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Atlético de Kolkata

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Atlético de Kolkata
অ্যাটলেটিকো ডি কলকাতা
Atletico Kolkata FC.png
Full name Atlético de Kolkata
Nickname(s) The Bengal Tigers
Short name ATK
Founded 7 May 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-07)[1]
Ground Salt Lake Stadium,
Kolkata, West Bengal
Ground Capacity 68,000[2]
Owners Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd.
Head Coach José Francisco Molina
League Indian Super League
2015 Semi-Finals
Website Club home page
Current season

Atlético de Kolkata (commonly abbreviated as ATK), is an Indian Super League football franchise based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It was established on 7 May 2014 as the first ever Indian Super League team. The team is owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. which consists of Former Indian cricketer and former Indian cricket captain and current President of the Cricket Association of Bengal Sourav Ganguly, Spanish La Liga club Atlético Madrid, alongside businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh. The team's name and colours are derived from their Spanish partner.

Managed by Spaniard José Francisco Molina, the team plays their home matches at the 68,000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium. The marquee player for the 2015 season was Portugal international forward Hélder Postiga, while Spanish midfielder Borja Fernández served as the captain of the team.

Under coach Antonio López Habas, Atlético were the hosts and winners of the first match in the Indian Super League. They eventually won the inaugural season, defeating Kerala Blasters 1–0 in the final.

History

Foundation

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We don’t want to compete. We just want to play. We want to bring football to Kolkata. Kolkata is the place for football besides Kerala and Goa. We want cricket to be as popular as it is but at the same time we want to develop football as well. I don’t think two popular things can’t go together. The standard of football has to be good and I am sure popularity will follow.

 — Co-owner Sourav Ganguly at the launch of the team, May 2014[3]

In March 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.[4] On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Sourav Ganguly, Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh, and Spanish La Liga side Atletico Madrid had won the bid for the Kolkata franchise.[5] It turned out to be the most expensive franchise, being purchased for 18 crore (around US$3 million).[5] On 7 May 2014, the team was officially launched as Atlético de Kolkata.[1]

On 7 July, the team's jersey and logo were unveiled by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Nabanna building, temporary headquarters of the state's secretariat.[6] The logo features a hybrid Bengal tiger–phoenix, with the latter element being symbolic of perpetuity, due to the footballing heritage in Kolkata.[7] Five stars above the crest symbolise the five owners of the club.[7] The shield is striped with tigers' stripes.[7]

Inaugural season

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Further information: 2014 Atlético de Kolkata season
Luis García was signed as the club's marquee player for the inaugural season in 2014

The club signed their first ever player on 4 July 2014 with the acquisition of former Real Madrid midfielder Borja Fernández.[8] The team then went on to sign two more Spaniards: their first head coach, Antonio López Habas, and marquee player, former UEFA Champions League winner Luis García, on 8 July 2014.[9]

The first Indian signing by the club took place in round one of the 2014 ISL Inaugural Domestic Draft in which Atlético de Kolkata selected Cavin Lobo, midfielder for the city's I-League team East Bengal FC, with their pick. They were the biggest spenders in the draft with an expenditure of 3.91 crore, their biggest signing being Sanju Pradhan for 70 lakh.[10] In the International Draft, four of Atlético de Kolkata's allotted seven picks were Spaniards, including defender Josemi, a UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005.[11] On 6 September, the team bolstered their midfield with the acquisition of Mamunul Islam, captain of the Bangladesh national team, who stated that the move would help relations between East Bengal (Bangladesh) and West Bengal.[12]

The club played their first ever match in their history on 12 October 2014 at home against Mumbai City FC in the opening Indian Super League match.[13] Fikru Teferra scored the first goal in team and league history in the 27th minute as Atlético de Kolkata went on to win 3–0.[13]

By finishing third in the league, the club qualified for the end-of-season play-offs, where they advanced via a penalty shootout past FC Goa in the semi-finals after a goalless draw.[14] At the final against the Kerala Blasters at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Atlético won 1–0 with an added-time goal by Mohammed Rafique.[15] At the end of season awards, García was named the Most Exciting Player.[16]

2015 season

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Further information: 2015 Atlético de Kolkata season
Hélder Postiga was the club's marquee player in the 2015 season

On 5 June 2015, the team acquired Canadian international forward Iain Hume, whose five goals had helped Kerala to the final of the previous season.[17] In the second season's domestic draft, Atlético de Kolkata had the first pick, choosing Pune F.C. goalkeeper Amrinder Singh for a fee of 4.5 lakhs; their most expensive purchase was that of defender Augustin Fernandes for 26 lakhs.[18] On 29 July, with García released due to his injury record, the team brought in Portugal international forward Hélder Postiga as their new marquee player; aged 32, he became the youngest such player in the league.[19] García's role as captain was taken on by his compatriot Borja.[20]

Postiga scored twice in Atlético's first game of the season, a 3–2 win at Chennaiyin FC, but was substituted later in the match due to injury, and missed the rest of the campaign.[21] Pelé, regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, watched the 2–1 win over Kerala at the Salt Lake Stadium on 13 October, Atlético's first home game of the season.[22] Hume scored two hat-tricks in November, in 4–1 wins against Mumbai City,[23] and FC Pune City.[24] The latter result made the team the first to qualify for the play-offs,[25] where they lost 4–2 on aggregate to Chennaiyin.[26]

2016 season

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Further information: 2016 Atlético de Kolkata season

In March 2016, it was reported that López Habas would leave the club due to concerns over his ₹2.35 crore ($350,000) annual salary.[27] On 25 April, he left for Pune.[28] On 3 May, he was replaced by another Spaniard, former Villarreal manager José Francisco Molina.[29]

Stadium

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Main article: Salt Lake Stadium
A grandstand at a sports stadium.
The Salt Lake Stadium, the club's home ground

The 68,000-capacity (after renovation in 2014 prior to start of ISL[2]) Salt Lake Stadium is the home ground of Atlético de Kolkata. The multi-purpose stadium, located in the Bidhannagar, in the outskirts of Kolkata, is the second-largest stadium in the country.[30] The record attendance at the stadium, and record attendance in Indian football history, was 131,000 which was set in 1997 during a match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata derby.[31]

On 21 June 2014, it was announced that the Salt Lake Stadium would undergo a renovation in preparation for the 2014 season.[32] According to co-owner Sourav Ganguly, the stadium is set to feature four more entry/exit gates, corporate boxes, and will have renovations done to the VIP enclosures and the dressing rooms.[32] Atlético Madrid meanwhile said they would help install 25,000 bucket seats to the stadium.[32]

Support

Atlético de Kolkata, and the ISL in general, were initially announced with a mixed reception among football fans in Kolkata. Some locals feared that it could overshadow the development of players at the city's two long-established I-League clubs, while others saw the new franchise as a way to unite both sets of I-League supporters, who would be drawn together further by the involvement of Ganguly, who is idolised across the city.[33]

Ahead of the second season, the franchise accredited the ATK Fans Fraternity (ATKFF), whose ₹800 membership includes a home season ticket and an official jersey. The fraternity offered 4,000 memberships in an exclusive part of the stadium. Firstpost journalist Pulasta Dhar described it as a "brilliant" deal which could be replicated in order to help all ISL clubs fill their stadia.[34]

Atlético Madrid have also engaged with the ATK support: in September 2015, their striker Fernando Torres sent a video message to the fans in India.[35]

Ownership

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Main article: Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd.

The Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. is a consortium established to oversee the administration and operations of Atlético Kolkata of the Indian Super League. The consortium is made up of former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, and Utsav Parekh, as well as Atlético Madrid of La Liga in Spain.[3]

The club's initial sponsors were Indian telecommunications corporation Aircel, while its partners were Kolkata-based underwear brand Lux Cozi and insurance firm Apollo Munich.[36] In October 2015, Kolkata-based Birla Tyres agreed a deal to be the principal sponsors for the club's second and third seasons.[37]

Players and staff

Current squad

The following squad was registered at the club at the conclusion of the 2015 season.

As of May 2016.[38]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
3 India MF Bikash Jairu
12 India DF Arnab Mandal
No. Position Player
16 India MF Jewel Raja
22 South Africa MF Sameehg Doutie

Iian hume Helder postiga


Current technical staff

As of May 2016.[38]
Position
Head coach Spain José Francisco Molina
Assistant Coach India Bastob Roy
Goalkeeper Coach South Africa Deshi Bhaktawer
Sporting Director Spain Alberto Marrero

Team records

Overall records

As of 16 December 2015

League

Season ISL League Stage ISL Result Top Goalscorer
P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2014 14 4 7 3 16 13 19 3rd Champions Ethiopia Fikru Teferra 5
2015 14 7 2 5 26 17 23 2nd Semi-Finals Canada Iain Hume 11

Head coach record

As of 3 May 2016
Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win%
Antonio Lopez Habas  Spain August 2014 December 2015 33 13 11 9 45 34 39.39
José Francisco Molina  Spain May 2016 Present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
2014 Umbro Aircel
2015 SRMB Steel Birla Tyres
2016 TBA

Honours

Champions: 2014[15]

See also

References

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  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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