Kolkata: The victorious Federation Cup winning Mohun Bagan footballers were felicitated on Wednesday at the club tent amidst huge excitement and fanfare. The 2016 Fed Cup winning footballers were felicitated along with the captains of previous Fed Cup winning teams.
It created some golden moments on stage as the former Fed Cup winning captains feliciated the current footballers. There was a huge round of applaud as 1981 Fed Cup winning Bagan captain Pradip Chowdhury felicitated coach Sanjoy Sen. Another golden moment was created when Compton Dutta, the second Fed Cup winning Mohun Bagan captain of 1980 felicitated present captain Katsumi Yuasa.
The absence of star footballers like Sony Norde and Jeje did not take the shine away. Among the other footballers who were not present were Pritam Kotal and Pronoy Halder who are in the national camp along with Jeje in Guwahati. Regular captain Shilton Paul was also not present as he was not in the city.
Among the former captains present was Prasun Banerjee who captained the Mariners in their first Fed Cup triumph. Others included Compton Dutta, Shibaji Banerjee, Satyajit Chatterjee, Amit Bhadra, Biswanath Mondal, Krishnendu Roy and Pradip Chowdhury.
Some 3000 fans gathered at the airport from the morning to welcome the Bagan footballers. Cornell Glen and other Green and Maroon footballers were welcomed by huge thunderstorms along with torrential rain. But that did not dampen the spirits of the fans who weathered the inclement weather to have a glimpse of their favourite footballers. Huge roar of cheers welcomed Sanjoy Sen and others as they came out of the airport and boarded the team bus. As many as 200 bikers were at the airport to escort the team bus with the Green and Maroon footballers to the club tent. The atmosphere at the Netaji Subhash International airport was electric with the fans chanting slogans for their favourite club.
The footballers were felicitated by the various fan forums of the club at places like Baguihati and Salt Lake en route to the club tent. The footballers were given a thunderous reception by the fans that were waiting at the club tent. Among the top officials of the club only assistant secretary Srinjoy Bose and Debasis Dutta were present.
Later Srinjoy announced that the footballers who have their payments due from the club will be paid by June 07. It was indeed a great example of team spirit shown by the footballers who gave their heart out to win the 14th Federation Cup for the club. The last time the club won the coveted trophy was eight years back in 2008 season when Barreto scored the winning goal against Dempo.
According to Srinjoy, “It was a great effort from the footballers who have helped achieve the success. On behalf of the club , I would like to announce that the footballers will be cleared of their dues by June 07,” further adding “ We will try and retain the players for another season and try to build a even stronger team.”
Mohun Bagan defeated Aizawl FC 5-0 to win the Federation Cup for a record 14th time.