Recap of Mohun Bagan's Asian Campaign

Mohun Bagan aim to redeem their credentials after last year’s setback.

Mohun Bagan are set to kick off their 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two campaign with their opening game against Ahal FK. It’ll mark the fifth time that the Mariners will be playing in an AFC competition since joining the Indian Super League (ISL) as they have been consistently making their way to the continental club competitions over the years.

The reigning ISL champions are definitely the most decorated club from the Indian top division in terms of representing India in Asia over the last few years. Mohun Bagan have had their share of joys and pain in the AFC competitions since joining the ISL, which includes breakthroughs in qualifying for the knockouts on a few occasions.

As the Mariners push to go far into the AFC Champions League Two knockout stages this season, here we look at Mohun Bagan’s past adventures in Asia since they joined the ISL.

Also Read: How can Mohun Bagan line up against Ahal FK?

2021 AFC Cup

The first time Mohun Bagan played in an AFC competition after joining the ISL bandwagon was in 2021. After having won the 2019-20 I-League title, the Mariners were able to qualify for the competition and secure a direct spot in the group stages. The Mariners had an impressive group stage campaign after being pitted against teams like Bengaluru FC, Bashundhara Kings, and Maziya.

They won two of their three matches, picking up wins over Bengaluru FC and Maziya in the group stages, scoring six goals in three games. However, when Mohun Bagan faced Uzbekistan giants FC Nasaf in the Inter-Zone playoff semifinals, they were handed a slice of reality. The Mariners suffered a disappointing 6-0 loss in the knockout clash, ending their AFC Cup campaign on a somber note.

2022 AFC Cup

Mohun Bagan were able to qualify for the 2022 AFC Cup after charting their route through the preliminary playoff, playing two games to get to the group stages. The Mariners comfortably defeated both Blue Star as well as Abahani Dhaka to reach the group stages, where they were placed in a tricky group alongside Bashundhara Kings, Maziya, and Gokulam Kerala. The Kolkata giants actually had a shocking start to the group stages, suffering a 4-2 loss to Gokulam Kerala in their opening match.

However, they bounced back in style with dominant wins over Bashundhara Kings and Maziya. Liston Colaco emerged as the protagonist for the ISL club, scoring a hat-trick against the Bangladeshi side. They were able to top their group on superior goal difference and reached the inter-zonal semi-finals.

The Mariners hosted Malaysian side Kuala Lumpur City in the knockout clash at the Salt Lake Stadium, but were unable to get the better of them. They conceded three goals in the second half, including two late goals, to suffer a 3-1 loss, ending their Asian dreams.

2023-24 AFC Cup

Just like the 2022 campaign, Mohun Bagan had to take the tough route to qualifying for the group stages of the AFC Cup. They had to play two playoff clashes. The defending ISL champions were able to defeat Machhindra FC and Abahani Dhaka in the qualifying games to reach the group stages of the tournament.

The Mariners were paired in the same group as fellow ISL club Odisha FC, as well as Bashundhara Kings and Maziya. The Kolkata giants started the campaign in extremely dominant fashion, getting a 4-0 win over Odisha at the Kalinga Stadium, with Dimitrios Petratos scoring a brace!

They also won their second game thanks to a Jason Cummings brace, but things went downhill after that. The Mariners were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Bashundhara Kings, before suffering a 2-1 loss to the Bangladeshi side in the reverse fixture.

The defending ISL champions succumbed to the pressure against Odisha FC to suffer a 5-2 loss at the Salt Lake Stadium, basically ending their hopes of making it to the knockout stages. The Mariners lost to Maziya in their final game, finishing in third place in the group with seven points from six games.

2024-25 AFC Champions League Two

As Mohun Bagan clinched the 2023-24 ISL league shield title, they were given a direct spot in the group stages of the rebranded 2024 AFC Champions League Two. The Kolkata giants were placed in a tough group alongside Iranian giants Tractor SC, Al-Wakrah, and Ravshan Kulob.

The ISL heavyweights started their group stage campaign with a challenging home game against Ravshan, as they played out a frustrating 0-0 draw to be held in their first game. Mohun Bagan were poised to travel to Iran to face Tractor SC in their second game, only for disaster to strike. Right before their travel, a conflict began between Israel and Iran, with missiles being exchanged between the two countries’ military forces.

This caused the Mohun Bagan management to decide in favour of not sending their players to Tabriz (Iran) due to vulnerable security situation. They ended up no-showing the match against Tractor because of security reasons.

Soon afterwards, the AFC confirmed the disqualification of Mohun Bagan from the tournament for no-showing a match. All their matches were considered null and void, marking a bitter end to the Asian campaign for the Mariners. They will be looking to make a statement this time with some impactful performances in the competition.

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