Bagan no to IFA Shield

With the I-League their next target, Mohun Bagan have decided to give the IFA Shield a miss this time. The decision was taken in the club8217;s executive committee meeting this afternoon.

Club announces Rs 5-lakh bonanza as reward

With the I-League their next target, Mohun Bagan have decided to give the IFA Shield a miss this time. The decision was taken in the club8217;s executive committee meeting this afternoon.

Coach Karim Bencherifa was not at all inclined to play in the Shield after an energy-sapping Federation Cup that saw Bagan play five matches in nine days. 8220;I-League and the Federation Cup are the two main tournaments. If we wouldn8217;t have played in the Kolkata league, we would have been on top of the

I-League standings with a clear 6-7 point advantage by the end of the first phase. We will start our training in the first week of January and will prepare for the second phase of the I-League,8221; he said the other day.

Today, the club officials also backed his logic. Incidentally, the Shield is scheduled to start on January 5.

8220;We have written a letter to the IFA stating that we will not play in two IFA Shields in the same year. According to the IFA, after the January show the tournament once again will be played in June-July. We will participate that time,8221; finance secretary of Mohun Bagan, Debashis Dutta, told The Indian Express. 8220;The players are dog-tired. We hope that the IFA will cooperate with us because, if our club goes on to win the

I-League, it will be good for Bengal football,8221; he added.

Story continues below this ad

The grueling Federation Cup schedule took a toll on the players8217; fitness. Baichung Bhutia and J Anandavasan picked up injuries during the tournament and missed the final. They are going through the rehabilitation process. Others like Ishfaq Ahmed and Rakesh Masih braved niggles to play the final. They need to be fully fit before the start of the second phase of the I-League. Bagan are currently placed second in the

I-League behind Sporting Clube de Goa.

Meanwhile, the club has announced a Rs 5-lakh incentive for the players for winning the Federation Cup.

Paes lights up show

Tennis ace Leander Paes, on a personal visit to his home town, today paid a visit to Bagan tent and took part in the celebrations. Paes had trained with the Bagan players before the Federation Cup which he described as a sort of 8220;home coming8221;.