Aizawl FC scripted Indian football history yesterday when they became I-League champions. The club from Mizoram became the first North East Indian club to win the biggest prize in Indian football in the process.
The story of Aizawl from relegation to title win in a year has been well documented, but their impact on the entire Indian footballing landscape is immeasurable. That said, to add more perspective to Aizawl’s famous win, let’s take a look at some of the remarkable stats of the champions that contributed to their success.
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#1 Mohun Bagan’s Sony Norde cost more than the entire Aizawl squad
Aizawl have one of the smallest budgets in the I-League, and some context can be added by pitting them against the big hitters. Such is the gulf between Aizawl and the big clubs' finances that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal had 20 times more money to spend at the start of the 2017 I-League season. Bagan’s Sony Norde, their Haitian star, sets his club back by Rs. 2.2 crores every season, while Aizawl’s entire budget was Rs. 1.25 crores.
#2 Aizawl didn’t lose a single home match
En route to the title, Aizawl made their home ground, the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Mizoram, a fortress. The Redshirts won eight of their nine home games, drawing one with last season’s champions Bengaluru FC. In six of those matches, Aizawl kept their opponents from scoring. Their 1–0 home wins over Mohun Bagan and East Bengal proved vital in their run to the title.
#3 Aizawl are the joint lowest scoring Indian champions
By scoring only 24 goals, Aizawl joined Bengaluru as the lowest scoring I-League champions. Bengaluru’s miserly campaign in front of goal came last season. Aizawl following in the Blues’ footsteps shows a trend is growing in Indian football that a balanced outlook is likelier to yield success than an overly attacking approach. East Bengal, Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan all scored more goals than Aizawl, but it is the Reds who had the last laugh.
#4 Spread of goals
Despite their first-place finish, Aizawl FC will go down as the first title winners to not have a player in the top five goalscorers of the season. The champions’ top scorer was Bayi Kamo Stephane, who scored six goals, while the other high scorers were Brandon Vanlalremdika and Laldanmawia Ralte with three goals each. It shows how Aizawl weren’t dependent on one single player for goals as the power of the collective was emphasised. Nine different players scored for them this season, proving once again that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.
#5 Khalid Jamil’s Midas touch
Aizawl head coach Khalid Jamil was shown the door by Mumbai FC for finishing fifth last season. However, in a fascinating turn of events, he led Aizawl to title glory in his first season at the club, while Mumbai swallowed a bitter pill as they were relegated after ending their long association with Jamil. Jamil’s Mumbai scored 20 goals and conceded 19 in 2015-16, while a Jamil-less Mumbai this season scored only nine goals while conceding 28. Mumbai’s loss proved to be Aizawl’s gain as the underrated Jamil showed his winning pedigree in the I-League.
