Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is part of the City Football Group. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of the Indian football league system. Mumbai City is one of the most successful clubs in the history of the ISL. They are the first club to win both the League Winners Shield and the ISL title in a single season, which it accomplished in the 2020–21 season. They are the only team to win the ISL league winners shield twice.
Des Buckingham who was appointed as the head coach before the 2021–22 Indian Super League season, led the team to two wins in the 2022 AFC Champions League making Mumbai the first Indian team to win a game at the AFC Champions League group stage,[13] and ended up finishing second in the group, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the next round.[14] In 2022–23 Indian Super League, Des led Mumbai to an 18-game unbeaten streak, the longest ever in the history of ISL[15] and thereby won the second shield for Mumbai within 3 years after topping the league.[16]
History
In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the National Federation for Football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming ISL, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League, the country's professional cricket league.[17][18]
First season (2014)
Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg, club's first marquee player.
On 15 September 2014, the club signed Nicolas Anelka, a former French international who had been a free agent since his departure from West Bromwich Albion earlier in the year.[20] Three days later, former Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg was signed as the team's first marquee player, returning from two years of retirement.[21]
Mumbai were the visitors in the first ever ISL match on 12 October 2014, at Atlético de Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium. Without Anelka and Ljungberg, the side lost 3–0.[22] On 18 October 2014, the club registered their first victory over FC Pune City by beating them 5–0 at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, in which André Moritz registered the first ever hat-trick of ISL.[23] The team finished seventh in the table out of eight and did not qualify for the playoffs.[24]
Second season (2015)
Mumbai City players in practice at the Cooperage Ground in December 2015
In July 2015, Nicolas Anelka became player-manager, replacing Englishman Peter Reid.[25]Frantz Bertin was appointed captain at the beginning of the season. The club then roped in India's captain Sunil Chhetri for a domestic record-breaking deal of ₹1.2 crore,[26] and signed 2015 I-League's player of the year awardee Sony Norde of Haiti.[27] Sunil Chhetri was the top scorer for the team as he scored seven goals including a hat-trick against NorthEast United FC.[28] Mumbai only won four matches and lost six to finish in sixth position in the league table. Due to such results, Anelka resigned and announced his departure at the end of the season.[29]
Alexandre Guimarães era (2016–2018)
Alexandre Guimarães was appointed as head coach of Mumbai City for the 2016–17 season
After the first two seasons, Mumbai City's management made big changes by appointing Alexandre Guimarães as the head coach for the 2016 ISL season. The club moved into their new home stadium, the Mumbai Football Arena, at Andheri. The club also signed 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlán on a three-month deal, with the option to extend for another year as a marquee player for the season.[30]
The arrival of the Uruguayan changed the dynamics of the struggling Mumbai team to title contenders. Forlán scored the first hat-trick of the Hero ISL 2016 season as The Islanders beat Kerala Blasters 5–0 at Mumbai Football Arena on 19 November 2016.[31] It was also the first hat-trick of any marquee player in the history of the ISL. The team conceded the fewest goals (8) of all teams in the league, whilst Lucian Goian finished with the most tackles (67). Alexandre's men in blues kept eight clean sheets in the group stage, making it a record across all three tournament editions. As a result, Mumbai City finished the 14 rounds with six wins, five draws, and three losses. However, it went down to Atletico de Kolkata in the twin-legged semi-finals.[32]
In 2017, ISL announced another auction to make way for new entrants Jamshedpur FC & Bengaluru FC, which led other clubs to start the squad rebuilding process once again. Mumbai City FC managed to retain Alexandre Guimarães after he guided the club to their first-ever playoffs in three seasons. Still, they missed their star performers, including the club's all-time top goalscorer Sunil Chhetri. The club did manage to retain Captain & goalkeeper Amrinder Singh for 12.0million INR. He was also awarded the best goalkeeper in 2016, keeping record clean sheets for the club. They also retained the services of midfielder Sehnaj Singh who was instrumental in the club's success in the previous season. In the foreign department, they retained the defensive duo of Lucian Goian and Gerson Vieira alongside midfielder Leo Costa. They also retained Rakesh Oram, a player under the U-21 player quota. But the new signings did not perform at their very best as they finished the season in 7th position, failing to qualify for the playoffs, with the coach being criticized for overly defensive tactics.[33]
After the ISL season had concluded, Mumbai City FC also took part in the inaugural edition of the Super Cup. They kicked off proceedings smoothly by defeating Indian Arrows by a scoreline reading 2–1 in the qualifier round. However, they were defeated by East Bengal FC in the Round of 16. On 14 August 2018, MBFC officially stated, "Mumbai City FC and Alexandre Guimarães have parted company by mutual consent." This ended the Guimarães Era, with the Brazilian-born Costa Rican manager being with the Islanders since 2016.[34]
Jorge Costa era (2018–2020)
After the announcement that Mumbai City FC had parted ways with Guimarães, the Islanders broke the news about their new head coach. Former Portugal international & Champions League Winner Jorge Costa signed as the manager of Mumbai City FC for the 2018/19 Indian Super League season.[8] The club also signed Indian Internationals Alen Deory and Subhasish Bose along with some foreign players such as Modou Sougou, Rafael Bastos, Arnold Issoko and Paulo Machado. The team started the season with a 2–0 loss at home to Jamshedpur FC, followed by a 1–1 draw to Kerala Blasters. The team then recorded a 2–0 win against FC Pune City and then lost 5–0 to Goa.[35] After that coach Costa made some interesting tactical changes which led to the club's best unbeaten run in history (9 games unbeaten). The team ended December with a 6–1 win against Kerala Blasters, with Modou Sougou scoring 4 of the team's six goals in the match, which was a record-breaking tally as Sougou became the first player in the league to score four goals in a single match. It was Mumbai's best-ever victory against any club.[36] They also managed to break league leaders Bengaluru FC's unbeaten run at Mumbai Football Arena in January.[37]
The club managed to secure a play-off Finish with a 3–1 victory against ATK on 22 February 2019 with a game in hand, thanks to Modou Sougou's second hat-trick in the league, which is also a record for having maximum hat-tricks for the Islanders. The 3rd-place finish saw them face off against FC Goa, which resulted in a 5–1 defeat at Home despite Mumbai opening the scoring. They managed to bounce back and beat Goa in the Away fixture by a scoreline of 1–0, but it wasn't enough; hence the islanders could not play in the 2018/19 ISL Final in Mumbai Football Arena. Even though Mumbai lost in the Play-offs, Arnold Issoko won the DHL Winning Pass of the League Award for his maximum number of assists (8 assists) in the League, and Modou Sougou became the joint second goalscorer with 12 Goals. Fan Favorite Amrinder Singh ended the league with the most saves and joint highest number of clean sheets (6). On that positive note, on 19 March 2019, the club officials confirmed that Head Coach Jorge Costa had extended his stay there. The Portuguese signed a one-year extension and would remain at the helm for the Islanders until the end of the 2019/20 season.[38]
The next task for Jorge Costa and his side was the 2019 Hero Super Cup, with the Islanders drawn to play Chennaiyin FC in the Round of 16 on 29 March at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. Costa opted to play with an almost all-Indian Squad having Lucian Goian as the only foreign recruit in their ranks. Costa also promoted two highly rated youths, Mohammed Kaif, and Nakul Shelke, from their youth ranks. The team started promisingly but failed to capitalize on the chances created and were eliminated from the Super Cup with a 2–0 defeat.
After announcing the departure of club captain Lucian Goian to Chennaiyin FC before the 2019–20 season, MCFC brought in Mato Grgic, Serge Kevyn, Amine Chermiti, Diego Carlos, and Mohamed Larbi, with the first game of the 2019–20 season resulting in a 1–0 win over Kerala Blasters. On 28 November 2019, City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, acquired a major stake in Mumbai City FC. This was the first time a top European club had acquired a majority stake in a club in India.[39] There were ups and downs for Jorge Costa's team, but injuries to the mainstays of the team hampered Mumbai City FC's good run. In the end, they fell short of the final playoff spot by just three points by losing to Chennaiyin FC.[40]
Looking back at the records, the Islanders had registered a record statistic as they had 12 players on the scoresheet who scored the team's 25 goals. Costa's Mumbai City was known for being defensively strong and lethal on the counter-attack. It became the first team to do a league double over Bengaluru FC in ISL history and did not lose to them in the two years Costa was at the helm. After finishing fifth, and with the City Football Group ownership coming into full effect, Jorge Costa's reign at the club ended.[41]
Acquisition by CFG and success under Sergio Lobera (2020–2021)
After several months of anticipation, the City Football Group's acquisition of the club was fully effective. Under the new ownership, the club decided to kickstart a new era and signed the former FC Goa coach Sergio Lobera as manager.[11] The club signed Hugo Boumous from FC Goa after paying a release clause of ₹1.6 crores, a record fee in Indian football. Along with Boumous, they signed some core players from Goa, including Fall, Jahou, Mandar Rao, and Jackichand.
During the first phase of the league, Mumbai City FC got 25 points from the first ten matches, which included eight wins, one draw, and one loss. Towards the end of the league stage, they registered only two wins in six games. However, they managed to win in the last two matches of the league stage. A win against Mohun Bagan in the final match of the league stage made them the winners of the League Shield, thus qualifying for the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage.[42] By doing so, they became the second Indian club after FC Goa to play in the Champions League.
The Islanders had earlier sealed their playoff berth with a 3–3 draw against FC Goa, with four league games to go which was the quickest-ever qualification (15 Games). Before that, they were also unbeaten for 12 games. Their first semifinal leg against FC Goa at Fatorda ended in a 2–2 draw. The second leg ended in a goalless draw, which means the match went into a penalty shootout. In the shootout, they beat FC Goa 6–5, where Rowllin Borges scored the decisive penalty. In their final against ATK Mohun Bagan at the Fatorda Stadium, they won the game 2–1, with Bipin Singh scoring the decisive goal in the 90th minute. Thus, Mumbai City FC became the first club to win the league winners' shield and the ISL trophy in a single season.[43]
Des Buckingham era (2021–2023)
On 8 October 2021, Mumbai City appointed English manager Des Buckingham as head coach on a two-year contract.[44][45] The club began its 2021–22 season campaign with a 3–0 win on 22 November against FC Goa. Mumbai City finished the season in fifth place and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Ahead of the 2022 AFC Champions League kick-off, the club went to Abu Dhabi for training and defeated Emirati giants Al Ain 2–1 in a friendly match.[46] Under Buckingham, Mumbai City became the first Indian club to win a match in AFC Champions League, as they defeated Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya of Iraq by 2–1.[47] On 4 January 2023, on the back of the historic champions league campaign and making Mumbai reach the Durand Cup final in their maiden attempt, losing narrowly to Bengaluru FC by 2–1 in the final[48] Mumbai City FC extended his contract for 2 years, keeping him at the club till the end of 2024/25 season.[49]
The club made a historic maiden run at 2022-23 Indian Super League by becoming League winners for the second time with two games to spare. They broke records in that season with the most points (46), most wins (14), least defeats (2), most goals scored (54), most positive Goal Difference (33), most successful passes (9047), and longest unbeaten streak (18 matches) since ISL's inception. However, they were beaten by Bengaluru FC and East Bengal FC in the last two league games, followed by a third defeat to Bengaluru FC in the 1st leg of the semifinals, 0–1. Although they defeated them in the 2nd leg with a scoreline of 1–2 in regulation time and equaled them in an aggregate score of 2-2, they lost on Sudden Death in a score of 9–8, thereby finishing the hopes for another ISL trophy and becoming the first team to do the double twice but ending a highly successful league campaign. Des was highly credited with improving the performances of young Indian players and for the attractive brand of football that Mumbai played throughout the season.
Petr Kratky era (2023–present)
On 9 December 2023, Petr Kratky was appointed as the new head coach of Mumbai City after Des Buckingham left mid-season to join EFL League One side Oxford United.[50][51][52] His first game ended in a 0–0 draw away to FC Goa on 12 December 2023.[53] His first win came on 20 December 2023, in a fiery 2–1 win over Mohun Bagan SG, which included 11 yellow cards and seven red cards.[54][55]
Club crest and kits
Colours
In 2020, when the City Football Group purchased the club's majority share, they changed the primary colors into sky blue following the pathway of their flagship club Manchester City.
In the early years, the club's away kit was a white kit with royal blue featuring on the collar and sleeves. In 2018, the club changed the away colors into an all golden yellow kit.[56]
The Islanders shifted their home base to Mumbai Football Arena from the third season as DY Patil Stadium was allotted to go under construction for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[73]
Supporters
Mumbai City FC is reputed to have one of India's most vocal fan bases.[74] The West Coast Brigade is one of the notable fan club of Mumbai City FC, which is known for its support to the team at both home and away matches. West Coast Brigade has a dedicated stand during the home matches at the Mumbai Football Arena.
The players and the coach have often acknowledged the fans' support of the success and always engaged in fan interaction and promotional activities. In 2017, Mumbai City FC became the first club in ISL history to announce a special section for away fans as a progressive step toward football fan culture.[75]
Rivalries
Mumbai City has a rivalry with their neighborhood club FC Goa, against whom they contest the West Coast Derby or western rivalry.[76][77] The root of the rivalry between Mumbai City FC and FC Goa can be traced back since the appointment of Jorge Costa as Mumbai City's head coach in 2018. There were traces of the rivalry before, but it started gaining momentum once the Portuguese – a Jose Mourinho ideologist, was appointed. It was natural that Sergio Lobera, whose philosophy is based on Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, would rise as one of the main threats to the Islanders. The two sides played several interesting battles throughout the 2018–19 and 2019–20 campaigns.[78]
Mumbai City's three worst losses in Hero ISL history have come from FC Goa's hands. A 7–0 loss in November 2015, A 5–0 loss in October 2018, and a 5–1 loss in March 2019.
But there is more to this rivalry than just on-field results. Before the start of 2020–21 season, Mumbai City FC, under new ownership of CFG, raided FC Goa and signed five key players from the Gaurs in Ahmed Jahouh, Mourtada Fall, Hugo Boumous, Mandar Rao Dessai and Amey Ranawade. The Islanders also roped in head coach Sergio Lobera, who had been sacked by Goa just a season before adding more spice to the rivalry.
Ownership
On 13 April 2014, ISL announced that actor Ranbir Kapoor had won the bidding for the Mumbai team to be the eighth team in the inaugural season of the League with Bimal Parekh as co-owner.[79]
On 28 November 2019, it was revealed that City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had bought a 65% stake in the club, adding Mumbai City FC as the eighth club under the City group.[80]
Mumbai City FC fielded a reserve team in the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division. Players like Mohammed Kaif and Nakul Shelke were promoted to the first team for the Super Cup after their performances in the 2nd Division. In late November 2019, academy graduate Asif Khan signed his first professional contract with Mumbai City FC until 2024, making him the first MCFC academy player to sign a professional contract with the club.[82]
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