Two I-League Great Escapes that Mohun Bagan can emulate to avoid relegation

It’s still not clear how many teams will get relegated from this season’s I-League or whether there will be any relegation at all, as institutional teams like Air India and ONGC might be excluded from next season’s competition irrespective of their league position in this campaign because of their failure to meet the AFC club licensing criterion.

However, if two teams do get relegated, then three-time Indian champions Mohun Bagan are in serious danger. Following their ban and re-entry, Mohun Bagan have played three matches and managed only two points. They are currently rock-bottom with two points in13 games and are 12 points off safety.

Coach Karim Bencherifa has targeted 28-30 points to survive and with only 13 games remaining, which would also mean a fixture congestion, the green-and-maroon brigade are really up against it.

However, they have enough big names and experience to get them out of trouble and can also take encouragement from the fact that big clubs in the past have managed to survive difficult situations. Sportskeeda relives two such ‘great escapes’.

East Bengal (2007-08)

The 2007-08 season started well for East Bengal as they lifted their first Federation Cup since 1996 under the coaching of Mohun Bagan legend Subroto Bhattacharya. But the inaugural I-League campaign, which had ten teams, started poorly for the three-time National Football League (NFL) champions as they registered only eight points from 11 matches and were second from bottom. Subroto resigned and East Bengal replaced him with one of their club legends Manoranjan Bhattacharya, under whose guidance the red-and-gold brigade won their first NFL title in 2000-01.

Manoranjan’s first game in charge ended with defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Mohun Bagan, who did the double that season. With only six games remaining, the threat of relegation became increasingly serious but crucially five of those matches were at home. First of those game was against league leaders Dempo and East Bengal managed to record a scrappy 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Alvito D’Cunha.

That result proved to be the catalyst as East Bengal recorded eight points in their last five matches including a 3-1 away win over relegation rivals Viva Kerala. Although home advantage played a big role in East Bengal’s revival, the performances of Alvito and Syed Rahim Nabi were instrumental while coach Manoranjan got the best out of an average squad in a pressure situation. East Bengal eventually finished sixth and seven points clear of the drop zone.

Salgaocar (2009-10)

After relegation in 2007-08, Salgaocar returned to the I-League in 2009-10 by winning the second division in 2008-09 under Stanley Rosario. However Rosario was replaced by American Tim Hankinson for the I-League. Salgaocar spent smartly and were targeting a mid-table finish at least but the Goan club failed to meet the expectations under Hankinson and became serious relegation candidates as they were second from bottom with just 10 points from 12 games.

Hankinson was sacked as Karim Bencherifa, who parted ways with Mohun Bagan, was roped in. The Moroccan coach did wonders with a young squad at Churchill Brothers previously and had even won three trophies with Mohun Bagan. Bencherifa’s arrival and goals from Nigerian striker Ekene Ikenwa helped the Goan outfit to a four-match unbeaten run, recording eight points including a win over league leaders and eventual champions Dempo.

Defeats against fellow relegation candidates United Sports Club (Now Prayag United) and Sporting Clube de Goa seemed to be a setback but wins in each of their last three games including a last-gasp victory over title contenders Mahindra United saw Salgaocar comfortably avoid the drop as they finished in sixth place and six clear of the bottom two. Bencherifa would use the ‘great escape’ as a platform for success as Salgaocar lifted the I-League and Federation Cup in the next 18 months. Mohun Bagan fans would be hoping for something similar.