9. Baljit Sahni
Baljit played on right wing in the ISL final of 2014. He last played professional football for FC Pune city in 2017-18 season before retiring at the age of 31 due to monetary issues. He has since left for Canada in 2019 and has been serving as a cashier at a Walmart store in Edmonton. He also has 3 caps for India.
10. Sanju Pradhan
Sanju Pradhan played 11 times for ATK in the 2014 season. He played on the left wing in the final. Since then, the winger has represented 7 clubs playing in both ISL and I-league. The 31-year-old has been plying his trade with Minerva Punjab since 2019. Sanju also has represented India 5 times.
11. Mohammed Rafi
The experienced Kerala forward last played for Kerala blasters in 2019-20 season. On 4th October 2020 the club officially announced the departure of the 38-year-old veteran from the club. He has been a free agent since then. Rafi has 7 India caps and a goal to his name as well. He is also a 2-time winner of ISL with ATK in 2014 and with Chennaiyin FC in 2017-18.
12. Mohammed Rafique
The hero on the night for ATK, Mohammed Rafique scored the goal which gave ATK the ISL trophy in 2014. He currently plays for East Bengal and appeared in the recently concluded ISL season. He has 10 caps and 1 goal for India. The 30-year-old still has some years of football in him and would be hoping to perform at the highest level for years to come.
Bench
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury after his successful stint with ATK FC in 2014, went on to play for 7 more Indian clubs. The experienced goalkeeper currently plays with NEUFC. Nallapan Mohanraj who played for ATK FC 5 times, went on to play for Chennaiyin FC in 2016 before returning back to ATK in 2017. A full Indian international, Nallapan Mohanraj currently plays for Churchill brothers as a left back. Cavin Lobo holds the record of being the first Indian player to score 2 goals in an ISL match. He achieved this feat for ATK FC in their comeback win against FC Goa. Cavin Lobo currently is an attacking midfielder for Punjab FC.
Luis Garcia was ATK FC’s marquee signing in the inaugural ISL season. The Spaniard played 13 games and scored 2 goals for the ATK FC. Luis Garcia was not retained for the 2015 season by ATK FC and last played for Central coast mariners in 2016. Another Spaniard, Jofre Mateu played 12 games for ATK FC in their successful 2014 ISL campaign. Jofre then moved to FC Goa where he spent the last 2 seasons of his football career. Lester Fernandez, an Indian international, currently plays as a midfielder for the Mumbai based club, Kenkre FC.
The champions from the inaugural ISL 2014 season have gone their separate ways and most have succeeded in their own path. These players, however, remain special in the hearts of every Indian football fan because they were the first champions of the league that we love and adore.
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