The battle for the crown will never be bigger than ever. It was never like this since the inception of the tournament in the history of Indian football. Previously termed National Football League (NFL), the second edition of I-League (Indian League). The tournament started like a fairy tale for many teams, having dream runs, nightmare matches and some did up their tempo to fight for survival. As it always had been, Bengal and Goan teams made the most impact with some other regional teams making their impression in the tournament.
At present,
Churchill Brothers --- 43 points.
Mohun Bagan --- 43 points.
Sporting De Goa --- 40 points.
Dempo SC --- 30 points.
Mahindra United --- 28 points.
Mumbai FC --- 28 points.
East Bengal --- 27 points.
Air India --- 24 points.
Chirag United SC --- 23 points.
JCT --- 22 points.
Mohammedan Sporting --- 22 points.*
Vasco Sporting --- 10 points.*
*Relegation Zone as on 12/4/09
The points are following all the penultimate matches of the league are over.
The Scenario: Mohun Bagan came from behind the table and a time came when they were placed seventh in the table. It was after sixth round, that they scripted a turn a round and after beating Dempo in an away match, Mohun Bagan AC created history in I-League/NFL in carrying on a ten match winning streak which ended when they faced their arch rivals East Bengal in the 16th Round, where they lost 3:0. At that time Mohun Bagan was on top and over took Sporting Clube de Goa two matches ago, defeating them! After that defeat, Churchill tanks to breath taking performances by O. Okolie, the Nigerian who at present is the League's top scorer with a dozen braces. (24 goals).
At the end of the 21 rounds, with a flabbergasting finish by Manju Pradhan for Mohun Bagan, against Dempo, who scored the winner after a 1-1 dead lock since 55th minute. The score came with 37 seconds left for the stipulated injury time!
The fixture of the Final Round:
Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers are head on with 43 points each. (12/4/09) CB faces the Relegation candidate Mohammedan Sporting, another Calcutta outfit, the home town of Mohun Bagan. Mohammedan has a chance to skip relegation provided they defeat CB and JCT manages nothing a draw! If JCT makes a draw and Chirag United loses to Vasco, then Chirag gets relegated! That would result in loss of another Calcutta team. Since Mohammedan has the proffessionalism and the urge to win, they will be facing one of the most prolific goal scoring machine in the league, Okolie. Hence the match will be important. If Mohun Bagan manages to draw with CB going down to MS, then Mohun wins the title and MS saves relegation, provided JCT/Chirag loses! On the other hand the fight for the 4th to 7th position will be on between Dempo, Mahindra, Mumbai SC and East Bengal who are closely placed and Mohun Bagan faces one of them, Mahindra United in an away fixture! Hence, for the first time, since all the matches are important, every match will be played accordingly and simultaenously! April 16th will be a big day for Indian Football Fans and I will be supporting My Mohun Bagan. For the I-League title will complete the garland for 2008-09 where in almost all the major soccer tournaments in variuos levels would be won by MB. The dream started with the Kolkata League, continued with the Federation Cup and now I-League. MB didnt play the IFA Shield this time, or else it would have been ours as well!!!
At present,
Churchill Brothers --- 43 points.
Mohun Bagan --- 43 points.
Sporting De Goa --- 40 points.
Dempo SC --- 30 points.
Mahindra United --- 28 points.
Mumbai FC --- 28 points.
East Bengal --- 27 points.
Air India --- 24 points.
Chirag United SC --- 23 points.
JCT --- 22 points.
Mohammedan Sporting --- 22 points.*
Vasco Sporting --- 10 points.*
*Relegation Zone as on 12/4/09
The points are following all the penultimate matches of the league are over.
The Scenario: Mohun Bagan came from behind the table and a time came when they were placed seventh in the table. It was after sixth round, that they scripted a turn a round and after beating Dempo in an away match, Mohun Bagan AC created history in I-League/NFL in carrying on a ten match winning streak which ended when they faced their arch rivals East Bengal in the 16th Round, where they lost 3:0. At that time Mohun Bagan was on top and over took Sporting Clube de Goa two matches ago, defeating them! After that defeat, Churchill tanks to breath taking performances by O. Okolie, the Nigerian who at present is the League's top scorer with a dozen braces. (24 goals).
At the end of the 21 rounds, with a flabbergasting finish by Manju Pradhan for Mohun Bagan, against Dempo, who scored the winner after a 1-1 dead lock since 55th minute. The score came with 37 seconds left for the stipulated injury time!
The fixture of the Final Round:
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Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers are head on with 43 points each. (12/4/09) CB faces the Relegation candidate Mohammedan Sporting, another Calcutta outfit, the home town of Mohun Bagan. Mohammedan has a chance to skip relegation provided they defeat CB and JCT manages nothing a draw! If JCT makes a draw and Chirag United loses to Vasco, then Chirag gets relegated! That would result in loss of another Calcutta team. Since Mohammedan has the proffessionalism and the urge to win, they will be facing one of the most prolific goal scoring machine in the league, Okolie. Hence the match will be important. If Mohun Bagan manages to draw with CB going down to MS, then Mohun wins the title and MS saves relegation, provided JCT/Chirag loses! On the other hand the fight for the 4th to 7th position will be on between Dempo, Mahindra, Mumbai SC and East Bengal who are closely placed and Mohun Bagan faces one of them, Mahindra United in an away fixture! Hence, for the first time, since all the matches are important, every match will be played accordingly and simultaenously! April 16th will be a big day for Indian Football Fans and I will be supporting My Mohun Bagan. For the I-League title will complete the garland for 2008-09 where in almost all the major soccer tournaments in variuos levels would be won by MB. The dream started with the Kolkata League, continued with the Federation Cup and now I-League. MB didnt play the IFA Shield this time, or else it would have been ours as well!!!
Ah! A true-blue Bong here...the fascination for football.
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