KALYANI: Talk about a tale scripted in heaven. Ahead of next season’s step-up to the Indian Super League, Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan, now majority owned by the promoters of 2019-20 ISL finalists ATK, signed out from the Hero I-League in supreme style.
Mohun Bagan soared to their second Hero I-League crown in five seasons with four games still left to play Tuesday, riding on Spaniard midfielder Joseba Beitia’s ninth assist and former La Liga striker Papa Babacar Diawara’s 10th strike from nine consecutive games.
Meanwhile, in the process, they match Dempo Sporting Club’s record of wrapping up the league with maximum games left to play. Dempo SC achieved the feat when they sealed the Hero I-League in 2009-10 with four matches yet to play.
Bagan, with an unassailable 39-point tally, will next face-off against cross-city rivals Quess East Bengal in the famous ‘Kolkata Derby’ on Sunday, March 15.
With ATK having a better than even chance of winning the ISL, the merged Mohun Bagan-ATK entity already has the makings of becoming the most powerful proposition in Indian club football, come 2021.
