ATK keeps undefeated record intact

Arindam Basu

There are winds of change along Eastern Metropolitan Bye-pass. The city marches along the giant East West connector twice a year when the traditional rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan lock horns. They carry their respective flags and paint their faces with their respective colours.

But today Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) was playing. And my car stood at an unusually long red, two signals before the gargantuan stadium.  Curious I craned out to see an energetic group of young men cross the road shouting a slogun: “Jitbe Ke…ATK” (Who will win? But ATK of course). As I neared the stadium I was pleasantly surprised to see a giant congregation of red-white stripes heading their way inside the stadium. For the first time the red-golds and green-maroons blend together as the fans rooted for their city. 35,000 and more.

If football is the popular opium of the Bengalees, Atletico de Kolkata looks to be its veritable prop-up. ATK has successfully broken down unseen wall that divided the city into two halves. If off the field they have been both magnanimous and magnetic, on the field they have played like champions.

This Sunday was no different. They went into overdrive from the word go dishing out attacks into the Kerala Blasters territory with consummate ease. The restlessness of Joffre in the midfield, piercing runs of Lobo and Borja upfront and Arnal’s pick-pocketing balls from the rivals along the centre half left the visitors in much discomfort.     

In one such move Arnal snatched the ball in the midfield and fed Joffre Gonzales on the left. Joffre cut in and send a measured minus to which Cavin Lobo sold a dummy. Borja lay the ball in the path of a surging Baljit Sahni whose rasping volley put ATK ahead 21 minutes into the game.

ATK could well have gone up 2-0 in the next ten minutes, when Cavin Lobo befuddled the Kerala defenders again letting a Kingshuk Debnath through head for an overlapping Borja. However, Cedric Hengbart took advantage of a heavy second touch from the Spanish medio and cleared the danger.

It needed something special to beat the ATK defence and 40 minutes into the match Kerala Blasters did that restored parity through Ian Hume after being set up by Milagres Gonzalves via a gorgeous back flick.

Post lemon break ATK could have taken the lead once again, but for the woodwork that prevented a Baljit volley from going in after Joffre set him up with a measured cross.  Ten minutes later Arnal came close to scoring but for a body block from Sandesh. Three minutes into extra time Joffre could have made the difference between the two sides, but sliced the ball wide with an inviting open goal in front.

The last 15 minutes of the match tired legs slowed down the pace. But ATK made sure that they collected one more point to move up to 11 points on the leader board.  Fikru saw the match from the stands, looking as involved as he would have been had he been on the turf. After the match he obliged the autograph hunters before disappearing into the VIP exit. In contrast Manager Antonio Lopez Habas in an all black suit watched the game intently from the confines of the hospitality box. 

Bad Boys tag working well with ATK

Arindam Basu

There is a certain good in being bad. The arrogant rub, the undefeated spirit, the unconquerable will, the adamant motivation to carry on when everything else around is falling apart makes us love them despite knowing their follies.

Be it Diego Maradona, George Best, Eric Cantona or Paul Gasgoine; be it John McEnroe, Dennis Rodman, James Hunt or Sebastien Chabal –they have one thing in common. They are all bad boys from the world of sport apart from being maverick, brilliant and luminous.  

Atletico de Kolkata is fast earning the very adage with 11 yellow cards, two red cards and three suspensions that include their Manager Antonio Lopez Habas and star striker Fikru Tafarre. However, sitting pretty at the top of the Indian Super League table, the team seems to be letting their game talk for them. And for that ATK is fast gaining fans with over three lakh likes on their social media page alone.

“Football is a contact sport. Fouls are bound to happen. But you cannot ignore the intensity with which the team is playing. They never look like giving up before the last whistle,” said Annesh Bilas Thakur, an avid ATK fan.

Yes, it’s the camaraderie, the intensity and the bond within the team that has won over the soccer crazy city. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are a passé, the city now bears the standards with a red-white stripe. While, the management is no way condoning the aggressive mentality on the field, they also don’t want the team to go soft.

“There are no disciplinary issues within the team. But at the same time we are not here to make fiends. We are here to win a trophy,” said a source close to the team adding: “While we respect the ISL rules and guidelines, we want to win also. The Aussies were the bad boys of world cricket in the last decade of the millennium. They sledged, played hard and won hearts. We have an owner who challenged that domination. He is the Prince of Calcutta.”

“When ATK takes the field they look every bit the winged lion on their logo. The pride goes for a hunt and in a battle there is bound to be some hard knocks,” says Simon Stephens, who swears by the red-white stripes.

The steely jawed resolution not to cave in has been beaten into the side during the 45-day stint together. Sometimes, the players are becoming boisterous in their approach, agreed. But that is riding the crest of the adrenalin surge and has more to do with the heat of the moment than pre-meditated malice. 

The players themselves are not advocating fouls. “It was a very hot game (meaning the Goa Fc tie). It's normal; its football, some players fight. But we respect all the teams and all the rules of football. But life goes on even after a bad night. The game goes on. That's most important,” said Jose Miguel Gonzalez Rey, team’s ace defender.

“Would you call Liverpool’s game last season ugly? Or Would you call Bayern Munich bad boys? Hard knocks are a part of the beautiful game. We must not look too much into it. However, at our end we have asked the players to play with more caution because if we lose players because of cards it affects our game plan too,” said another source close to the club.

For now the mantra with ATK is practice hard, play harder. And it seems to be working wonderfully well.