Sandeep Shetty / ISL/ SPORTZPICS

When Mumbai City FC walk out on the turf of the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri on Tuesday for their ISL semifinal home leg against Atletico de Kolkata, they will be desperate to overturn the 3-2 deficit they conceded last Saturday to the former champions. Mumbai were the best team of the league stages, after all.

The significance of their run this season goes beyond just the ISL, as the Mumbai football fraternity believes that they are playing not just for Mumbai football's fortunes to revive, but also for the rest of Maharashtra.

For context; the last time a team from Mumbai did well on the national stage was exactly a decade ago.

It was a Mahindra United team, built in 2005 astutely by taking some of the best playing talent from around the country, and roping in Vasco coach and former Salgaocar defender Derrick Pereira.

They would win the Federation Cup in 2005, and the National Football League (now rechristened the I-League) the following summer. The last time Mahindra United made the Federation Cup final again was in Ludhiana in 2007, and they would withdraw their football team three years later.

"Not just Mumbai, all of Maharashtra is becoming football-free," says Bimal Ghosh, whose former team Air India were often the direct competitors to Mahindra's title as the best team of the city.

"A win for Mumbai City will be much-needed, because with the likes of Mahindra United, Pune FC no longer there, what motivation does anybody have in investing in football in this region? If Mumbai can go all the way and win this ISL, I think it will do wonders for the game in this state."

Mumbai were the most consistent team in the league stages and finished top of the pack ISL

Steven Dias, who began with Air India under Ghosh and now plays for Mumbai FC - the city's lone I-League club, agrees with that assessment.

"This is a very significant match, especially for Mumbai fans and footballers," he says. "It has been a depressing last few years, with Mahindra United and Air India no longer a part of the I-League. Mumbai football has been going down. But Mumbai City are a very good team. Their defence is the best, and their performance in Kolkata was a one-off. They just need a 1-0 to take this one into extra-time and beyond."

Ghosh, who recounts the time when he began as a young player in the early 1980s as one of the last golden eras in Indian football, fails to see any comparison between Mumbai and Kolkata as breeding grounds for players.

"In Mumbai, it's fine as long as you're playing up to school level. But then there's no scope once you get to college. And if there are no clubs to play for, then why would a young footballer aspire to pursue the sport seriously?

"At least in Kolkata, you have the big clubs to fall back on. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and even Mohammedan Sporting will always ensure that the craze for football never goes away."

The numbers back up Ghosh's theory, because while Atletico have players like Debjit Majumder, Shilton Paul, Arnab Mondal, Prabir Das and Jewel Raja who have all been reared in the Kolkata school of football, Mumbai City do not have a single player from Maharashtra, let alone Mumbai in their roster. The closest in terms of geography is full-back Ashutosh Mehta, who was born in Surat in neighbouring Gujarat.

Dias feels that Mumbai City might miss the services of suspended marquee player Diego Forlan, especially the ability he has showcased all season from set-pieces, but that could mean his former India team-mate Sunil Chhetri stepping up to the challenge.

"Sunil Chhetri thrives on situations like this," Dias says. "He has experience of playing derbies in Kolkata and Goa since he was in his teens. I think he likes high-pressure games, because these bring out the best in him."

Home advantage could also prove to be a factor, which Ghosh knows only too well, having once coached an Air India team that finished mid-table purely based on their home record.

"The home side will always have the upper hand. They are more familiar with the ground, and how the ball behaves there," he says.

"Playing at home gives you a psychological edge, because you are defending your turf. Atletico de Kolkata are a fine team, but then so are Mumbai City."

One thing that unites Ghosh and Dias is their gut feeling that Mumbai will win this for football in the city. Their scoreline predictions are similar, but perhaps reflect the difference between youthful optimism and cautious realism.

Bimal Ghosh gives it 2-1 to Mumbai City, while Steven Dias thinks they will take the game 2-0 and make their first ISL final.