Mumbai: A journey of two-and-a-half months has finally arrived at its last junction. After 60 games and 128 goals spread over eight Indian cities, the caravan has reached Mumbai for the grand finale of the inaugural season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
On the evening of December 20, the DY Patil Stadium here will witness history being made as the finalists Atletico de Kolkata and Kerala Blasters FC will be up against each other for an appetizing summit clash.
The tournament has turned the fortunes of football in India - a sport immensely popular at one point of time but now relegated to a few pockets of the cricket-crazy country. In a landscape that lacks a proper footballing culture, the ISL has taken even the pundits by storm by becoming the fourth most attended league in the world.
The finale will also see two of India's favourite sons and cricket legends - Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly - sitting in opposite dugouts and cheering for each goal their teams score, a scene hardly anyone would have imagined.
Tendulkar's Kerala Blasters edged out Chennaiyin FC 4-3 on aggregate after the second leg of their semi-final. Kerala scored three goals in their first-leg semi-final at home before conceding three away to Chennaiyin FC, only to win, courtesy a sensational late winner by Stephen Pearson, in extra time.
Co-owned by Ganguly, Kolkata's journey to the final was also anything but smooth. They pipped FC Goa on penalties in the other semi-final. Following a goalless first leg, the Goan team, coached by Brazilian great Zico, dominated the second leg at home but could not score in the regulation 90 minutes and extra time. Then, Kolkata won 4-2 on penalties.
Despite being the finalists, both Kerala and Kolkata have had a contrasting run in the league stage.
Kerala struggled in the initial few games and from being the bottom placed, they bounced back and started peaking towards the business end of the tournament.
On the other hand, after dominating the points table for the first few weeks of the tournament, Kolkata seemed to have lost a bit of the initial rhythm - winning only once in their last 12 games.
The absence of their skillful Ethiopian striker Fikru Teferra Lemessa, who has been ruled out of the final with a hamstring injury, has left the club much to ponder as his strength and muscle power will surely be missed against Kerala.
Fikru became a household name in India when he scored the first goal of the tournament in the opening match against Mumbai City FC in front of a packed Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. He has scored five goals in ISL and is the top scorer for the team.
While Kolkata's attacking strength has considerably lost its venom following Fikru's departure, their defensive might will be bolstered by the return of Indian international Arnab Mondal, one of the bright Indian faces of the tournament, who will form the core of the defence along with Jose Miguel Gonzalez, Kingshuk Debnath, Josemi and Biswajit Saha.
But Kolkata's biggest worry remains the availability of marquee player and captain Luis Garcia, who had to be substituted against Goa due to a hamstring complaint.
Spanish duo of Jofre Mateu and Borja Fernandez will form the core of the midfield and will be crucial as they will be weighed with the task of providing passes to strikers Mohammad Rafi and Cavin Lobo.
Meanwhile, Kerala might have a psychological advantage going into the final after having drawn and won against Kolkata in the league stage.
Their fortunes will be heavily placed on Canadian striker Iain Hume, who has been consistent with his performances and will be at the centre of the attack with Mehtab Hossain and Stephen Pearson helping him out in the middle of the park.
The sheer magnanimity of the game might force their captain and former England number one David James to man the goal. But their stand-in goalkeeper Sandip Nandy has also risen up to the occasion with a few impressive performances.
The duo of CS Sabeeth and Nigerian Penn Orji has also played vital roles for Kerala in the attack along with Milagres Gonsalves, while Sandesh Jhingan, James McAllister, Cedric Hengbart and Nirmal Chettri have been resolute at the back to block the attacks.
To sum up, the final of the ISL is not just a battle between Tendulkar and Ganguly or Kerala's defence and Kolkata attack, but one that will culminate a tournament that promises to propel India to achieve greater heights in football.
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