute put his best foot forward,” Chhetri says.

The moment Chhetri earned his first start in the new year, he made it count. On February 15, he scored the opener in front of the boisterous home fans at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, blowing them kisses for their unflinching support. And by the end of it, they had ended Mumbai City’s unbeaten run in the league with a 2-1 win.

“Bengaluru’s second run of the season has been incredible. They were confident and played more like a team,” says Juan Ferrando, coach of ATK Mohun Bagan.

The only hiccup to Bengaluru’s incredible resurrection was the second leg of the semi-final against Mumbai City - a tie they lost 1-2 on the night before going through to the final on penalties.

And if they manage to win the game on Saturday, rest assured, the hangover will be a pleasant one this time around.