End Near For Antonio Habas?

ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC tried their best to come away with a victory but had to settle for a point apiece in Match 31 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, Goa on Thursday.

The team from Bengal have not hit the ground running this season as they only have 8 points to their name and are currently in the sixth position and out of the top 4 playoff spots. 

What Went Wrong?

When it comes to ISL ATK coach Antonio López Habas is the most successful coach in the league’s history. He has won the title two times and finished as runners-up last year. They were neck to neck with the winners Mumbai City FC in the points table. Both the teams had 40 points but due to the higher Goal Difference, Mumbai were awarded the League Sheild. The teams faced off in the final but Mumbai had better of the Mariners again in the finals winning the game by 2-1.

Habas has a very pragmatic style of play and his team likes to be compact, they sit back and defend and hit the opposition on the counter-attack.

Last season they were playing in a 3-5-2 formation with three central defenders and two wing-backs who provide that defensive stability. They had one of the best defenders in the league Sandesh Jingan leading the back-line and a prolific striker in Roy Krishna bagging goals left right and centre last season. But this season with Snadesh leaving for Croatia Habas is forced to play a 4-4-2 system. This system doesn’t suit his players and more often he has to play players in different positions. For example, Manveer Singh who is a striker is being forced to play right Side of the midfield. They have not filled the void left by Sandesh and are struggling defensively.

They have conceded 13 goals so far as compared to 15 in the league stages of last season. Clearly, the defensive unit is lacking and are not up to the task. The manager doesn’t seem to find any solutions to the defensive problems.

Set-pieces are creating a lot of problems for the Mariners as they are struggling to defend corners. The team conceded all three goals from set-pieces in the match against Bengaluru 

Winless in the previous four games ATK needs to find their form if they want to qualify in the top 4 and if they don’t then Habas could be on his way out. The Spaniard said his team has lost their identity

The Spaniard said his team has lost their identity and the road ahead for Habas is very challenging as they will face two of the best teams in the league right now in Hyderabad and Odisha in his upcoming matches. It will be interesting to see when the club management decides to get rid of the Spanish manager.