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ISL

ATK vs ATKMB: A comparison between their first two ISL seasons

Ahead of ATK Mohun Bagan's third year in the Indian Super League, has the merged team been able to outperform its predecessor?

ATK vs ATKMB: A comparison between their first two ISL seasons
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The logos of Atletico de Kolkata and ATK Mohun Bagan.

By

Rajdeep Saha

Updated: 29 Sep 2022 7:56 PM GMT

It's been two years since Atletico de Kolkata entered in a merger with Mohun Bagan to give birth to current ISL outfit known as ATK Mohun Bagan. While this merger gave the Kolkata giants an entry to the Indian Super League, a majority of the fans have been quite unhappy with the whole deal.

Social media makes the world smaller and brings the ardent Mohun Bagan fans closer. Similar to what Premier League side Manchester United's fans started what's now the #Glazersout movement, a #RemoveATK movement was birthed by the irritated Mariners who feel the businessmen behind the partnership are out to destroy the ideals of the historic club.

Despite the outcry, the erstwhile ATK remains as the most successful side in the eight-year-old history of the Indian Super League. We at The Bridge thought to compare the first two seasons of ATK in the league to that of ATK Mohun Bagan, which is only fair seeing that ATKMB came to be from the 2020-21 season.

Titles

Atletico de Kolkata- 1 (2014)

ATK Mohun Bagan- 0

Goals

(excluding penalty shootouts)

Atletico de Kolkata- 45 (scored), 34 (conceded), +11 (goal difference)

ATK Mohun Bagan- 71 (scored), 48 (conceded), +23 (goal difference)

Wins/Draws/Losses

(Please note that there were eight teams including ATK in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, while there were 11 teams including ATKMB in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons)

Atletico de Kolkata- 14 wins, 10 draws, 9 losses.

ATK Mohun Bagan- 24 wins, 12 draws, 9 losses

Points

(Note that ATKMB played more matches owing to more number of teams in the league)

Atletico de Kolkata- 42

ATK Mohun Bagan- 77

Top-scorer

(This number is counted over the two seasons combined)

Atletico de Kolkata- Ian Hume (scored 11 goals in the 2015 season)

ATK Mohun Bagan- Roy Krishna (scored 19 goals over 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons)

Managers

Atletico de Kolkata- Antonio Habas Lopez (2014 and 2015)

ATK Mohun Bagan- Antonio Habas Lopez (2020-21 and first seven games of 2021-22); Juan Ferrando (remaining of 2021-22 season)

Season performance

Atletico de Kolkata- In the inaugural season, ATK won the final against Kerala Blasters and won the title. In the following season in 2015, Chennaiyin FC got the better of the then defending champions ATK in the semi-finals.

ATK Mohun Bagan- After the merger, ATKMB missed out on league winner's shield as Mumbai City FC clinched the premiership owing to their slightly better goal difference. In the same year, the Mariners lost in the finals as well as the Islanders won the title in 2020-21 season.

In the 2021-22 season, ATKMB finished a creditable third in the league table and were knocked out of the play-offs by Hyderabad FC in the semi-final stage.

Conclusion

Considering the increased competition in the years in which ATK Mohun Bagan has played in, their goals scored, wins, and overall points won are far more superior than the erstwhile ATK. However, the major differentiating factor remains the 2014 title which Atletico de Kolkata won.

Spaniard coach Habas almost won ATKMB the title as well as the premiership in their debut season if it wasn't Mumbai's slightly better form. Only time will tell whether ATK Mohun Bagan can give their irate fans something to cheer about in the 2022-23 season.

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