I League 2013-14 started and ended on most topsy-turvy note. The champions remained in the danger zone of relegation throughout the season. Team from the South who were believed to be fighting for survival emerged as champion in their debut season. 3 players shared ‘Golden Boot’ of I League (14 goals each). It was nice to see an Indian in the list (Sunil Chhetri). Another Indian to touch the double digit (10) tally was Balwant Singh of Churchill. East Bengal finished as runner up for the third time in 4 seasons.
Frustation of Mohun Bagan continued in this season too. They finished 8th in the table. Chidi missed crucial penalties in early stages of the I League. Their strickers couldn’t really find the form and team scored least no. of goals (23). Only 6 wins out of 24 matches tells the sad story.
Goan clubs performed well in toughest I League of recent years. Pavlovich and Mustafa couldn’t lift Pune fc and they finished on their lowest position in the table.
As always, foreigners dominated the stricking line up of the clubs. Trinitad and Tobago stricker Glenn was the foreign recruit of the season. Darren Duffy of Salgaoncar, Joshimar for Mohd Sporting, Ranti Martins in Rangdajied colours and Sean Rooney were strickers who scored consistently for their clubs. Sueoka, Arata Izumi and Hasegawa (all Japanese) were the star performers of Kolkata clubs (KEB, MMB and MS respectively).
On paper, East Bengal was the brightest side. Sadly, their campaign in I League was affected by their run in Asian Championship. They won tough matches but lost points against weaker oppositions.
Kolkata (Mohun Bagan v East Bengal) and Shillong (Shillong Lajong v Rangdajied United) derbies drew maximum crowd of the I League. Home matches of Mumbai fc witnessed lowest attendance.
Mohd has every reason to feel cheated about the way they were relegated. They must be cursing themselves for sale of Tolgay Ozbey to Dempo. He scored 1 goal for the Kolkata club in 11 games. In Goa, he scored 4 goals in 1 game against Churchill.
Hasegawa uplifted Mohd in second half of the season after his arrival but couldn’t stop the relegation of the Black Panthers. Ranti Martins was the best purchase of the season. Clifford Miranda showed mature head and calmed down players on many occasions.
I League showed glimpses of European standard on a few occasions. 2nd half game between Pune FC and East Bengal at Kolkata can be studied in this regard. There were few free kick goals in the completion. Goal by ‘Beckham of Shillong’ Boithang Haokip of Lajong against Salgaocar was superb. The Indian is only 22 years of age and should be included in national team for duties. Flying volley from 35 meters by Shehnaz Singh (Mumbai fc) in 75th minute against Churchill was a delight for the soccer lovers. Raju Gaikwad continued to leash long throws, which were like mini free kicks.
Next season Shillong will be the most jubilant city. They will be represented by 3 clubs in next edition. It’s an achievement for a city which has a population of only 1.4 lakh. This season threw surprises and thrills like never before. It’s a healthy sign for Indian soccer. I league will have to face competition from Relience sponsored League this year. Hope for good weather of Indian soccer ahead.