KOLKATA: With Indian football reeling under a Fifa ban, ATK Mohun Bagan have suddenly found themselves as a victim of circumstances. Juan Ferrando's side is preparing for the season-opening Durand Cup where they will start their campaign against I-League outfit Rajasthan United FC on Saturday. But it's their bigger ambition of conquering a continental goal which has now plunged into uncertainty.
ATKMB are slated to host the AFC Cup inter-zonal semifinal at the Salt Lake Stadium on September 7, where they will take on the winners between Kuala Lumpur City FC and Indonesia's PSM Makassar. ATKMB suffered a humiliating 0-6 at the hands of Uzbekistan's FC Nasaf at the same stage of the continent's second-most important club tournament a year ago. But playing at home and in front of fans this time around, Ferrando's team is tipped to be in for making a bigger splash in the continental competition.
"It's a massive setback, not only for Mohun Bagan, but for Indian football in its entirety," admitted former India international and green-and-maroon captain Satyajit Chatterjee. "We are dreaming about conquering Asia, because the AFC Cup is more prestigious and invites more international exposure. As far as the team's ambitions are concerned, we are keeping our fingers crossed," Chatterjee, who is also Mohun Bagan's assistant secretary, told TOI on Tuesday.
According to him, all stakeholders of Indian football must now set aside their differences and come together to clear this mess. "For everyone associated with Indian football, the top priority now is to get this ban lifted," he remarked. Mohun Bagan general secretary Debashis Dutta echoed the sentiment.
"Had the AIFF elections been held three years ago, we wouldn't have come to see this day. This Fifa ban is also a reminder that things in Indian football administration are not going well. Everyone is thinking of his own interest and protecting his chair. About our participation in the AFC Cup, we are not in control of our destiny now. People responsible for this must be punished," Dutta pointed out.
While ATKMB have had a settled team, Emami East Bengal have signed five foreigners so far but no one in the Asian quota. Among the quintet, only Cyprus defender Charalambos Kyriakou has joined Stephen Constantine's red-and-gold brigade in the city. "I don't think the Fifa ban will come in the way of our team building," said senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar.
It has been learnt that the foreigners have been signed in the ongoing transfer window as free players, thus avoiding any direct impact from the ban. With the Supreme Court aware of the situation, all eyes will now be on the hearing at the apex court on Wednesday.
