When one hears the phrase ‘ISL champions’, the first name that comes to mind is that of two-time Hero Indian Super League (ISL) champions ATK. The second one would be that of the team in blue from the south of India, Chennaiyin FC. The only team apart from ATK to have won the ISL title, the Super Machans have had two splendid seasons, and one forgetful one.Chennaiyin started their ISL journey with a bang. Steered by their marquee player Elano Blumer, the Colombian hitman John Stiven Mendoza and the Mizo Sniper Jeje Lalpekhlua, they notched up six victories en route becoming the first ever table-toppers. Elano picked up the golden boot award as well, and made a mark as an exquisite set-piece specialist. The semi-finals, though, began on a disastrous note as they went down 3-0 to Kerala Blasters. During the home leg however, they showed the much-required class that had consolidated their top-place finish in the table. By the end of 90 minutes, they had scripted an improbable comeback to bag three goals of their own. However, as fatigue got the better of the Chennaiyin players in extra time, the Blasters pounced through Stephen Pearson. That strike, three minutes from time, broke the home faithful’s hearts.The second season saw Mendoza return to the ISL with a vengeance. While they had a dreadful start to the league losing their opener at home to defending champions ATK, followed by a second setback against Delhi Dynamos FC, they went from strength to strength, initiating an amazing turn of events. Winning all of their last four league encounters, following a patch when they had three defeats in a row, they booked their spot in the semi-finals as the third-placed team. Mendoza took it upon himself to tear apart the opposition’s defence himself, and his golden boot-winning feat of 13 goals that season has not been surpassed by any player yet. Awaiting them in the semi-finals was the team they hadn’t ever beaten before. But after two legs against ATK, Chennaiyin prevailed where it mattered with a 4-2 aggregate victory. The final saw another classic Chennaiyin comeback, from being 2-1 down in the 90th minute to the two goals in injury time that sealed the title for the Super Machans.However, as defending champions, they did not fare as well, as the third season saw them finish a lowly seventh after picking up only three wins, the least, in the entire campaign. One could argue that the loss of the likes of Elano and Mendoza came back to hit them hard, but the Chennaiyin fans would have surely hoped for a better outcome. The season had a few ups for them though, as youngsters like Jerry Lalrinzuala and Anirudh Thapa came into the limelight.For the upcoming season, Chennaiyin have in their armada plenty of overseas player with prior ISL experience, along with some of their regulars from past seasons that they hung on to. Raphael Augusto will once more power the midfield with former NorthEast player Mailson Alves adding more depth to the middle of the park. Last year’s title-winning defender with ATK and also scorer in the final, Henrique Sereno makes the switch to the south. Another former ATK player, Jaime Gavilan, joins the ranks in midfield. Chennaiyin have further recruited ex-Brighton and Hove Albion faithful Inigo Calderon, 29-year-old Yugoslavia midfielder Rene Mihelic and Dutch winger Gregory Nelson.Apart from Jerry and Thapa, another exciting young talent in the form of Germanpreet Singh is rostered into the team, and incidentally, all three had been named in Stephen Constantine’s squad for both of India’s matches against Macau.The pacey Thoi Singh and the robust holding midfielder Bikramjit Singh are an added boost to an already scintillating midfield, but the team would be pleased most about having been able to retain their star striker for the fourth season running. Jeje will once again don the blue of Chennai, looking to shoot in more of his goals. The experienced hands of Karanjit Singh will be safeguarding their goal while the new season will also see the introduction of former Aston Villa player and manager John Gregory as their head coach.So, two amazing years, followed by a slump, Chennaiyin FC are gearing up to get right back into the thick of things. With a nice blend of youth and experience, that is capable of bringing in some skillful and entertaining football, the Super Machans would want to establish themselves at the top of the table once more.