Jubilant Atletico de Kolkata players and support staff with Mohammed Rafique, in Navi Mumbai, on Saturday. A Telegraph picture

Mumbai: For Luis Garcia, Saturday’s win is on a par with the Champions League triumph as a Liverpool player in 2005. “Yes, I will put this up there. It’s a great victory for us… as dramatic as that win. That one came via tie-breakers and this one in the fourth minute of second half’s injury time,” Garcia said.

Garcia did not play in the final because of a nagging hamstring injury, but he strained his vocal chord from the bench to such an extent that he could barely talk after the match was over. “See what I have done to my voice,” he quipped, beaming.

Garcia said he was happy that an Indian’s goal decided the final.

“It’s a big thing. I remember speaking about finding an Indian idol in the first media conference. And see, we have got Rafique. Indians have the talent and given the right facilities they will improve.”

Manager Jose Antonio Habas rated this win as one of his best. “I have won some as a manager, but this one is special since this one is the latest,” he said.

The manager said three months of hard work has paid off and heaped praise on his players. “They deserve this title. Congratulations to them. I just gave instructions, but the execution was in their hands. This is something I am happy with.”

A delighted ATK management announced that Rs 1.5 cr will be distributed among the players as a bonus.

Josemi said: “We have a fantastic management who were always there, whenever we needed them.”

While ATK, with co-owner Sourav Ganguly were celebrating, Sourav’s former teammate and Kerala Blasters’ co-owner Sachin Tendulkar was busy consoling his players.

He attempted to lift their morale, narrating a story from his amazing career. “He spoke about a Ranji Trophy final loss in Mumbai.

“It was a great experience listening to this man. He spoke from a player’s perspective and that was what I liked,” Blasters’ marquee player-cum-manager David James revealed.

A chartered flight will take ATK back home to Calcutta on Sunday afternoon. The management is planning an open bus parade and they will be felicitated at the Sanjeev Goenka owned Quest Mall.

TEAMS

Atletico de Kolkata: Edel Bete; Kingshuk Debnath, Arnab Mondal, Josemi, Jakub Podany; Ofentse Nato, Borja Fernandez: Baljit Singh Sahni, Arnal Llibert, Sanju Pradhan: Mohammed Rafi (Mohammed Rafique, 74)

Kerala Blasters: David James; Nirmal Chetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Colin Falvey, Saumik Dey (Sushanth Mathew, 90+1); Mehtab Hussain; Ishfaq Ahmed, Victor Forcada (Penn Orji, 77), Stephen Pearson; Iain Hume, Michael Chopra

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov

Man of the Match: Mohammed Rafique