A look back at Indian Super League 2020-2022: Moments we'll never forget

Played in a bubble, devoid of fans the league lost some of its charm.

With every passing year, there’s always something new to be seen in the world of football. And, with this in mind, it’s always a momentous moment to look back over the events of the past sporting year and see just how far things have come for our favourite players and the sport as a whole! With this in mind, today, we’re taking a look at some of the most memorable moments from the ISL 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons – in short, we’re pretty confident that we’ll never forget these moments and the shock they sent through the crowds!

The Most Memorable Moments from the ISL 2020 to 2022 Seasons We’ll Never Forget.

The ISL 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons have come at a time when we’ve all been watching football more from home, and these have surely presented numerous key events that most fans will never forget. This is true across the world of football, too; indeed, whether you tried your hand at online sports betting in India this year or if you’re a casual fan, chances are, you’ll have been on the edge of your seat at multiple points during the year. 

And, while it was hard to condense down all of the incredible moments from the year into just this one list, we’ve picked out our six favorite events that we think will go down in the record books for years to come!

#1 Mandar Rao Dessai Breaking ISL Records

It was pretty difficult to decide which of today’s top moments to put in the first position, but really, we’d be remiss in choosing anything other than Mandar Rao Dessai’s 100th appearance in ISL games – breaking the previously set ISL record for appearances.

Indeed, until this year, the record for the most ISL appearances was still held by Mandar Rao Dessai with a total of 97 appearances; however, when Mandar Rao Dessai hit that iconic 100 appearances mark, it’s a moment we’ll surely never forget. He’s not showing signs of slowing down yet, either, and continued to appear in a further 14 games after that time during the 2020/2021 matches.

What will the future continue to bring for Dessai? Well, we can’t say for certain how long he’ll continue to play, but for as long as he does, he’ll be setting brand new records with every match.

#2 Sunil Chhetri’s Khel Ratna

We were torn between first and second for this. Still, since it technically didn’t occur on the football pitch itself, we eventually decided to rank this phenomenal achievement in second – but it’s sure that all avid football fans will remember the moment that Sunil Chhetri received his Khel Ratna from President Kovind for years to come. Indeed, the award was presented for his “outstanding achievements in football,” which included being an all-time top goal-scorers and the most-capped Indian player. That’s not a bad legacy to hold at all if you ask us!

#3 East Bengal Set an Eight-Game Win

When your favorite team wins for the first time, it’s exciting. When they win for the second time, it’s exhilarating. When they win for the third time, it’s something truly tremendous! However, looking to the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s nothing worse than seeing your favorite team failing to achieve their potential.

Alas, this was the case for the East Bengal team, and no one could ever have anticipated (or, perhaps more suitably, dreaded) their massive run of eight games without a single win. This even led to the team parting from Jose Manuel Diaz as a result – a momentous (if less optimistic) event we certainly won’t forget anytime soon.

#4 The First Indian Head Coach: Khalid Jamil

Another monumental change that we saw during the 2021/2022 season early on was the appointment of Khalid Jamil as head coach in the ISL – the first Indian to hold the position. Though his team isn’t quite leading the table, this is nevertheless still a massive achievement and one that we hope will encourage greater engagement and diversity with the ISL overall.

#5 Bengaluru FC Sacked Carles Cuadrat

The Bengaluru FC team absolutely faced a myriad of trials and challenges during the 2020/2021 season, with countless injuries and lacklustre results that left fans feeling a little cheated and wanting more. Perhaps one move that was more unexpected, though, was that the team sacked Carles Cuadrat in response to these poor results. 

Indeed, it seems that even his excellent performance spurring the team to their first-ever ISL title wasn’t enough to save him, in this case – and it will be interesting to see how the team continues to perform for the rest of this year’s season.

#6 Juan Ferrando Moving Mid-Season

As our final pick of the most memorable moments that we’ll never forget from the ISL 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, we definitely had to go for Juan Ferrando’s move to ATK Mohun Bagan. Now, there’s, of course, no surprise associated with the fact that he moved; coaches change teams all the time, after all. However, what came as a significant shock for players and football fans alike had to be the sudden and dramatic way he left  FC Goa after Antonio Habas’s departure in mid season! There wasn’t even any notice given for the move – undeniably making it all the more shocking and jarring for the FC Goa team.