By early November 2024, when the interaction happened, Mohun Bagan had put behind them the 0-3 defeat at Bengaluru FC, a result Molina accepted had forced a change in team composition. The signs of a turnaround were evident when Jose Molina met journalists for a rare roundtable in the Mohun Bagan Super Giant media room.
“Because we were suffering and I had to do something,” he said.
In that chastening loss, Mohun Bagan had started with former Australia strikers Dimi Petratos and Jason Cummings, Greg Stewart as wide left and Tommy Aldred in central defence. Long-term contracts provide stability to players and clubs but it can also mean stagnation, especially when the players’ pool is small. Ralte still has three years left on his contract. But did Mohun Bagan get the midfield composition right? Had he played deeper, Sahal Abdul Samad, who scored five goals in the Durand Cup including one in the derby, could have started.
After that match, Aldred and Alberto Rodriguez became an unshakeable central defensive pairing with Stewart as No.10 and Jamie Maclaren as the lone striker. Can Dilmperis get his team to do what Luis Enrique has said he seeks from Paris St-Germain after they escaped to a draw in the Ligue 1 opener: get players out of their comfort zone? Why start Zeljkovic as No.10 when he is more comfortable as a defensive midfielder or central defender?
Introduced in the second half, Ferreira received the treatment Newcastle fans had reserved for Alexander Isak in Premier League’s first weekend. A seventh-minute shot, equally tame, was how it had begun. With 10 goals in the 2025-26 half-season and 12 in the one prior, Maclaren has shown why he is the new A-League highest scorer ever (154 goals). A tame attempt in the 90th minute that left the 2018 and 2022 Australia World Cup player shaking his head summed up his evening.
But it did on Sunday and that can mean only one thing for the club that has dominated ISL since joining in 2020: pressure. Compared to the options in wide players and in attack (the club has signed another striker in Lee Erwin), Mohun Bagan look light in defence and central midfield. Like Chelsea under Roman Abramovich, they tend to choose players first before appointing the head coach. Will there be additions to the roster or will Dilmperis, like Molina, find a way? Mohun Bagan had more chances and not always will everything East Bengal do in attack click. But, if not a poisoned chalice, it can also be an experience that can leave one scarred.
Managing Mohun Bagan is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Dilmperis has said.
