Mohun Bagan. Those two words were the story of the 2024-25 Indian Super League season, as the Kolkata giants walked away with the League Shield and ISL Cup double, only the second team in history to do so. Despite their dominance, Bagan's coronation wasn't a foregone conclusion, with clubs like FC Goa and Bengaluru FC running them close.
With the league season effectively at an end (the Super Cup is unlikely to see full-strength teams), it's time for ESPN to pick the Team of the Season.
The same caveats remain - 4 foreigners in the starting XI, and we stick to realistic formations (no 4-0-6 to shoehorn all the forwards in the lineup). There are four repeat appearances from last year, although we have an entirely new set of foreigners.
Goalkeeper: Vishal Kaith (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
Hardly a surprise, is it? Kaith retains his place in the Team of the Season with a record-breaking season, keeping 16 clean sheets as Bagan romped to their double. This isn't just a case of an excellent defence protecting their keeper - Kaith has repeatedly pulled off vital saves when the Bagan backline has been breached. Every single one of those clean sheets was earned. His 75 saves were short of Albino Gomes' record 100, but Kaith had the best numbers, conceding 19 goals from 92 shots that yielded an xGOT of 23.13. Perhaps the easiest pick, and it's no wonder he's currently the Indian no. 1.
Right back: Boris Singh Thangjam (FC Goa)
One of the most keenly contested positions this year, Boris Singh just about shaded the contest for the right-back spot, but Asish Rai has run him close. Boris takes the spot because he's shone in a team that doesn't have as risk-free a defence, while also fulfilling all of Manolo Marquez's very high demands of his fullbacks.
Rai's three assists to Boris' sole assist point to the former being the more creative, but Boris actually beats him out in xA (1.72 vs 1.13). The Goa right-back has won the ball more often in the final third than any other in the league and even has the most touches in the opposition box, underlining his attacking instincts that earned him a national team debut this season. Manolo Marquez wont be around to foster his development next season, but if Boris keeps up the same trajectory, he will make the national team spot his own soon enough.
Right centre-back: Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru FC)
It speaks volumes of Bheke's quality that he was in the Team of the Season last year in a different position and for a different club. Consider the difficulty in adapting to a new team in a different position, with the added responsibility of being the defensive leader, and the ease with which Bheke has turned in a season-defining performance is staggering.
Gerard Zaragoza namechecked Bheke's acquisition from Mumbai as one of the reasons behind Bengaluru FC's resurgence this season, with his leadership proving pivotal in BFC's all-Indian backline. Bheke's combination of being one of the best passing centre-backs in the league (1130 passes at 86.1% accuracy with 146 accurate long balls) and one of the best defenders (86.4% tackle success rate, 43 aerial duels won, 28 interceptions, 83 recoveries) and a goal threat (3 goals) is utterly unique for an Indian defender, making him an easy pick for the Team of the Season.
Left centre-back: Alberto Rodriguez (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
With 5 goals this season, Alberto Rodriguez would have the season record for an ISL defender, had it not been for a certain Subhasish Bose. A large part of the reason why Bagan scored a record number of set-pieces this season, Rodriguez's towering presence at corners truly set the cat amongst the pigeons for opposition defences. It helped that the Spaniard was also well-versed with his foot as his head in getting shots off.
Rodriguez's goal threat accompanies a very accomplished defender, who in combination with Tom Aldred formed a stunning centre-back partnership that barely let opposition strikers get a sniff. You couple that with Rodriguez's mental solidity and it's no surprise that the 32-year-old shrugged off scoring an own-goal in the ISL final to lead his defenders in snuffing out danger once Bagan were ahead. Aldred and Stephen Eze were also candidates for the foreign centre-back's spot, but Rodriguez's league-leading defensive stats (recoveries, aerial duels won, overall duels won) make him the easy pick.
Left back: Subhasish Bose (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
Subhasish Bose reprises his spot in the Team of the Season once more, but it's hard to believe how much better the Bagan stalwart has been this season. Sunil Chhetri and Brison Fernandes are the only Indians to have scored more than Bose's 6 goals this season - and this man is a defender in the most miserly backline in the land.
This is arguably the most complete season from a left-back in ISL history (and there have been some stellar ones). He's scored the most, shot the most, passed the most, sent the most accurate long balls forward, had the most touches, won the most duels, won the most aerial duels, made the most interceptions and blocks of any left-back in the league. If not for a certain possessor of a magic lamp, Bose would be nailed down to be the player of the season. All this, and his calm leadership of a Bagan side dealing with a frenzied fandom is something incredible as well.
Defensive midfield: Apuia (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
It's no secret that Mohun Bagan have the financial wherewithal to prise away the best Indian players year-on-year. It's telling that after having won the League Shield and lost the ISL Cup final last year, they settled on Apuia as the missing piece of the puzzle. Said piece has now ensured Bagan walked away with the League and Cup double - Job done.
And that's a perfect description of Apuia - he's a dead cert for 'job done' game after game. Tasked with being the first line of defence in a team filled with attacking mavericks in front of him, Apuia has curbed his attacking instincts that were coming to the fore in Mumbai to be Bagan's foremost defensive midfielder. Until he let fly in the dying stages against Jamshedpur to put Bagan in the final - not before utterly snuffing out JFC's threat all game.
There isn't a better defensive midfielder in the league (yes, even the foreign ones) and that's why Apuia makes the Team of the Season.
Central midfield: Suresh Singh Wangjam (Bengaluru FC)
Sometimes, the worth of a player is revealed in their absence. Witness Bengaluru FC's absolute lack of midfield control (cue collapse) once Suresh Singh vacated that midfield role of his - against FC Goa in the semifinal, and against Bagan in the latter stages of the final. Suresh is absolutely pivotal to Bengaluru FC's fortunes, and that's why he makes our Team of the Season.
His work-rate and defensive endeavour has never been in question, but Suresh has flourished in his passing game under Gerard Zaragoza's tutelage. The sight of BFC's 8 playing perfectly weighted through balls behind the backline came to be a regular one over the course of the season, and afforded his manager the freedom to tweak his midfield - safe in the knowledge that he had a player equally adept and preventing and creating play. Manolo Marquez would do well to build on Suresh's displays for India - there's more to come.
Attacking midfield: Javi Hernandez (Jamshedpur FC)
Nine goals and three assists are quite the return for an attacking midfielder in the ISL, but for one playing for a Jamshedpur side, it's telling which stat Hernandez is the league leader in his position - fouls won (54), duels won (147) and recoveries (148).
Most attackers in a Khalid Jamil team are working with scraps, and the fact that Hernandez has turned those scraps into a semifinal run for his team is extraordinary. It's not like Hernandez is just a physical presence for Jamshedpur, the 35-year-old is a creative outlier as well. His knack for scoring late goals almost had Jamshedpur dreaming of beating Bagan and reaching the ISL final, but reality took hold. Yet, for a club with limited resources, Hernandez made them dream with his silky touches married to an underlying steel, and thus gets the nod for the attacking midfield spot, beating out some big names in the process.
Support Striker: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
There was no earthly reason for Sunil Chhetri to do this. His legacy is already secure. He is the greatest Indian striker of all time. So why? Why bother? Ride off into the sunset, ease away into retirement with a solitary goal or two.
Somehow, this ridiculous human being found within him the motivation to produce his best-ever ISL season. He raged and raged against the dying of his football light, and sparked those embers into a full-on sonic flare. 14 goals and two assists (and countless last-gasp winners) were ultimately not enough to bring home the title for his beloved Bengaluru FC, but who will bet against a 41-year-old Sunil Chhetri doing it next year?
Rage away, maestro.
Right forward: Jamie Maclaren (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
The top-scorer of the top-scoring club. That's an automatic pick for Team of the Season, right? It wasn't all that simple. Maclaren had to overcome a slow start after joining Bagan this season, biding his time. He then proved to be exactly what Bagan needed, scoring important goals in important games - both Kolkata derbies (one of which was the winner), winners and equalisers throughout the course of the season. In total, Maclaren earned Bagan 17 points this season with his goals, and then capped that off with *the* goal that won them the ISL Cup.
It was pure fox-in-the-box brilliance, pouncing on a half chance and firing off a finish that was the difference for Bagan. 12 goals may not look like much compared to the overall top-scorer of the league, but those 12 goals were worth their weight in gold.
Left forward: Alaaeddine Ajaraie (NorthEast United)
Player of the Season. Had NorthEast won anything, perhaps the best player in ISL history.
Substitutes
Sticking to the 4+2 foreigner rule means that some big-name foreigners like Alberto Noguera, Ryan Williams, Jason Cummings, Jesus Jimenez, Luka Majcen et al don't make the list. We've gone with Stephen Eze for his sheer importance in propelling Jamshedpur FC to the semifinals and Connor Shields for being the assist leader in the league stage.
With nine substitutes, we've opted for a goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and two forwards. Macarton Nickson, Ayush Chhetri and Brison Fernandez's breakout seasons have them deservedly make the substitutes list, although Brison even had a case to make the Team of the Season as well.
Albino Gomes (Jamshedpur FC);
Asish Rai (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Sandesh Jhingan (FC Goa), Stephen Eze (Jamshedpur FC);
Macarton Nickson (NorthEast United FC), Connor Shields (Chennaiyin FC), Ayush Dev Chhetri (FC Goa);
Brison Fernandez (FC Goa), Jithin MS (NorthEast United FC).
Coach of the Year: Jose Molina (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)
Juan Pedro Benali, Gerard Zaragoza, Manolo Marquez, Khalid Jamil all had a shot at... ok never mind. There was only one candidate for the Coach of the Year. For all of the tactical excellence of his peers, Jose Molina walked away with the two most coveted trophies and there's simply no disputing that.
Yes, he had the best squad, but that held true for Antonio Habas as well last season, and records weren't broken and Bagan 'only' won the Shield. Molina walked into a team that had a penchant of giving up leads and losing finals, that could have easily gone pear-shaped in the media and fan frenzy of Kolkata, and formed them in his own image. A defensively brilliant side with goal-scoring prowess that reliably, constantly proved they had the stuff of champions. That's all that matters to Molina, and that's all that matters to the maroon-and-green side of the maidan. Winning. It's a match made in heaven, and should it continue, there are more records to be broken for Mohun Bagan and their coaching Super Giant.