MOHUN BAGAN vs PUNE FC- PRE MATCH REVIEW

8.3.2010, Kolkata: This is perhaps the toughest I-League till date in the history of this particular tournament. After 100 matches of the league have been played, till now at least 5-6 teams are in title race. If you observe the league table for last few weeks you will certainly observe the ups and downs in the table. Chirag is the perfect example of it. They were in second position after the first phase and now just losing two consecutive matches they are in fifth position. It shows the importance of each and every match in current circumstances of the league. In such a critical situation Mohun Bagan will face newly promoted Pune FC on Wednesday at Howrah Stadium.

Lack of consistency has been a barrier for Mohun Bagan in first phase of the league. We started the second phase very well by demolishing Chirag by 5-1. Now the doctor’s order is just to continue our good form. After Satyada took charge from Karim sir our team’s performance is very impressive. In five matches under Satyada’s guidance we have won four of them with one draw and have scored 19 goals and in last two matches we have scored eleven goals. It clearly suggests the capability of this Green and Maroon brigade. Satyada has many options in his hand before this crucial encounter. There is also some bad news for us too. We will miss our goal machine Edeh Chiddi and our dependable stopper Sk. Azim due to card problem. Apart from that there is no big injury problem right now. Sangram will perhaps continue as our No. 1 goalkeeper. Rakesh Masih will replace Sk. Azim in central defense to partner Deepakda. Manju’s performance against Chirag as left back was very much impressive. He and Surkumar will start as two side backs. In Chirag match we saw Marcos – Sueoka combination in central midfield. But in this match Satyada may have to change that if he wants to put Sueoka with Barreto in upfront in absence of Chiddi. Branco is also a good option to partner Barreto especially after his devastating hat trick yesterday against Port Trust. If Satyada opts for Sueoka in upfront then Shubo Kumar may partner Marcos in central midfield. Lalramluha or Souvick is also performing well in KPL matches. So they can also be good option. We have a healthy competition between Snehashis and Ishfaq for the left winger position. Especially after yesterday’s blockbuster performance by our “Shyamnagar Express” this competition becomes much stronger. This is good to see that both them are performing well whenever they get chance. James may be the other winger to start anyone of Ishfaq and Snehashis.  

Pune FC has been a surprise package till now in their debut I-League. Their recent performance is really surprising. They have had only 6 points before the break for national duties and Federation Cup. But after that they played 6 matches and they won 5 of them. They should be in a very confident mood after such a brilliant recent performance. Pune FC has some brilliant players in their squad. Subrata Pal, the India No. 1 is their keeper. Everybody knows how much different he can make in a match with his superb keeping ability. Their midfield is leaded by veteran S. Venkatesh and Douhu Piere. Douhu is combining very well with their foreign striker Edmar Figuiera. Figuiera has scored 5 goals till now in I-League this year. Izumi Arata is playing well for this Pune side also. This Indian origin player has already scored 4 goals. Also one must have to mention the name of their coach Derek Pereira. This famous personality of Indian football both as Player and as Coach can make a difference even from bench with all his experiences.
So it will be nice battle on hand on Wednesday. Bagan attack leaded by Barreto will have that challenge to beat Subrata. At the same time Deepakda has to lead the defense to take a close look on Figuiera and Arata. But the main battle will be played in the midfield. Whoever takes the hold of the midfield will have an upper hand in the match. So Marcos – Sueoka will be our key on that context to put pressure on Venkatesh – Douhu. Actually in current situation we need three points from this match at any cost. So we have to stop the unbeaten run of Pune FC in I-League to continue our own unbeaten run under Satyada.

All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN………………

6.3.2010, Kolkata: Mohun Bagan played the opening fixture of Kolkata Premier League 2009-10 on 21st October last year and tomorrow we will play our 11th game of this year’s KPL. This is perhaps the lengthiest Kolkata Premier League in recent years. I.F.A. faced a lot of problem to continue the league in between I-League and Federation Cup. Naturally KPL has lost its past glamour due to this reason, but still the prestige of KPL will remain always the same. Mohun Bagan had a great record in KPL this year and hopefully tomorrow they will try their level best to keep the faith of the millions of green and maroon fanatics.

Satyada may have a lot to think before placing tomorrow’s side. We played our last match on Thursday and after tomorrow’s match we will again have a crucial I-League encounter on Wednesday against Pune FC. So it’s going to be a tough decision for Satyada whether to field the full strength side or to give rest to some of our key players. In last match we saw our skipper Sangram Mukherjee was back in action recovering from injury. So he may start as Bagan No. 1 tomorrow. Shilton is also ready to stand under the bar and he has a really impressive record in KPL this year. He has got eight clean sheets out of 10 matches till now in KPL. In central defense tomorrow we may see the Azim-Deepak combination again. Mandi has no chance to play tomorrow as he has just recovered from health problem. Surkumar and Manju are best possible choice for us in two side backs tomorrow, but if Satyada will want to give them rest, then Zenith and Biswajit are ready to replace them. In central midfield Shuvo and Souvick will probably start. In wings we may see any two of Tomba, Snehashis, Ishfaq and James. Barreto and Sueoka most probably will not be there in first XI to get the necessary rest for the next I-League match on Wednesday. Branco most probably will be there to partner our goal machine Chiddi in the upfront.

On the other hand, Port Trust had some success against us in recent past. In 2006 KPL opening fixture they beat us by a solitary goal. In 2008’s league we play a goalless draw against them in the first leg match. Port Trust did not start this year’s KPL well; for a long time they stayed in the bottom of the table, but in the recent matches they bounced back well. They haven’t lost in last six matches. They are highly dependent on their striking combination of Henry and ex Bagan player Ayan Chowdhury. Both of them have scored 4 goals in KPL till now. So Bagan defense have to be careful against them. Port Trust has some experienced face of Maidan like Kaushik Prasad, Rabi Karmakar, Shimonto Das etc. They also have an experienced coach Biswajit Bhattacharya.

So it will be a nice battle tomorrow and we hope that tomorrow it will not be very difficult for us to get full three points. We also hope that it will be a full house Sunday battle tomorrow at Mohun Bagan ground. 

All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN………..     

3.3.2010, Kolkata: Tomorrow Mohun Bagan will start their I-League second phase campaign against Chirag United. By judging the current status of the points table, Bagan must have to start the second phase on a high note and a win will be must for them. Presence of two great Green and Maroon sailors of past times in the two reserve bench- Mr. Satyajit Chatterjee and Mr. Subrata Bhattacharya as the coach of these two teams has placed the tempo of the match in a much higher level. No doubt that tomorrow it will be a nice tactical battle between our beloved Satyada against Babluda.

Tomorrow for the first time, Satyada will start the I-League campaign as chief coach of Mohun Bagan. Before debuting in I-League as coach he must be in a comfortable situation as almost everybody in the squad is fit and ready to deliver their best. It’s really a great news for all the Green and Maroon fanatics that our goal machine for this season, Chiddi is fit and will be back in action after almost one and half months. But our captain Sangram is not fully fit till now and so Shilton will start tomorrow under the bars. Our defense was not performing consistently well. We conceded 22 goals in last 13 matches in the first phase. But tomorrow our defense will be highly boosted by the addition of Deepak Mondal as he is now fully fit and ready to lead our defense once again. This season Manju has played only one match in Green and Maroon jersey, but on that match his performance was not up to the mark. During that time, he just recovered from a serious injury, so he needed some time to become match fit, but after that time he joined the national camp and also played a friendly match for the national team few days back. Azim is also a very good option is central defense. As this year his performance is really remarkable. So there is a possibility that Deepakda and Azim will be there in the central defense and Manju will be placed in the left back position. Surkumar will be in right back position without any doubt. Our midfield is perhaps the best of the country right now. Satyada has lots of option to choose four midfielders. Ryuji Sueoka will perhaps partner Marcos in the central midfield. This Bagan squad is way ahead than any other I-League squad in Asian foreigner position. Our PAO recruit Ryuji Sueoka can make a difference against any team on any day. He scored in last three I-League encounters. He also scored in recent Kolkata League matches. So he will play a very crucial role in Bagan attack tomorrow. Marcos got some rest in recent Kolkata league encounters due to foreign players rule. So we will be fresh and hopefully he will play as a pivot tomorrow. James and Ishfaq most probably will be there for the wing play. And tomorrow football lovers will see Barreto-Chiddi combination once again in Bagan attack. Green and Maroon fanatics are eagerly waiting for this combination to fire tomorrow. Since Chiddi is coming back from injury after almost one and half months so it may take some times for him as well as his combination with Barreto to deliver their best but the presence of such quality players can change the picture of a match any time.

Chirag has been a surprise package of this year’s I-League. They played really well in the first phase and now become a strong contender for the I-League campaign. They will be highly boosted by their recent triumph in E.K.Nayanar Trophy, Kerala. They have some quality foreigners in their squad. Ex Mohun Bagan player Du is leading their team from the back. And in front their Samba combination of Joshimar and Edmilson has really worked for them till now. Joshimar is now in the second position of the scorers’ list of I-League, already has scored 11 goals. So Bagan defense has to be very cautious against this quality striking line up. Chirag has some quality local players like Jayanta Sen, Gouranga Dutta, Lalkamal Bhowmick etc. in their brigade. But on big advantage for Chirag is the presence of Subrata Bhattacharya in their bench. Such an experienced coach like Babluda is always a boost for any team.

This is the fourth time we will face Chirag this season. And our performance is not impressive against them this season. We beat them only in the I.F.A. Shield semifinal via tie-breaker. We lost against them in our opening fixture of I-League by 2-3. And the Federation Cup group league match ended in a goalless draw. We have seen that in earlier matches Chirag played very rough football against us. It may happen tomorrow also. Bagan boys have to be very cool if they play rough too. Also to note this the first time we will be up against them with our fabulous four – Barreto, Chiddi, Sueoka and Marcos. So hopefully in presence of almost all of our first team players we can start our second phase campaign in a winning note.

All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN……….    

1.3.2010, Kolkata: It’s good news for all the green and maroon fanatics that Manish Maithani, the new midfield sensation of Mohun Bagan team who scored the second goal for Mohun Bagan in the 5-3 derby match against East Bengal today has joined the practice session after recovering from a critical knee injury which he got during the last SAFF Cup tournament at Dhaka. He has completely recovered from the injury and just now trying to become match fit. Today in the practice session, he was mainly in jogging and stretching and then spent a good time in the gym. He is all set to become match fit in a couple of weeks.

28.2.2010, Kolkata: Second phase of I league 2009-10 will resume just day after tomorrow, so it’s perhaps the best time to take a flash back to the first phase of I league especially on the performance of our beloved Mohun Bagan and also to make a rough analysis for the second phase.

After losing last year in photo finish we started this year’s campaign with lots of hope to bring back the national title again to the “National Club of India”. But unfortunately like last few years, we started very badly this year too. We lost our first match against newly promoted Kolkata side Chirag United by 2-3 and it was really a big blow for us. In fact just to give you a statistics that, the last time we won the opening match in National League is way back in 2003-04 when we beat Mohammedan Sporting by 2-0. In the second match, we lost against J.C.T. by 1-2. Losing the first two home fixtures we got our first victory in I-League 2009-10 in our third match against Viva Kerala when Snehasish and Manish scored to give us a 2-0 victory. With 3 points from 3 matches we faced our arch rival East Bengal on 25th October, 2009 in the 4th match. This was a historic day for green and maroon fanatics all over the world as we took the sweet revenge of 1975 as we netted 5 goals into their net and won the match by 5-3. Scoring 4 goals Chiddi was the hero of the match. Manish scored the other. Our first away match was perhaps the toughest fixture for any teams. Playing away in front of a jam packed stadium, in high altitude with comparatively little amount of oxygen in air than the plain and in an uneven ground it was not easy for any team, but we continued our winning run against Lajong FC; conceded an early goal but Marcos and Chiddi scored a piece to give us a 2-1 win. But we lost our rhythm in the very next match against Mumbai FC who was struggling at that point, faced a 1-2 defeat at Barasat stadium. We did not also manage to win against another struggling side Sporting Clube de Goa too. We drew 2-2 against this Goan side. Our next match was against Pune FC at Pune. That time Chiddi’s hattrick ensured us a very valuable three points from that match. After a break of almost two months we played our 9th round fixture against Churchill at Barasat. Barreto delivered a brilliant performance but the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Our next two matches were very tough against two Mumbai giants Air India and Mahindra United away at Cooperage. Barreto scored 4 goals to give us a big 5-0 win against Air India; Kuluthungan scored the other goal. We got a brilliant win from behind against title contender Mahindra United. After we conceded a very early goal, we got the victory via Sueoka and Marcos. At that stage Green and Maroon brigade was in a very good shape with 20 points from 13 games. But we again failed to maintain the rhythm. Lost both the away matches in Goa, one against the weakest team of this tournament, Salgaocar by 1-2 and in the last match of the first phase against Dempo by 1-3.
So, it was a very sundry performance for us in the first phase. Sometimes we played very well but sometimes we were not up to the mark. We had to face lots of injury problems too during the first phase of I-league and in most of the matches we did not get the full strength. Barreto and Chiddi could not partner each other for two complete matches even. But still our striking force had done a brilliant job in the first phase. We have scored 29 goals in 13 matches which is maximum goals scored by any teams after the first phase. But our defense did not play well; we conceded 22 goals in first phase. Sometimes our goalkeeping was also not up to the mark. Also to note we had suffered from very poor referring also. Especially in the start of the league we suffered from bad referring a lot.   

Now after 13 games for each team, Dempo is leading the League Table with 26 points where as we have 20 points from the same number of matches. A gap of six points is never a big gap in a marathon league. A match or two can change the whole scenario. So a long way till to go. If our fabulous four – Barreto, Chiddi, Marcos and Sueoka combine well then we have a very good chance to win the title till. In pen and papers we are the best side of the league this year. We just need to combine well in the second phase. Deepak Mondal will be back from injury to give the stability in the deep defense and Manju had played a full game for national side in Dubai last week. This is also good news for our defense. Shilton played with confidence in recent matches of Kolkata league and hope he will continue with his good forms in I League too. Sangram will also be back very shortly. Overall it looks like very good now. After introduction of Satyada as chief coach in place of Karim sir we won three of our last four games. So Satyada will start I-League campaign with confidence. Just pray to Goa so that we will not suffer further from injury problems. If we will get our full side especially four foreigners for most of the rest 13 matches then we can bounce back in the title race without any doubt.

Now come to the fixture for the second phase. We will start the second phase against Chirag on 4th of March. We have four away matches in this phase. But surprisingly last three matches of this phase are away matches. We can take this on a positive note too. If we can put a good show in first ten matches of whom nine matches will be at Salt Lake Stadium then we can play last three away matches with lots of confidence. Also judging the strengths of our away match opponents, match against Churchill will be our only tough away fixture in this phase.

Despite winning 10 games consecutively we lost the Championship last year. Then many of the experts said that we went into our pick form very early in the competition. Now with 13 matches to go it is perhaps the best possible time to go in our peak. Green and Maroon brigade has that ability to go on top to clinch the title again.

All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN for the second phase of the I- League…….   

22.2.2010, Kolkatas: Tomorrow Mohun Bagan is going to face Eastern Railway in their 10th match of this year’s Kolkata Premier League campaign. Though at present Eastern Railway is not a big name in Kolkata maidan, but this year their performance in KPL is not very bad; at present they are in 5th position with 17 points from 11 matches just behind East Bengal. So it is going to be a tough match for Bagan boys if we consider the present performance of Eastern Railway.

In this KPL Eastern Railway has displayed a total team game, already they have scored 16 goals from 11 matches and it’s really notable that most of the players have shared their pieces behind this one. Till now top scorer for Eastern Railway is Bikash Narginary, a genuine goal getter who is competing with striker like Edeh Chiddi for the top scorer position in this KPL. Players like Mark Denis, Indraneel Saha, and Anthony Soren have also attracted the attention of many football experts and the U-19 player Tanmoy Ghosh is also a future star, has delivered some good performances in previous matches. So they will try to perform well in this match too to draw the attention of big club recruiters for the next season.

On the other hand, Mohun Bagan is in good shape, though in the last match against Md. Sporting Club their performance was not up to the mark, missed couple of good chances, but still green and maroon brigade is at the top and hopefully they will try to increase the point difference from the other contending team. The team most probably will be same as that of the last match, Shilton under the bar post, Azim and Mandi in the central defence, Genith and Biswajit in the side back position. Now in the midfield Satyada has lots of options like Subho, Souvik, Kulu, Micky and Ramluah, so any two from them can be there in the midfield. Ishfaq or Snehasish will be there in the left wing but what about Tomba???Will we see him in the right wing tomorrow??? The Barreto-Sueoka combination is working well, so hopefully there will be no change in the forward line.

So, football lovers can expect a good fight from Eastern Railway side but they don’t have players like Barreto, Sueoka who can make a difference on their days; so expecting a big margin victory for green and maroon brigade.

Best of Luck Mohun Bagan….

18.2.2010, Kolkata: Tomorrow Mohun Bagan is going to face Md. Sporting Club in the 9th match of their KPL campaign. It’s the first time in this season, when these two teams will face each other and undoubtedly Mohun Bagan is the hot favourite for this match.

Mohun Bagan team is at present with good rhythm and in a winning run, already has won last two consecutive matches with big margin in this KPL under the careful guidance of new coach Mr. Satyajit Chatterjee. Bagan attack is really superior to Md. Sporting Club due to the presence of Barreto and Sueoka, both of which are in good form, while Md. Sporting Club will depend on Brazilian Edu and veteran Dipendu Biswas in their forward line. Meanwhile, in midfield position, the strength of both the team is almost equal: Mohun Bagan midfield will be guided by Subho Kumar and most probably Souvick Chakraborty (though Satyada has other options like Kulu or Micky); Tomba Singh and Ishfaq Ahmed (or Snehasish Chakraborty) most probably will be with the duty to spread the game in the flanks. On the other hand, Md. Sporting Club will get the efficient leadership of experienced Sasthi Duley, who is in good form and already delivered some good performance in played EK Nayar Trophy, Satyajit Bose, Jyothi Kumar and Gautam Thakur. The defensive ability of both the team is also not too much different; Mohun Bagan till now has conceded one goal while Md. Sporting Club has conceded two in this KPL. Azim was suffering from injury but most probably will accompany Sagaram Mandi in the central defense while Genith and Rino will be there at right and left back position. For Md. Sporting Club, they will mainly depend on Anupam Sarkar in the central defense.

So, in nut shell, the striking force of Mohun Bagan that is going to make the difference and Barreto and Sueoka have to take huge responsibility to lead the team. Bagan defense should be cautious against Edu as because he has the ability to score from dead ball situation.

So, Bagan is in hunt for their ninth consecutive victory in this KPL and if they will get the important three points from this match, then 29th KPL title will be just like a gap between the lip and a cup of tea.

17.2.2010, Kolkta: AIFF has declared the fixture for the second phase of I-League 2009-10. Mohun Bagan will face Chirag United on 4th March, 2010 in the first match of the second phase. The date of the derby match has still not been declared. For the full fixture click here

15.2.2010, Kolkata: For the last few years, 14th February has been turned into a very special day for the lovers all over the world as VALENTINE’S DAY- a day on which lovers present chocolates, gifts or greetings cards to their beloved ones. But what about 15th February??  Just before two years, it was simply a normal date with out such significance, but from last year it has been turned into a very special day for all the green and maroon fanatics, as on this day TEAM MOHUN BAGAN created a record of 10 consecutive victories in the I-League 2008-09 under the coaching of Mr. Karim Bencherifa. Read the entire article

12.2.2010, Kolkata: Tomorrow Mohun Bagan is going to face Tollygunje Agragami in their KPL campaign. Last time these two teams played against each other on 25th September, 2005, Mohun Bagan got the victory on that match by 1-0 to win Kolkata League for the 26th time. After a long gap of nearly four and half years, tomorrow Green and Maroon brigade will meet this ‘giant killer’ side to continue our winning run to put one more step forward for 29th Kolkata League title.

Our chief coach Mr. Satyajit Chatterjee has already informed that in Kolkata Premier League he will try to give chance to everybody who are there in the squad. So we can hope to see some changes in the starting eleven from the last match. Shilton who just has conceded only one goal in seven KPL matches will be there under the bar and Azim and Sagaram from whom we have got some good performance will probably there in the stopper position. Hopefully Zenith and Biswajit will remain in their respective side back positions. In last match against BNR, both Subho and Ramluha played brilliantly in central midfield position, but on the other hand, in this match Souvick will also be available after missing the last one due to double yellow. Micky and Kulu are also there. So it is going to be a tough job for Satyada to pick up two central midfielders from this bunch. Subho and Souvick may be the best choice in this position for tomorrow. One thing also to be noted that Sueoka may be back in the squad after being in the last match due to injury problem. If he will start tomorrow then he can start in right wing position in absence of James Singh and then Ishfaq or Snehasish will be there in left wing. But if Sueoka will not start, then there are options like Tomba or Subhojit. In last match Barreto and Branco partnered well in striking force and probably they will start tomorrow again, meanwhile Suraj Mandal may come as a substitute.

Now regarding tomorrow’s opponent; Tollygunje Agragami is perhaps the most unfortunate side in Indian Football. They played in national league for eight consecutive years, but till now they don’t have their own grounds or own tent or even any good sponsor!!! After almost four years they came back to the main flow of Bengal Football. They have a quite impressive side this year. They started this KPL also very well. They beat East Bengal by 2-1. Foreign striker of Tollygunje, Nuruddin looked really deadly during first few matches. He scored the first hattrick of this year’s League against Eastern Railway. Till now he has scored all the five goals that have been in the bag for Tollygunje in this year’s league. But he was out of form in last few matches and so is his team. It clearly depicts that they do not have good striking force due to more dependency on Nur, but their defense is pretty well. They conceded only 6 goals from 9 matches. So it will be a good battle between Barreto and co. and this Tolly defense. Our defense also has to be cautious against Nuruddin.

So overall, it will be a good battle tomorrow. Bagan attack will surely try to get an early goal. Although football is a game of great uncertainty but still it will not be too tough for us to get three points. Also coming to the end of the preview one last thing to tell that we will play at Salt Lake Stadium tomorrow for the very first time after that historic 5 goals match against East Bengal on 25th of October last year.

All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN…….

7.2.2010, Kolkata: Again back to Kolkata Premier League. We played our last Kolkata League match almost two months back. In between these two months lots of things happened. Firstly we lost in the Semifinal of Federation Cup despite playing well and we dropped down to the 5th position in the I League table after losing two consecutive away matches in Goa. We have had a change of coach also just four days back. Satyada took the charge from Karim sir just last Thursday. Despite all these facts when we will take field against B.N.R. tomorrow our motto will be same as in two months back just to demolish opponents to continue our winning streak in this year’s Kolkata League and put one more step towards the hattrick of Kolkata League.

Tomorrow Satyada has to think a lot about team composition before his first match in charge as seven players are in national camp and players like Chidi, Sangram etc are yet to be fully fit. Also according to the rule we can play only two foreign players apart from a player of Asian origin. Since Chidi is already registered it will be one between Marcos and Barreto. Hopefully Satyada will pick Barreto to strengthen the striking force in absence of Chidi. Then in central midfield it will be perhaps two between Micky, Kulu and Shuvo. Although our U-19 player Souvick is a central midfielder and played beautifully in earlier matches (won a Man of the Match award too) of League but he is out from tomorrow’s encounter due to double bookings. Tomorrow probably Shuvajit or Shanta will play in U-19 quota. But if you follow our last few matches you will certainly realize that Sueoka is playing a central role. So his role is also going to be very vital. It’s a plus point for us that he can play as winger and striker both. So if he will start as winger then Branco or Suraj can partner Barreto tomorrow. Otherwise we have Snehashis, Ishfaq and Tomba to start at wing. Hopefully Azim and Mandi will look the central defense line. Although Mandi did not play well at Goa but his Kolkata league performance is really impressive. Zenith and Biswajit may start as side backs.

Now coming to B.N.R. one thing we must have to say that they are not very easy opponent like some other Kolkata League outfits this year. They are now in 6th position with 12 points from 8 matches. But the most important thing is that they have conceded just four goals. It clearly tells that they have a good defense combination. They lost to Chirag and Mohammedan Sporting but they had given a good fight. B.N.R. has a popular name in their attack as Babatunde; former Viva Kerala striker who already has scored a hattrick in this year’s league. So our defense has to look after him.
No doubt it will be a match of our attack versus their defense tomorrow. They will surely put more players in defense and will look for counter attacks. We have already seen Chidi to break such defensive approach in earlier matches. Hopefully Barreto will take the baton from Chidi tomorrow and our winning run in Kolkata League will continue.

All the best Team Mohun Bagan. And a special wish to our very own Satyada who is going to start a new career in his mother club tomorrow.  

5.2.2010, Kolkata: Hopefully 4th February, 2010 morning will remain as a very special day in the memory of Satyajit Chatterjee, at present the chief coach of Mohun Bagan AC, as because this time he entered the club as the head coach of the team, not as the assistant coach. Yesterday after taking the responsibility of the chief coach of Mohun Bagan football team, today it was his first day in practice with the football team. Today morning he entered the club with in about 8.15 AM and then got engaged in an important meeting with club officials like honorary secretary, Mr. Anjan Kr. Mitra and Finance Secretary Mr. Debasish Dutta. Then he interacted with the players and the practice started near about 9.20 AM. Practices started with light jogging and then followed by stretching and match practice in small area. In between these, Satyada made some conversations with Sueoka (who today was mainly busy with stretching and cycling) and Chiddi (who today mainly involved with jogging, stretching and then spent some time with the ball practice). More important thing was that two times he interacted with the total team, one just during the start of the practice and then after the ending of the practice. The practice continued till 11.30 AM. After the practice he faced the press and shared some information there which are as follows-“I will not recently change the style, team is habituated with a particular set up, so I will at present will try to move with that one”, “Its not a challenge for me to take the responsibility as the chief coach of Mohun Bagan, I think its an opportunity for me that I have got to serve my mother club”,  “I have played under so many famous coaches like Amal Dutta, P.K. Banerjee, Chatuni, Subrata Bhattacharjee. So I will try to follow their coaching style but in my own way”, “I have consulted with Hemanta whether we will have the need for any one to assist us, we will take the final decision after few days”, “Most of the players of this team are known to me, so it will not be a major problem from me to cope up with this team”.

So first day in practice as the chief coach of his beloved club, Satyada has surely won the hearts of supporters who were present there during the practice session.

4.2.2010, Kolkata: Satyajit Chatterjee is a very popular name among us; the green and maroon fanatics. He is very close to our heart as he served our beloved club Mohun Bagan through out his football career. Then we got him as the assistant coach of our football team, once with Mr. Carlos Pereira and then with Mr. Karim Bencherifa. Now this time we have got him as the head coach of Mohun Bagan football team. In one line we can say that our “homeboy” is back. After ending all speculations, today our beloved “Satya da” has become our football team’s head coach. It is really feeling great to have a person like Satya da in the hot seat of Mohun Bagan coach.

Today afternoon, in the first session of the press conference Mr. Anjan Kr. Mitra, the Honorary Club Secretary, declared that club is going to select a new coach for the rest of season in place of Mr. Karim Bencherifa. Karim Sir in his press meet told to the media that “I am very happy working with Mohun Bagan. It was a nice experience here. Officials were very helpful to me. Hope our good relationship remains.” He also delivered his sincere thanks to the support stuffs and supporters also. Then Mr. Mitra handed over a beautiful flower bouquet as a token of best wishes for the future career of Karim sir. Then it was an anxious hour for green and maroon fanatics inside the club premises as everybody was interested to know the name of our football team’s next coach. It was around 5.15 p.m. when there occurred ending of all speculations. Satyajit Chatterjee entered into the club amidst of huge applause of the supporters present there in the club today. At the press conference he told that “It’s my mother club. Mohun Bagan is in my blood. It’s great to be a part of Mohun Bagan again.” He also thanked the green and maroon fanatics all over the world and hopes that they will be with him as always.

Satyajit Chatterjee had a great football career. From 1986-87 to 2000-01 he was in the Mohun Bagan team as a player. He was the captain of the team in 1990-91. He was the part of Mohun Bagan’s National Football League winning squad for 1997-98 and 1999-00. He won the heart of Green and Maroon fanatics with his dedication and devotion to Mohun Bagan.

In recent circumstances Satya da is perhaps the best choice for our football team. So at the end of the day we have to congratulate the officials too for this decision. Hope that he will be able to place himself as a successful coach from his “mother club” Mohun Bagan. 

All the best Satya da… 

1.2.2010, Kolkata: Tomorrow Mohun Bagan will face Dempo Sports Club in their last encounter of the first phase of this year’s I League. It is the first time in this season when the two teams are going to face each other. It is going to be a very crucial game for both the sides especially for Bagan as a win tomorrow will help them to end the first phase among the top three of the table. After losing the last match against Salgaocar Sports Club, it is really a crunch match for Green and Maroon brigade to stop all sorts of criticism.

It has been observed that in this I-League, Bagan boys have delivered excellent performance against strong opponents like Mahindra United, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers though they lost some vital points against weaker teams like Sporting Clube de Goa, Salgaocar, J.C.T. So we can hope that tomorrow mariners will be keen to beat Dempo Sports Club who is now in top of the League table. Against Salgaocar Sports Club, our defense looked very weak and short of confidence. In absence of Deepak Mondal, Azim and Mandi played really well in the central defense in the away matches in Mumbai but in the last match Azim was out due to fever and Karim Sir had no choice other than Manju to place in central defender position. Manju looked very shaky after returning almost after 4-5 months from injury. But the good news before tomorrow’s vital match is that Azim is fit now and ready to play in tomorrow’s match. Probably he will replace Manju to partner Mandi in the central defense. Surkumar will also be back in the team after missing the last match due to card problem. Ishfaq will miss tomorrow’s match due to double yellow card and as a result, Snehasish will probably start in the left flank. Masih who came in replacement in last match probably will start as a defensive blocker in place of Kulu.

The positives before tomorrow’s match are: 1) Form of Marcos, he is playing really a pivotal role in Bagan midfield and tomorrow Barreto and Sueoka will surely get good supply from him. 2) Azim, Surkumar and Masih are returning into the first XI, which will strengthen our defense. 3) The agility and goal seeking nature of Sueoka who scored two consecutive goals in last two matches will play a crucial role alongside Barreto to put a control against Dempo’s well balanced defense. Also not to forget Dempo will be playing without their two foreigners- Beto and Ranty. Apart from that Dempo side is a very strong side consisting of a bunch of skillful players like Chetry, Climax, Miranda, Gawli etc. But under Karim sir we have a good all win record against Dempo. Last year we met three times against this Goan side and we beat them in all three occasions. It can be remembered  that in last year’s away fixture against them we were down to ten men in the middle of the first half but we won by a solitary goal of Barreto and from that match, the run of 10 consecutive victories started. So, we can hope that from tomorrow history will repeat itself.

There is lots of speculation on the weather of Goa right now as the temperature is much more than that of midsummer Kolkata. But as we are in Goa for at least a week players should habituated with that hot and humid condition. Pray to GOD that we can end the first phase with a win tomorrow. All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN.   

Analyzed by: Arnab Ghosh

15.1.2010, Kolkata: Edeh Chiddi, our new goal machine most probably will be out of the field for about 1 month due to the injury he got during today’s practice session. It is going to be a big blow for us as he already made a good impact in this season and his goal scoring ability really attracted every one’s concentration. He already scored 24 goals from 26 matches in this season and TEAM MOHUN BAGAN will really miss his service for the coming crucial matches like Mahindra United and Dempo Sports Club. We hope that Chiddi will recover soon and will be back in the ground as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Rakesh Masih also got an injury in the hamstring during the practice, but his injury is not so much serious and hopefully he will be able to play the next match against Air India.

Today 19 members team that left Kolkata for the “Mission Mumbai” is as follows: Sangram Mukherjee, Shilton Paul, Surkumar Singh, Zenith Genius, Biswajit Saha, Seikh Azim, Sagaram Mandi, Rakesh Masih, Ryuji Sueoka, James Singh, Tomba Singh, Marcos Pereira, Ishfaq Ahmed, Shanta Kumar, Subho Kumar, Kalia Kuluthungan, Suraj Mondal, Branco Vincent Cardozo, Jose Ramirez Barreto.

10.1.2010, Kolkata: The score line suggested that the match between Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers ended in a 2-2 draw but the score line doesn’t always present the clear picture of the match.  Bagan should had been the deserved winner but it seemed that respected referee Mr. Suresh had something other in mind, otherwise how could he turn blind to a genuine penalty and that too at a critical juncture of the match and the consequence of that dumb blindness was mob frenzy and a severe barbaric act from the police resulting in free for all lathi charge levied upon the innocent supporters and moreover it gave the feeling that they are chasing away some terrorists. A handful of police personnel were seen collecting their tiffin packets even when some supporters of our beloved club lay in pain. Their inhuman act further showed its ugly face when a Sabuj Maroon Swapno member named Debadityo Basu after being subjected to the police barbarism cried in agony and pain and looked for some water and first aid and the reaction from the custodians of humanity were “aamra ki jol o debo?”(Shall we provide with water also?). If u don’t have that much of humanity of providing water to an innocent person in distress then why beat so mercilessly, why such impartial treatment and what is the fine line of difference between stars and normal  human being? Don’t they breathe? Don’t they have life??? Then why Arindam Bhattacharya was left away scot free even though he took up the law in his own hand by rushing onto the gallery and involving in street fighting. Who has given him the authority to take up such drastic measure and the whole thing took an ugly turn from thereon and if something untoward happened then would have Arindam taken the responsibility?? It seems he has really hot blood rushing through his spine and he doesn’t know where to use them he seems to have taken up all wrong places to prove that he is a hot blooded person sometimes in airplane and sometimes in spectators’ gallery.

Accepted that our fellow supporters got a bit restless and what happened to Kalu shouldn’t have happened but then it should be analyzed why such untoward incidents happened? If someone is deprived of his or her rights won’t that person protest and Mohun Bagan club is our temple where we offer our prayers and any injustice towards our temple doesn’t go down well with us. Why was the provocation caused by Arindam going unnoticed??
We are the National club of India and any gross violation in the football field is strongly condemned by us and we at SMS tender our apology to Ogba Kalu but at the same time would like to say to the Police that we are Human Beings and not any animal and by our birthright deserve better treatment.

But the pain caused to our fellow member due to the behavior of Churchill’s goalkeeper shall be etched in our memory forever and we shall never be able to forgive him for that.   

25.12.2009, KOlkata: From last night there were suddenly a bit light showers all over Guwahati. Due to this reason, certainly the temperature also drops down quite a bit. So, today morning it was quite chilly and there were fog all over Guwahati. It was around 10.30 a.m. in the morning when Mohun Bagan team came into the ground but still no sign of the Sun was there as fog was totally covered the total area. But it was not more than 5 minutes till Green and Maroon brigade entered into the ground; suddenly the fog disappeared and the Sun made its appearance as the blessings of God on the Bagan boys. It may be coincidence but it is symbolic too for all Green and Maroon fanatics.

Tomorrow perhaps it will be the biggest game of this season till now for Mohun Bagan. Bagan squad is also very focused on the game but they are very relaxed too. They are not taking any unnecessary pressure for tomorrow’s crunch game. Today’s practice session started with some physical trainings. Then they had some match situation practice without the ball. In this period of time Karim sir was advising everybody to put in them in the right position in the right time in different situations of the match. Then they went for some practice with the ball. Karim sir used lots of time in corner practice. Last match we got lots of corners but we did not make them count. So this time Karim sir is very serious regarding this issue and we have found some variations in corner practice. Hopefully we will see some of them during tomorrow’s game and they will work for us also. Good news for all the green and maroon fanatics is that the “Deadly Trio” are in good form and all of them got the goals today during the practice also. Barreto scored two brilliant goals in today’s practice. Karim sir talked with Sueoka in today’s practice session a lot to describe him properly his pivoting role in the midfield. Even Barreto talked with James, Ishfaq, Chiddi, and Rakesh sometimes in between the practice today. Deepak was also back in the practice today. Hopefully he will start tomorrow in place of Mandi. Snehashis also came with the team in the practice session today and he has decided to stay here at Guwahati with the team instead of come back to Kolkata.  He just walked around the park with a plaster in his left hand. Actually Snehashis is the symbol of our team spirit. It was really nice to see the spirited Bagan boys in today’s practice session.

Karim sir told after the practice, “I have a brilliant bunch of players. They are very spirited. In this festive time they are away from home but they are enjoying every second. They really deserve to win”. Barreto also told, “During this Christmas time it’ll be nice to be with family. But here we are also living like a family.” Karim sir’s thought on Mahindra is that they have a good goalkeeper, a good midfield and good strikers like Muritala and Sushil in front. He wished all the Green and Maroon fanatics a very happy Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year. He also added,” We will finish this year with a win and also start the New Year with a win.”

Hope the Sun will come with all its brightness in the sky of every Green and Maroon fanatics even in the evening of tomorrow when eleven Green and Maroon soldiers will come in the battlefield of Nehru Stadium, Guwahati. All the best TEAM MOHUN BAGAN. Hope Bagan boys will bring the victory as the christmas gift for us.

Report and Picture: Arnab Ghosh

24.12.2009, Kolkata: Yesterday it was just a rare bad day in office for the green and maroon brigade and now they are mainly concentrating on the next “Do or Die” match against Mahindra United. A win is badly needed for Team Mohun Bagan to reach to the semifinal of the 31st Federation Cup.

Today team had a light training session inside the hotel premises. They jogged around the hotel floor and all the players were really serious for the next match. After jogging they stretched and at last Karim sir spoke with the players to charge them up for the crucial game against Mahindra United.

Deepak Mondal and Snehashis Chakraborty missed the practice session today. Deepak Mondal is quickly recovering from the injury and hopefully he will be back in the next game against Mahindra United. There was some confusion yesterday regarding the status Snehashis’s injury, but the recent update about this is really good for us. It’s just a dislocation on his elbow of left hand and doctor advised him for a 15 days’ rest. Hopefully our “Shyamnagar Express” will be back within three weeks in the field with more deadly runs down the flanks. Today on behalf of all the Mohun Bagan supporters, members of Sabuj Maroon Swapno, Guwahati chapter went into the team hotel to wish Snehasish a quick recovery. Karim sir handed over the flower bouquet and the well wisher card to Snehasish on behalf of Sabuj Maroon Swapno.

Tomorrow Mohun Bagan have a practice session at Nehru Stadium.     

22.12.2009, Kolkata: Just yesterday Mohun Bagan made a dream start in their lucky tournament and tomorrow Mohun Bagan is again going to play a tough match against Chirag United. Football experts already have declared Mohun Bagan’s group as the “Group of Death”, thus each and every match is very important and is going to be very pressure game.

After winning the last game with a big margin, Bagan camp is not looking in any sorts of pressure and now the team is in “All is Well” mood. Today the team attended the practice session in the morning near around 11.15 a.m. First of all Karim sir spoke to the whole team and discussed about the minor mistakes that happened during the first match. Then the total team spent some time for the situation practice without ball and during this time Karim sir beautifully described everybody in which situation who have to go where. Then players went for a light jogging around the ground. First team players of yesterday’s match went for stretching where as reserve players went for some physical trainings under the guidance of Karim sir. Then reserve players played a practice match between themselves in almost one-third of the actual ground. Karim sir and Mridulda also took part in the practice match. First team players only used to give a one touch from the outside of the ground during this practice match. Karim sir was really enjoying playing with his students. Souvik, Zenith, Suraj and Tomba were really impressive in today’s practice. The only injury concern is Deepak’s muscle strain in the last match. He did not practice with the team today. Hopefully he will be fit enough to play the match tomorrow. If he can not be able to play, then Mandi will probably fill up the gap.

After the practice, Karim sir told to media that “Team is ready to deliver their best tomorrow. It is always a big motivation for the teams like Chirag to beat Mohun Bagan. So it will be a tough contest tomorrow”. Also he made some funs regarding the issue of his name that was enlisted as “Karim Banerjee” in the team list yesterday and said “I think it will be ok if any one will add ‘Bencharifa’ to it as it will then become ‘Bencharifa Karim Banerjee’ in short B.K. Banerjee which will be almost similar with the name of the legendary player P.K. Banerjee”.

So, Bagan boys are confident to win tomorrow’s battle and hopefully we will again be able to see the tsunami attack from our trio. All the best to Karim sir and Green and Maroon brigade for the Chirag match. 

Report and Picture: Arnab Ghosh  

20.12.2009,Kolkata: Tomorrow two oldest clubs of Asia Mohun Bagan AC and Mohammedan SC will face in the opening match of the 31st Federation Cup at Nehru Stadium, Guwahati. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gagoi will inaugurate the tournament before the match. The match is scheduled to begin at 3.30 p.m. 
Mohun Bagan, 13 times champion of Federation Cup always put a brilliant display in this tournament. This Mohun Bagan squad is also looking for a brilliant display from tomorrow. Green and maroon squad is in a nice shape and each and everybody of 20 members’ squad are ready to deliver their best for the team. Our team strength is also gained by the addition of the Brazilian talisman Jose Ramirez Barreto. Barreto will be back in action almost after one and half month. Green and maroon fanatics will surely be looking at the deadly triangle of Barreto, Chiddi and Sueoka. It will be the very first time when these three will combine to demolish the opponents. Our goal machine Edeh Chiddi will surely become more threatening besides Sueoka and Barreto.

                                                 The deadly trio- Sueoka-Chiddi-Barreto

Today Mohun Bagan practiced in the Nehru Stadium in the Morning. In today’s practice session, Karim sir mainly concentrated on team combination and dead ball situations. Rakesh Masih will probably play in the central midfield position for the first time in this season and will play a critical role in absence of Marcos. Most notable thing of today’s practice was the team spirit. Seniors like Barreto, Chiddi, Deepak are helping the juniors like Souvik, Mandi every time.

Wish all the best to the Green and Maroon brigade and hope we will start our “MISSION 14” in style.    

Reported by: Arnab Ghosh; Picture: Aditya Ghosh 

19.12.2009, Kolkata: Today Mohun Bagan team practiced at the Nehru Stadium, Guwahati for the first time as yesterday they had to practice in another ground as the Ranji Trophy match was going on there. This is a ground for both cricket and football. Also a few days back an international one day match between India and Australia was also played in the same ground. So it’s easy to guess that the ground condition is not up to the mark. But the Bagan boys are not in the mood to think on the uneven bounce of the ground and really charged up for the coming match in the Federation Cup. They are counting the time to start demolishing the opponents. It’s really nice to see the Mohun Bagan camp today- each and every player is really focused and at the same time enjoying every moments of the practice session.

Today practice session started from 2.30 PM with some stretching, jogging and physical trainings. Then a match was also played dividing the 20 players into two teams- it was actually eleven versus nine. Sangram, Deepak, Mandi, Surkumar, Biswajit, Masih, Sueoka, James, Snehashis, Chidi and Barreto were in the Green team which will probably be the team for the first match against Md. Sporting Club. Shilton, Azim, Micky, Suvokumar, Zenith, Souvick, Ishfaq, Tomba and Suraj were in another team. Green team won the match by 2-1. Snehashis and Barreto scored for Green team and Tomba reduced the margin for his team by a brilliant goal. It was really beautiful to see the triangle attack of Barreto, Chiddi and Sueoka. Karim sir also used some times in free kick practice in the later part of the practice session.

Tomorrow Mohun Bagan will practice at the Nehru Stadium in the morning.

Reported by: Arnab Ghosh

Picture courtesy: Himadri Nayek and Aditya Ghosh.                                                   &nb