ISL 2024-25: Mumbai City coach Petr Kratky expects tough competition ahead

Mumbai City FC head coach Petr Kratky is looking forward to a much stronger competition for his side in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season as his team looks to defend their crown and also close the gap on Mohun Bagan Super Giant to reclaim the league shield.

Kratky's side lost to the Mariners in the final league match of the season and surrendered the League Shield. However, they came back strongly in the ISL Cup final to snatch the trophy from Mohun Bagan SG's hands.

The two teams have swept the two trophies in three out of the last four seasons, but Kratky expects more teams to be among the mix for the Shield come the end of the season.

"I don't think there will be only one, two, or three teams who will dominate the whole season," Kratky said during the ISL Media Day in Kochi.

"I think there are around eight teams in contention this season, which is fantastic for us, and we are excited about what will happen in Indian football and ISL this season. But I think we will be closer and closer to each other, even the teams were having problems at the start, but they are getting on the board now, people are coming and investing fantastic money, and I think we will be just better as we go forward," he added.

There have been a few changes at Mumbai City FC again, with Clifford Miranda and David Preece joining Kratky in his backroom staff. New players like Jon Toral, Brandon Fernandes, and Nikolaos Karelis have joined in, while the likes of Apuia, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, and Rahul Bheke have left the club.

Kratky believes changes are part of the process at a football club and said, "People come and go, but we try to always put them together and work in the same direction. Overall, I'm very happy with what's happening and how we are going. Only we will see in Round 1 how we go."

"We started a new chapter, which I'm very excited about. We're working very hard behind the scenes on the training pitch to achieve our goals. But, you know, it's continuous. We are implementing processes to make sure it is sustainable for the future as well. We just don't want to be average, we want to be on top all the time," he added.

Mumbai City FC begin their campaign exactly where they finished both their league and ISL Cup campaigns, away to Mohun Bagan SG. The Mariners won the first match in the league, while the Islanders won the ISL Cup final.

There will be no big prizes to be won immediately at the end of the game this time, but those three points could go a long way in deciding which of these two teams celebrates at the end of their final match of the season.