Mohun Bagan Super Giants defend their ISL crown, eye Asian Glory

Indian football may be in disarray for most parts of the year, but there is one club that has kept the hopes alive and kicking for a country with a population of 1.4 billion people. The name is Mohun Bagan, aka 'the Mariners, ' who fought against all odds and adversities to defend their prized ISL crown. 

Jose Molina’s men have achieved what can only be deemed as a miracle in the history of the Indian Super League. Mohun Bagan Super Giants became the first ISL team to defend their title in fairy tale fashion on their home ground. They are now set to represent India in the Asian Champions League 2 in the next season.

Mohun Bagan Super Giants defends their ISL Crown 

Mohun Bagan Super Giants became only the second team after Mumbai City FC to claim the 'double' this season, that is, both League and ISL titles. Salt Lake Stadium witnessed an edge-of-the-seat thriller between two of India's best football clubs in the finals. Mohun Bagan started the fixture on a high in front of a packed 60,000 people in attendance. 

The finals featured some of the best Indian footballers - Sunil Chhetri, Apuia, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke and Vishal Kaith. MBSG started on a high, but soon Bengaluru, with the league's all-time top scorer Sunil Chhetri, started to make inroads, testing Mohun Bagan's defence.

Australian striker Jason Cummings netted the equaliser for Mohun Bagan in the 72nd minute from the penalty spot. The scoreline remained 1-1 at the end of regulation time. In the first half of extra time, another Australian striker, Jamie Maclaren, poached an incredible goal from inside Bengaluru's box to help Mohun Bagan win the fixture 2-1.

Mohun Bagan eyes Asian Glory

Earlier, the club owner Sanjeev Goenka expressed his team's ambition to make a mark in the Continental tournaments after Mohun Bagan retained the shield in March. 

"It's not just winning in India; we need to make a mark at the Asian level as well. I am conscious that it's not going to be easy; no Indian team has ever done so, but there is always a start, and that's our next target," said club owner Sanjeev Goenka.

Mohun Bagan is currently one of the top 5 50 Football clubs in Asia, being ranked 38th. The club now aims to break into the top 20 in the near future.