Mumbai City FC face a unique proposition in the new ISL season, which they open with a clash against Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday evening: they are a side in transition, having lost several big names over the summer, but their ambitions haven't changed -- because of who they are a league and cup double will always be their aim.
Rahul Bheke and Apuia Ralte are big losses, and so are Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alberto Noguera. Diaz, in particular, leaves a hole that needs filling. In 37 ISL appearances for Mumbai City, the Argentine scored 21 goals and assisted a further seven.
Already under Petr Kratky last season, they spread the goals out, with Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Partap Singh leading the way. In fact, Diaz only scored four times in 11 games under the Czech last season. Chhangte scored nine times in 18 games under Kratky, with Vikram scoring eight.
Add to this what they've done over the summer -
Mumbai's recruitment strategy shift
To that cup-winning attack, they have added an excellent creative player in Brandon Fernandes and have replaced Noguera and Diaz with Jon Toral and Nikos Karelis respectively. It adds more strength in depth to a Mumbai City attack that also boasts of the likes of Bipin Singh and young Ayush Chhikara.
It is a bit of a shift in strategy from Mumbai City in terms of their recruitment this season, with Karelis and Toral being their big overseas acquisitions. In the past few seasons, a majority of their overseas player recruitments have been from other teams in the ISL; players who have already acclimatised to the league in India. However, Kratky believes both attacking midfielder Toral and striker Karelis will become a big part of his quest to go one better than the last two seasons and win the ISL league shield and cup double.
"After I signed, the coach spoke to both me and Jon and told us about his plans and what we can expect," Karelis told ESPN. It is the Greek's first move outside UEFA nations, with his stint at FC Amar Perm in Russia in a city that forms a border between Europe and Asia being the furthest away he'd been before in this game.
Some opportunities don't come calling a second time, just as Karelis found out when a potential move to Arsenal broke down at the age of 16, as his then parent club Ergotelis refused an extension to his trial period with the English giants. So when the opportunity to experience a different footballing culture in India came calling, the Greek had little hesitation in accepting, and he said he felt he'd made the right decision straight after that early phone call from Kratky.
Just like Karelis, Toral also said that Mumbai City's playing style was something he aligned with straightaway. "I'm a player that likes to get on the ball, make things happen, and hopefully that gets fans to enjoy the game," the Spaniard said.
Versatility of options
The strength that Mumbai City have is that they don't have a huge dependance on any one individual. Chhangte remains their best player, but Karelis says he's most excited about the potential he sees in the collective.
That potential also comes from how different all their attacking players are to each other. "They are all very good players. We have used the pre-season to build our relationship on the pitch and build our fitness as well," Karelis said.
Replacing Diaz is no mean feat, but this Mumbai City collective possess everything you need from an attacking unit. There's Chhangte's blistering pace, Vikram's directness, Bipin's calm finishing, Brandon's eye for a pass or a shot from range. Then there are Jeremy Manzorro's fierce free-kicks, Toral's silky touch and Karelis's ability to be in the right place at the right time.
It's often repeated how recruitment teams at football clubs look for complementary skillsets within their squad, and Mumbai City's attack this season drives home that point.
Karelis doesn't want to get too far ahead of himself, saying there was a lot of hardwork that lay ahead for the season. "We want to win everything, but we will go step by step, and we will keep working hard to achieve our goals," he said.
To achieve those goals, Mumbai City's complementary skillsets in attack will have to be combined with the ability to control games and stay tight at the back, but for a side brimming with such attacking talent, they will be confident of outscoring any opposition side on any given day.
It's why despite losing their captain, potentially the best central midfielder in the country, a star striker and a superb creative midfielder, they start the season dreaming about yet another double.