How Popovic's Pune made it a path-breaking season

PUNE: It wasn't the way they would've wanted to do it but done it they have. FC Pune City have qualified for the Indian Super League semi-finals for the first time despite being thrashed 4-0 by FC Goa in their own backyard on Sunday.
Jamshedpur FC's loss to Bengaluru FC later that day meant that Pune could not finish lower than 4th in the table because of their superior head-to-head record against the teams competing for semi-final berths.
The result against Goa can be considered a small blip, freakish even, in what has been a fantastic season for the Stallions in which they have combined thrilling attacking play with solidity in midfield and defence. This balance has been sorely lacking in previous seasons in which Pune have never finished above 6th place.
After hiring ISL-winning coach Antonio Habas last season, expectations were high but it was the same old story of mid-table mediocrity with the lack of a specific style of play on show for all to see.
It has been a complete contrast this time round with the Stallions boasting the third-best offence and third-best defence in the league so far. Draws have turned into wins and losses into draws with a fighting spirit instilled by Serbian coach Ranko Popovic.
"As a club, this was our first hurdle to clear, to reach the playoffs. The entire team has worked consistently towards the same goal and this spot is a result of the hard work put in by everyone and anyone involved with the club," he said. "But this isn't the end of our work, rather it's the beginning and we hope to take one step at a time to reach our ultimate goal.
Popovic was brought in on the eve of pre-season to replace Habas and his appointment has proved to be a masterstroke. Despite getting into trouble with match officials and serving his fair share of suspensions, he has stuck to his gameplan and gotten the best out of the squad he inherited.
After the ISL draft, on paper, the Pune roster looked like it was made of high-quality attacking foreigners, average and experienced Indian midfielders and young defenders most of whom had never played at this level before.
But Popovic has managed to mould an efficient outfit which displays defensive steel and attacking flair in equal measure.
Scoring goals was a problem that had plagued Pune ever since the first edition of the ISL and they went about putting that right by recruiting some of last season's star performers.
They ransacked Delhi Dynamos by bringing in 2016 Golden Boot winner Marcelinho, anchorman Marcos Tebar and winger Kean Lewis. Emiliano Alfaro was brought in from NorthEast United and Brazilian playmaker Jonatan Lucca was re-signed. Winger Diego Carlos, who spent most of his career in Russia, has also proved to be a smart signing with his skilful play and directness.
Though Lewis has had a season to forget, Marcelinho (8) and Alfaro (7) have accounted for 15 of Pune's 28 goals. Their linkup play has improved with every game, often swapping positions operating in a fluid frontline pulling the opposition defenders out of their positions.
The versatile Adil Khan, who has been used as defensive midfielder, right-back, centre-back and even left-back sometimes, has been the surprise package and could be favourite to be crowned the club's player of the year after his committed displays and four goals.
At the back, Spaniard Rafa Lopez has been a mainstay, oozing calmness on and off the ball. Similarly, goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, who was the only player the club retained, has the second-most number of clean sheets this season and could challenge Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for the position of India's No. 1 custodian in the near future.
Popovic has not been afraid to blood some of the club's academy products either with the standouts being Sahil Panwar, Rohit Kumar and the exciting Ashique Kuruniyan.
Panwar had to play second fiddle to Chhuantea Fanai earlier on in the season but has since made the left-back spot his own. Rohit's tenacious tackling and shielding of the back four has been an ideal foil for Tebar to orchestrate moves from the middle of the park.
The 20-year-old Ashique, who had a short loan stint at La Liga club Villarreal reserves, looks to be the real deal and could become a household name in Indian football for the years to come.
The ISL first season saw Pune sign the likes of French World Cup winner David Trezeguet and Greece's EURO-winning midfielder Kostas Katsouranis but a lack of creativity in the middle of the park meant they scored just 12 goals in 14 games while conceding 17.
They made a blistering start to the second edition with the firepower provided by Nigeria's Kalu Uche, Turkey's Tuncay Sanli and Romanian Adrian Mutu and even topping the table at the midway point. But a disastrous second half of the season, not helped by a leaky defence, saw them finish second from bottom.
They say that all Pune-based sports franchises are cursed, having never won a national title, be it in the Indian Premier League, Pro Kabaddi or the Premier Badminton League.
And although there are still two more steps before FC Pune City can pop the champagne, they can be immensely proud of what they have achieved this season.