Mumbai football is on tenterhooks yet again, after Mumbai FC has been relegated from the I-League top division. This will be the first time the city will have no representation at national level elite football, since the National Football League came into existence in 1996, and later when the name was changed to I-League in 2007.
Mumbai FC happened to be the city’s sole representative at elite level national football for seven years, but it has been relegated for the first time, after a disappointing season. The club had come into existence in 2007, and played in the second division, before being promoted to the top division in 2009. It has now been demoted back to the same second division now.
Last year, the team sacked coach Khalid Jamil, who had been with the club since the inception, to make way for new coach Santosh Kashyap. Starting this season with two wins, the team failed to win any other game during the whole campaign of 18 matches.
Kashyap was sacked midway for Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon, who was assistant to Nicolas Anelka in ISL franchise Mumbai City FC. Burzon couldn’t do much, though. The team took long to sign foreign players, and released two of them early to make the relegation battle harder for themselves.
“This team could be in the top of the league, with a good set of foreigners,” said Bruzon after the 0-4 season ending loss to East Bengal at Cooperage. As a result of the loss, the team finished at the bottom of the table, and couldn’t even qualify for Federation Cup.
Mumbai District Football Association chairman Aaditya Thackeray expressed disappointment at the relegation, but said the focus must remain on grassroots. “It’s disappointing, but I’m sure they’ll be back next season. We’re happy that Mumbai-based coach and players Khalid Jamil, Jayesh Rane and Ashutosh Mehta played their role in Aizawl FC’s remarkable title triumph. Hope Rane and Ashutosh go on to play for India. We want to produce quality players and want to focus on the grassroots,” he said recently.
