CHENNAI: Few journeys in sports have been as unlikely as this. Five years ago, Chennai City FC were playing in the second tier of the district’s football league, fighting for a chance to appear in the Senior Division. On Saturday, they were crowned champions of India.
Few gave Chennai City, forced to play in Coimbatore as they were unable to get a stadium in the city, a chance as they trotted out for the I-League this season. After all, this was only their third season in India’s top flight. Their budget was peanuts compared to what the likes of East Bengal and Mohun Bagan had to spend. Their business model involved fielding a bunch of homegrown players and selling the ones who developed well at the end of the season. Their brightest sparks—Michael Soosairaj and S Pandiyan—had already been sold.
After a season of twists and turns, they went into their last game in Coimbatore against Minerva Punjab FC needing a win. Any slip-up and East Bengal could take the title with victory over Gokulam Kerala in Kozhikode. And the match started with exactly that—Minerva scored the opener in the third minute. But Chennai fought on, eventually getting back into the game through a second-half penalty from their Spanish top-scorer Pedro Manzi. Then 20-year-old Gaurav Bora scored twice and secured the match, and with it, the title.