(From top) The co-owners of victorious Atletico de Kolkata — Utsav Parekh, Harsh Neotia, Sourav Ganguly and Sanjiv Goenka — rejoice with the Indian Super League trophy at Quest Mall on Sunday; Sourav soaks in the joy and adulation of fans like (below) this little boy with an ATK flag who probably never saw his idol raise his bat on a cricket ground after a century but was there at the mall to catch him celebrate with a football trophy. Pictures by Amit Datta
Quest Mall turned into Salt Lake stadium for an hour on Sunday afternoon to give the triumphant Atletico de Kolkata team a taste of what a victory party would have been like on their home ground.
The balconies overlooking the ground floor lobby where a stage had been erected for the team's reception looked like stands as thousands of fans, many of whom had been waiting for more than two-and-a-half hours, stretched and strained every sinew for a glimpse of their heroes.
And when the team members trooped into the Park Circus mall one by one at 2.30pm, the crowd exploded.
The loudest cheers were reserved for a non-playing member, though. Co-owner Sourav Ganguly, in a red T-shirt, sleeveless blue jacket and distressed denims, was quite the star of the show on home turf.
Sourav's 'thank you speech' was crisp, much like his favourite cover drive. 'This is a proud moment for Calcutta. I thank you all for supporting us. I hope you will keep supporting us like this and we will keep winning the cup like this every year,' Sourav said.
He signed off with: 'See you again, next year.'
Teenagers Nancy Mandola and Ankita Diwan stalked ATK captain Luis Garcia and fellow player Cavin Lobo from the moment they walked in till they left, looking for that one priceless selfie to boast about in front of friends. 'We hardly get to see such handsome footballers in Calcutta. I had seen most of them only on television till now. Luis Garcia looks oh-so-hot upfront,' drooled Nancy.
The mall's security staff and the police had formed a security ring around the ATK team but it proved of little use as fans broke through the barriers, dodged the cops and mobbed the players.
Many of them had started gathering at the mall even before the players had landed at the city airport on their way back from Mumbai. The early birds grabbed the best seats - right in front of the dais on the ground floor, done up in red and gold.
While the fans waited, a giant screen played the ISL anthem and the extra-time goal by Mohammed Rafique in loop that earned ATK the first Indian Super League trophy.
Six-year-old Ayushman Ghosh's face lit up when he got his first glimpse of the ATK players entering the mall and chanted with the crowd: 'ATK! ATK!'Ayushman, a student of The Frank Anthony Public School, had come to Quest all the way from Baguiati. Father Kaushik Ghosh said his son was a big fan of Fikru Teferra. 'He watched the entire match with me, his uncles and cousins. When he came to know the team was coming to the mall, he insisted that I bring him here.'
Many were dejected on learning that the hero of the final, Mohammed Rafique, hadn't returned with the team. 'We are proud that a local boy engineered the victory. It would have been nice to see him here,' said Sanjay Ruia, a 46-year-old businessman who was at the mall with his wife for lunch but stayed back to see the team.
Ragini Jain, a PwC employee from Ballygunge, didn't know the players would be coming. 'I came here for shopping and suddenly found the football stars on the ground floor. I didn't miss out on the chance to take a picture of the stars,' she said. 'Garcia is a favourite. He is so handsome.'
Reception over, the players headed towards the terrace for a private party, only to be followed by an army of fans who ran up the escalators. Guards stopped them from going beyond the third floor.
'We wanted to see what the players were doing on the terrace but the guards didn't allow us to go there,' said Tanushree Mukherjee, looking distraught.
When the team made its way out of the mall at 3.40pm, there was again a big crowd near the exit calling out their favourite players' names.
Goalkeeper Edel Bete, easily the friendliest of the lot, shook hands, gave autographs and even posed for selfies with a group of fans. One woman took multiple selfies with Bete on her mobile phone until she got the shot she wanted. Bete happily obliged.
As he finally joined his teammates, the goalkeeper folded his hands in a namaste before giving the thumbs-up to the waving, hooting and screaming crowd.
What was your most memorable moment from Atletico de Kolkata's ISL campaign? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com