Antonio Habas, ATK seek resurgence sans Atletico Madrid
Antonio Habas will have to do without the heft provided by Atletico Madrid who got him to Kolkata when the ISL began in 2014.
Like he did four years ago, Antonio Lopez Habas looked every bit the grandfather who rarely missed his daily workout. Like in 2014 and 2015, Habas spoke of the need to be “aggressive in a good way” on the pitch and that finding the “balance” between “protagonists” in attack and defence is the “magic” that wins football games. So when he was officially unveiled on Thursday as ATK coach, it looked like Spaniard had never left.
Everything else, right down to the team’s identity, though has changed. No one --- from assistant-coach Sanjoy Sen to Roy Krishna, tipped to be ATK’s go-to man for goals in the sixth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) that starts on October 20 --- seated at the head table was around when Habas left after the 2015 season.
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Habas will have to do without the heft provided by Atletico Madrid who got him to Kolkata when the ISL began in 2014. From players to support staff, Atletico Madrid’s backing was an important reason why ATK won twice in the first three seasons. In the next two, as teams increased by two to 10, ATK, having severed links with Atletico Madrid, finished ninth and sixth.
So, even as Habas said he is excited to be back, he added that, “we have a lot of hard work to do.”
The only other time Habas came to ISL without support from Atletico Madrid, he finished seventh in the eight-team league. That was in 2016 with FC Pune City, a team that is history now. Habas has been unemployed since.
Unlike in the past two seasons, Habas said his inputs were sought when ATK recruited foreigners. Though teams are allowed seven foreigners in the squad, ATK are keeping eight, said Habas refusing to disclose who they are not registering “so that the opponents don’t know.”
Paying an extra foreigner is not the only proof of how ATK are keen to re-establish themselves. They have retained 10 players, including imports John Johnson and Edu Garcia and India internationals Balwant Singh, Pritam Kotal and Pronay Halder. ATK have also signed striker Jobby Justin, defensive medio Sehnaj Singh, central defenders Anas Edathodika and Salam Ranjan Singh, central midfielder Michael Soosairaj who had a good season with Jamshedpur FC last term, and goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. “We have very good Indian players,” said Habas.
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“The players have adapted to the conditions and to the city and are improving every day. The most important thing is that we have no injuries at this point. The next 15 or so days are very important.”
Fiji captain Krishna, last season’s A-League’s golden boot winner with 18 strikes said apart from the chance of reconnecting with his roots, he is looking forward to continuing his partnership with Australian David Williams. “He knows my game and I, his,” said Krishna, 32. They played as strikers for Wellington Phoenix in 2018-19; Williams, 31, scoring 11 goals in 25 games.
