Mumbai City FC: A Dominant Force in the Indian Super League - Part - 1

INTRODUCTION

Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football team that plays in the Indian Super League, the top division of Indian football. The team is situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The club was established in August 2014 , at the beginning of the Indian Super League's first season. The 2020–21 season saw Mumbai City become the first team to win both the ISL championship and League Winners Shield.[6] In the 2022–23 season, they once more took home the ISL League Winners Shield. Mumbai City is also the first Indian team to triumph in a group-stage match of the AFC Champions League. 

The club's inaugural season was led by former England international and star player Freddie Ljungberg, Peter Reid. It was reported that Nicolas Anelka would serve as the club's marquee player and manager for the upcoming second season. Diego Forlán was the star performer in 2016 while Alexandre Guimares was appointed as the new manager. Jorge Costa was hired as the team's new head coach in 2018, and he led them to the playoffs in his discipline. After Sergio Lobera was named as the team's new manager for the 2020–21 Indian Super League season, they became the first team to win both the league championship and winners shield. Prior to the 2021–22 Indian Super League season, Des Buckingham, the team's new head coach, guided them to two victories.Des guided Mumbai in the 2022–23 Indian Super League to the longest-ever unbeaten streak of 18 games, which resulted in Mumbai winning the second shield in as many years after winning the league.

OWNERSHIP

The Mumbai franchise, with actor Ranbir Kapoor as co-owner, will be the eighth team in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League, according to an announcement made by IMG Reliance on April 13, 2014.

CITY FOOTBALL GROUP

Mumbai City FC became the ninth club owned by City Football Group after it was disclosed on November 28th, 2019, that the group had acquired a 65% share in the organisation.[76] The club's ownership by City Football Group created a variety of prospects for the future, including the sharing of information and access to positions for both players and club officials.

History

The upcoming Indian Super League (ISL), an eight-team franchise league modelled after the Indian Premier League, the nation's professional cricket league, was announced to be accepting bids in early 2014. The announcement was made by the All India Football Federation, the National Federation for Football in India, and IMG-Reliance.

First Of Indian Super League

Nicolas Anelka, a former French international who had been a free agent since leaving West Bromwich Albion earlier in the year, was signed by the team on September 15th, 2014. Three days later, the squad recruited Freddie Ljungberg, a former Swedish international who had been retired for two years, as its first star player. 

Atlético de Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium hosted the inaugural ISL game on October 12, 2014, with Mumbai as the visiting team. The team dropped 3-0 when Anelka and Ljungberg were sidelined.  The team defeated FC Pune City 5-0 on October 18, 2014, at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, marking the club's first victory over the team. André Moritz notched the game's first-ever hat-trick in the ISL.  The group placed seventh out of eight in the table.

SECOND SEASON

Nicolas Anelka took over as player-manager in July 2015, succeeding Englishman Peter Reid. At the start of the season, Frantz Bertin was named captain. The team then signed Sony Norde of Haiti, who won the 2015 I-League Player of the Year award, and signed India captain Sunil Chhetri for a domestic record-breaking fee of 1.2 crore. The team's leading scorer, Sunil Chhetri, has a total of seven goals, including a hat-trick against NorthEast United FC. Mumbai only managed to win four games and lose six, which allowed them to finish sixth in the standings. Anelka resigned and made his exit known at the end of the season as a result of these outcomes.

The Guimares Legacy at Mumbai City FC

The management of Mumbai City made significant changes after the first two years and hired Alexandre Guimares as head coach for the 2016 Indian Super League (ISL) season. The Mumbai Football Arena, the club's new home stadium, is located in Andheri. Diego Forlán, who won the Golden Ball at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was also signed by the team on a three-month contract with a one-year extension option.[33]

The arrival of the Uruguayan altered the Mumbai team's dynamics, turning them into title challengers. On November 19, 2016, at Mumbai Football Arena, The Islanders defeated Kerala Blasters 5-0 thanks to Forlan's first hat-trick of the Hero Indian Super League 2016 campaign.

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