Kolkata: This year has been one of the worst years of the decade for every other human being in this world. The Covid-19 pandemic hit everything so hard that life came into pause for every other individual. Football and all other outfield sports were affected due to this Coronavirus pandemic and has been a year of a bad experience for every other sports lover.
But some big things did happen in Indian football in the last 365 days of this cursed year. Some big changes took place. Commercialisation came into the act. India hosted their biggest football tournament in a single state by keeping the players away from this deadly virus and an Indian woman playing for a European top division side for the first time in the history of Indian football.
ATK- Mohun Bagan merger
The major development in Indian football came at the start of the year when three-time ISL champions ATK merged with Mohun Bagan AC, the oldest club in the country. On June 1, ATK Mohun Bagan officially became a single club and has been featuring in the ISL.
Mohun Bagan’s I-League triumph
Just after the merger, another leaf was added to Mohun Bagan’s hat when they won the I-League under the coaching of Kibu Vicuna. The club were 13 points clear when the COVID-19 came in and was declared as champions in March as per calculation. I-League was discontinued after Bagan’s win against Aizawl FC, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
ATK’s third ISL triumph
After failing to qualify into the play-offs in last two seasons ATK fought back into the league with new set of players and with Antionio Lopez Habas returning to helm again. This was their third ISL trophy in six seasons. Fijian forward, Roy Krishna was the man who became fan favourite with 15 goals and 4 assists and helped his side with his fellow Australian strike partner David Williams to win the ISL trophy for the Kolkata side.
ISL to be played in Goa
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the FSDL took a bold decision in shifting the whole tournament to Goa, for the fact the state is COVID-free. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, GMC Stadium in Bambolim and Tilak Maidan in Vasco were the venues chosen. Players and coaching staffs were kept in a bio-bubble and allowed to go out only for the matches. Since the start of the ISL, no COVID cases have been reported till now.
East Bengal’s entry into the ISL
Expectedly, SC East Bengal made its entry in the ISL – the 11th side in the league. There has been a severe backlash from the supporters to the officials to make the Red and Gold play in the top league and when about their entry came in, it was a sigh of relief for the fans. So far it’s been a very poor start for the centurion club as they are finding it difficult to find their feet in the league.
Bala Devi’s and Rangers story
Manipur’s Ngangom Bala Devi created history by becoming the first Indian woman to score in a professional European football league. Playing for Rangers FC, she scored against Motherwell FC and won the match 9-0. She joined the Scottish club in January 2020 and became the first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas.
Mohammedan Sporting Club qualify for the I-League after seven years
It took seven years for another Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting Club to qualify for the I-League. The Black Panthers remained unbeaten in the Qualifying tournament and made the progress.
Real Kashmir wins the IFA Shield
Real Kashmir clinched their maiden IFA Shield beating George Telegraph 2-1 in the final at the Salt Lake Stadium. The club has been featuring in the I-League for a couple of years and has been a strong mark in Indian football.
Real Madrid win their 34 La Liga title
La Liga has seen the domination of Barcelona and Real Madrid over the years. Much like, the rest of the world, football was also hit by the COVID-19. However, football resumed post-COVID-19 without spectators, and Zinedine Zidane’s men completely turned the tables and bossed the rest of the league games to win 34th title.
Bayern Munich secure historic second treble
Bayern Munich wrapped up a historic second treble to their name winning UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Cup crowns in 2020. They became the first team to lift the Champions League with a 100 per cent record. They also became the first team in Champions League history to win 11 games in a row. Bayern also won a record 25 of their 26 matches in 2020 in all competitions which consisted of one draw. The season ended on a German club-record 21-game winning streak in all competitions.
Barcelona went through a period of turmoils and major transformations
FC Barcelona went through a year of turmoil, as the club went from being the top of the table in La Liga to a complete trophy-less season first time since 2014. The club saw a major change in their team and management during this year. Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January followed by a 2-3 defeat in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final to Atletico Madrid. Quique Setien took over the charges but the club crumbled under him as they failed to hold on to their top spot in the league and were hammered by Bayern Munich 8-2 in the UCL quarterfinals.
Following this defeat, the club and the management all went a major transformation as Setien was sacked from his post and former club legend Ronald Koeman took over. Koeman showed his desire to build a new squad with young players which saw the star names like Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Nelson Semedo and Ivan Rakitic all joining new teams before the beginning of the new season.
Lionel Messi decided to leave his ‘club of life’
Following the period of turmoil, the whole of the football world was taken by shock when Lionel Messi announced he wants to leave Barcelona. The club captain sent a burofax announcing his wish to leave the club as a free agent, which was subsequently blocked by the president. However, he decided to stay to avoid any legal dispute. Although Messi decided to stay, but Bartomeu along with his board of directors resigned from their posts in October after they faced a successful vote of no confidence.
