A-I aim to improve record

CALCUTTA, JAN 5: Air-India, the most improved team of last year's National Football League, start their campaign this time against first-...

CALCUTTA, JAN 5: Air-India, the most improved team of last year8217;s National Football League, start their campaign this time against first-timers Tollygunge Agragami at the Salt Lake Stadium tomorrow.

Last year, the Mumbai team was leading at the half-way stage, but eventually finished fourth. They had also defeated Mohun Bagan, the League champions.This year, however, Air-India has a fairly dismal record till now. They haven8217;t won any title and failed to retain their Mumbai League crown.Air-India is a depleted side compared to last year. They have lost Jeevan Moraes, Khentang Paite and PJ Jose in inter-club transfers. Their woes have been compounded by injuries to Debdas Sen, Tapas Ghosh and Jacinto D8217;Silva.Bimal Ghosh, best coach of last year, is pinning his hopes on the likes of Godfrey Pereira, Anthony Fernandes, Khambiton Singh, Khalid Jamil.

Tollygunge Aggragami will face their first acid test tomorrow. They have failed to win any title so far. The team will sport a new look this time with Sri LankanRoshan Pereira joining them. Coached by Amal Dutta, Tollygunge have also recruited another Nigerian Isiaka Awoyemi.

Youth vs experience

BANGALORE: National football league action returns to Bangalore after one year with local favourites Indian Telephone Industries, who have made a comeback to the league this year, matching wits with Indian Bank of Chennai, who finished eighth in the last year8217;s edition, at Bangalore Football Stadium on Wednesday.

Former Federation Cup champions ITI would rely heavily on their foreign players in this encounter against a more experienced, well-equipped team.The Kyrgyz trio of forward Aleksey Drobotov, medios Kiril Keker and Sergey Kaliubin, the first batch of players to play in India from the former Soviet Union republic, had caught the attention as well as the imagination of the Indian football fraternity during the Asian Youth Championship qualifiers last year. Only the collective exuberance of the Indian boys could stop them from leading Kyrgyzstan to victory inthat tournament. And, if they play true to their reputation, blending well with an otherwise inexperienced, but youthful combination, the Bankmen from Chennai would have their hands full in keeping the trio under check.

There was no dearth for confidence on the Indian Bank side either. With the likes of former India captain VP Sathyan, Syed Sabir Pasha, who donned the Indian colours at the Bangkok Asian Games and Hamilton Bobby, a member of the Freedom Cup winning team at Colombo in November, in his line-up, Indian Bank coach Albert Fernando was rather relaxed looking into the match.

Add to this team the presence of Sri Lankans Anton Silva, the live-wire of the team8217;s campaign last year, TN Bagoos and Hameed Mohammed Nazar and Nigerian Bisiriyu Adowake Fatai. The Telephonemen8217;s defence revolving around the seasoned Muralidhar would be put under severe test by this talented front-line.