5 Reasons Why Minerva Punjab’s Title Triumph Makes Complete Sense
This is the second season in row that I-League has had a new champion.
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It has happened again. After Aizawl FC last season, I-League has new winners this season too. Minerva Punjab FC, in their second season in the I-League, have been crowned champions.
Minerva Punjab were title contenders from the early stages in the tournament, making good strides from their very first match against Mohun Bagan.
Before this, JCT FC in 1996-97 were the only club from the northern part of the country to win a national league in the pre I-League era.
It is always great to see ‘underdogs’ succeed and that is exactly what Minerva has done. Their triumph is poetic on many levels.
Let’s take a look at what made Minerva’s this year’s I-League campaign so special.
From Minnows to Champions
With Bengaluru FC moving to the Indian Super League, it was but obvious that one of the Kolkata giants – Mohun Bagan and East Bengal – would pick up lift the I-League trophy this season. But Minerva Punjab FC had other plans. At the start of the season nobody even gave them a chance, but all football pundits were proved wrong. Minerva Punjab led the points table for the greater part of the season. They would have laid claim to the trophy a lot earlier but a slip up against neighbour Aizawl FC and Chennai City FC delayed their triumph.
Played With Heart and Might Against the Big Two
From the very start of the tournament, Minerva never played like minnows. In their first match of the competition against Mohun Bagan, they showed that they mean business. After drawing against Bagan, it was only an upward surge for the Punjab outfit. In fact, in the next match against the same opponent, which was an away game, Minerva showed their true mettle and notched up a win. Against East Bengal they might have lost one of the encounters but again managed to draw 2-2 while playing them at home.
Consistency Was Key
Minerva’s title win wasn’t a fluke or flash in the pan. Theirs was one of the consistent sides right from the start of the tournament. Their eleven wins in the competition is testament to that. And with six wins at home and five wins away, Minerva showed how home advantage wasn’t the only thing they were banking upon.
Impetus For Football in Punjab
After JCT FC were disbanded post the 2010-11 season of I-League, the state of Punjab had no representation in the top tier of Indian football, though there was a steady influx of players from the state in the national side as well as other clubs. When Minerva Punjab got promoted to I-League first division in 2016-17, they finished an unflattering ninth. So their dream run season is surely going to give that much-needed boost to football in Punjab. Even Former national coach, Sukhwinder Singh, believes Minerva Punjab is finally filling up the void left by JCT and will motivate the boys in the state to do well as they now have a platform to prove themselves.
Romance In Football
After Aizawl FC last season and Minerva now, it looks like football in the country is developing a thing for the underdogs. It has always been great to see the minnows conquer, be it Leicester City in England or Aizawl FC here. Minerva’s win is just an extension of that romance. Hope to see more such love stories in future.
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