Manager: Santosh Kashyap - Royal Wahingdoh
This one was a tight call between Santosh Kashyap and Sanjoy Sen. Sen led Bagan to their first I-League title and had the highest wins in the division as well. But we had to give it to Santosh Kashyap because of the style of football they played.
Without any real recognizable names on his roster, Kashyap led the Wahingdoh team to new heights as they almost looked the title contenders till the last few games of the season. His style of attacking football was a refreshing change in the league, but he needs to fix the defensive issues to launch a title bid next season.
In their first season back, Wahingdoh guided by Kashyap beat both the Kolkata teams at home and put Bagan in the driver's seat of the title race when they held Bengaluru to a 3-3 draw at the Kanteerava Stadium in the second last match of the season.
Substitutes:
Lalthuammawia Ralte (Bengaluru FC), Justin Stephen (Mumbai FC), Rino Anto (Bengaluru FC), Godwin Franco (Royal Wahingdoh), Katsumi Yusa (Mohun Bagan), Robin Singh (Bengaluru FC) and Cornell Glen (Shillong Lajong)