Cash-rich Chittagong Abahani will be eager to put their Federation Cup debacle behind them by lifting the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League title, which gets underway on July 24.
Slovakian coach Jozev Pavlik brought the port-city outfits their maiden top-tier title by winning the Independence Cup with a comparatively weakened side after some of their established players were not allowed to play the season’s curtain raiser tournament with a high court order.
But the Independence Cup champions made a shocking exit from the group stage of the Federation Cup despite having a full-strength squad.
Chittagong captain Mamunul Islam admitted that failing to produce natural performance was the main reason behind their Federation Cup failure but that lesson could help them to win their maiden Premier League title.
‘After lifting the Independence Cup title, it was really shocking for us to make an exit from the group stage of the Federation Cup,’ Mamunul told to reporters during a pre-league press conference at the Bangladesh Football Federation House on Saturday.
‘We learnt a lot from this [Federation Cup] debacle which must help us to do better in the league.’
Mamunul also claimed that they have all the qualities to win the title and make the history.
‘We know that we are one of the strongest sides of the league and nothing but a championship will be counted as a failure,’ said the veteran midfielder, who missed the Independence Cup along with other four Chittagong Abahani players.
‘But it will be a very tough task because other four to five teams have also formed balanced squads.
‘We want to be a part of the history by winning the league because no team from outside the capital has won the league before.’
Meanwhile, fading footballing powerhouse, Mohammedan sporting Club, which has failed to lift a single title in the professional league era, has formed a team with a modest budget for this season.
The Black and White outfits failed to make the knockout stage of the Independence Cup and only reached the quarter-finals of the Federation Cup.
Coach Jashimuddin Joshi admitted that despite failing to form a title challenging squad his team will try to win the hearts of the fans by playing good football.
‘I don’t want to say something unrealistic,’ said the former national player adding that, ‘Mohammedan haven’t formed a championship squad.’
‘However, we will try to win the hearts of the fans. Our target is to finish in top three.’
Mohammedan captain Ismail Bangoura said failure in two tournaments was the main setback for the club.
‘We had faced a lot of problems in the last two tournaments, ‘said the Guinean forward adding that, ‘We need to overcome that. We had a good preparation and now we want to perform.’
-With New Age input
