Atlético de Kolkata have confirmed the retention of Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo (Tiri), Ofentse Nato, Sameehg Doutie and Iain Hume ahead of the third season of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). The ATK quartet will continue to be a part of the formidable spine of the inaugural Hero ISL champions after putting in impressive displays over the course of Season 2. Here indiansuperleague.com takes a look at their contributions to ATK’s semi-final surge last year.

Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo (Tiri)

Thrown into the deep end at the beginning of last season due to the withdrawal of Josemi due to injury, 24-year-old Tiri rose to the occasion to become an ever-present in an ATK backline that ended the season as the second meanest defence of the league. A ball-playing defender, Tiri is comfortable carrying the ball out of defence and ended last season with 32 tackles, 23 headers and 18 interceptions. A technically gifted player, the Spaniard’s ability to read the game and be in the right place at the right time makes him crucial for ATK in the upcoming season.

Ofentse Nato

A tireless worker in ATK’s midfield engine room, Nato has donned the red and white stripes from Season 1 and will continue to do so this year. The Botswanan midfielder’s presence in the middle of the park offers Atlético de Kolkata’s backline added protection from opposition attacks. His importance to ATK was evident in their semi-final loss last year, which the 26-year-old missed through injury. He made a total of 17 tackles, 19 headers and 12 interceptions from midfield in Kolkata’s run to the semis last season.

Sameehg Doutie

One of the revelations from Season 2 of the Hero ISL, Doutie’s performances provided the spark that propelled ATK into the semis. The 27-year-old hitting form coincided with the upturn in his side’s fortunes after a rather forgettable first half of the season. In fact, it was his two assists that set up ATK’s thrilling 3-2 win against Kerala Blasters FC last year to send them on a winning run en-route to the semis. Another memorable performance by the South African came against FC Goa in ATK’s 4-0 rout of last season’s losing finalist. The game saw him produce a stunning performance where he scored a brace and also provided an assist for skipper Borja Fernandez. Doutie ended last season with three goals as well as six assists, the most by anyone from ATK.

Iain Hume

The retention of Iain Hume by ATK comes as no surprise considering the Canadian international ended last year as their top-scorer. A tireless workhorse at the focal point of attack, Hume ended the inaugural season as the Hero of the League with Kerala Blasters FC for whom he netted five times and provided three assists. His second season in the Hero ISL yielded an even better return as Hume scored 11 goals to put him second on the scoring charts, two behind Chennaiyin FC’s Stiven Mendoza who finished the season as the league’s top-scorer. A firm fan-favourite thanks to his endearing work-rate for the team, Hume is a team player in every sense of the term and provided four assists for Atlético de Kolkata last year. The 32-year-old also scored two hat-tricks last season with the first coming away against Mumbai City FC and the second against FC Pune City in Kolkata.