Here we are discussing about the team Mohunbagan in forthcoming 2nd ONGC I-League. MohunBagan has made us proud, winning Kolkata Premiere League for the 28th time. At the moment Green and Maroon flags are flying high but an obvious question is creeping into every supporter’s mind “Yes, we have done it again this year!! But will we be able to carry on this performance which we failed to do last year!”. Now the focus is on I-League, the most prestigious tournament in India, knocking at the door, only a couple of days away. The two most deciding factors to win such a highly competitive league are team combination and reserve bench strength. Now let us throw some light into those aspects from a different angle.
Team combination regarding age of footballers is perfect for our team. We have got Barreto-Baichung who are in their early 30’s and a bunch of young kids who have not yet touched 20 or in their early 20’s. Hopefully this blend of youth with experience will yield well for us in this league. In the recent Kolkata League our team played with good old
In i-league probably two of our seasoned campaigners, Baichung-Barreto will play in the striking zone and we have replacements like Lalawmpuia and Branco. In midfield we have Ishfaq, Jr. James, Rakesh, Lalram, Tulunga, Sr. James. We lack in central midfield place where we need an attacking medio who can hold the ball and switch it to both flanks or put a through pass for our strikers as well. Though Rakesh is basically a stopper, he has adjusted himself quite well in his new position, defensive medio and performing well under pressure. Due to injury Ishfaq missed a couple of matches but he and Tulunga, running down the flanks are always soothing for the eyes and a potent threat to any oppossing side. Lalramluah has been a hero for us in the local league. This young fellow has ample potential to be a star. In our defensive third we have Odafa, Deepak, Manju, Habibur and Mohanraj,big names in the galaxy of Indian football. All of them have provided MohunBagan great service throughout the Kolkata League. Strength of our reserve bench is just awesome.
It has been proved in the local league where in few circumstances,injury problems put some our regular players out in some of the matches, then, players like Kartik Kisku, Rino Anto, Rahul Kumar, Tapan Maity, Anand Vasan made their presence felt significantly during the matches. Fitness levels of our players are quite satisfactory, as they are running for each and every ball throughout the game. Our last line of defense, Sangram has performed consistently well throughout the KPL under the bars. Moreover we have replacements like Shilton and Chirodeep.
So, Mohun Bagan looks all set to hit the ground running in the I-League this year and we are waiting with bated breath for these boys to bring the I League home where it belongs.
(Hope we can see this picture in I-League)
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