Five best moments of Des Buckingham at Mumbai City FC

The tactician leaves after guiding the Islanders to a lot of success.

Mumbai City FC recently announced that head coach Des Buckingham is leaving the club to join Oxford United in England with immediate effect. The tactician joined the Indian Super League outfit in October 2021 and went on to lead the club to a period of unprecedented success in domestic and continental competitions. 

Under Des Buckingham, Mumbai City FC played an attractive brand of football. He gave plenty of Indian players opportunities to shine and his departure will certainly make a lot of fans sad.

As the Englishman leaves Mumbai City FC for the next chapter in his managerial career in EFL League One, here is a look at the five best moments for the tactician as the head coach of the Islanders:

Victory in the AFC Champions League

Des Buckingham got Mumbai City FC into the AFC Champions League for the 2022-23 season and did not stop there. Under his leadership, the club became the first-ever Indian outfit to win a game in the ACL after beating Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya on 11 April 2022. 

The Islanders beat Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the reverse fixture too and finished second in their group behind Al-Shabab. Making MCFC the first-ever Indian club to win a game in the AFC Champions League was a highlight under Buckingham’s reign.

The unbeaten streak

Mumbai City FC took the Indian Super League by storm, blowing the competition out of water during the 2022-23 season. Des Buckingham led the outfit to an 18-game unbeaten streak and the chance to finish an ‘invincibles’ season was not far off. 

Mumbai City FC’s 18-game unbeaten streak remains the longest without a defeat in the ISL. It will take a herculean effort to better this record which has Des Buckingham’s legacy attached to it.

Most points in a season

The 2022-23 Indian Super League campaign was memorable for a lot of reasons. It truly brought out the best from Des Buckingham and clubs around the world started taking notice. During the term, he led Mumbai City FC to win the ISL League Shield with the most points in the history of the competition.

Mumbai City FC won the 2022-23 ISL Shield after accumulating 46 points. They also won the most games (14) and scored the most goals (54) for a club in an individual season of the ISL.

Winning his first trophy at club level

One of the best moments for Des Buckingham at Mumbai City FC was winning the 2022-23 Indian Super League Shield. Not only did MCFC become premiers and secured qualification into the AFC Champions League, they did it in style. 

Under the English tactician, MCFC played exciting football during the course of the league and won it with two games to spare. Since the ISL Shield is Buckingham’s first-ever trophy in club football, it holds a special place as well.

The numbers

Mumbai City FC’s fans will remember the era of dominance fondly under Des Buckingham. As he leaves to join Oxford United, fans will look back at stats such as Buckingham being the fastest coach to guide his team to 100 goals. 

He was the longest-serving head coach of Mumbai City FC and his commitment to the club definitely made him a favourite amongst the fans. Developing players like Lallianzuala Chhangte Bipin Singh, Vikram Partap Singh and more is also a major reason why fans will remember Buckingham forever.