29.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta: Mumbai Fc continued their sparkling run in the 2nd edition of the ONGC I League 2008-2009. Mumbai Fc’s Ghanaian import Felix Obogaye scored the only goal of the match to take the debutants to the top spot in the I League so far. East Bengal was playing without the services of their key defender Surkumar Singh due a vital injury in his ankle. Mumbai Fc started their match on a high after a confidence booster wins against the historic club Mohun Bagan. Mumbai FC team took the lead in the 23rd minute through a crisp finish from their foreign striker. East Bengal did make all their effort to stage a comeback but key players like Rennedy Singh and Sunil Chhetri were looking very off colored. Stanley Rosario substituted Ashim Biswas in place of Edmilson after he failed to create any impact in the game. Mumbai Fc defender Selwyn Fernandez was totally excellent and if he continues this performance he can be called up to the National Camp soon. New coach Stanley was looking very confused after he replaced Mehtab for Rennedy and later on U-19 player Gautam Khujur for mehtab thus wasting a substitution. East Bengal face Air India in the next match where as Mumbai FC shall gear up to play their Mumbai counter parts Mahindra United. Selwyn Fernandez of Mumbai F.C has been awarded Man of The Match today Score: East Bengal 0 - 1 Mumbai FC ( Felix[10] 23rd min) KF East Bengal: 24-Subrata Pal; 3-Nirmal Chetri, 5-Khelemba Singh, 4-Suley Musah, 29-Saumik Dey; 19-Rahim Nabi, 26-Mehrajuddin, 12- Yakubu, 8-Renedy Singh (14-Mehtab Hussain, 32-Goutam Kujur), 30-Edmilson (10-Ashim Biswas), 11-Sunil Chetri. Mumbai F.C:: 13-Kalyan Chaubey; 19-Sanjay Parte, 5-Selwyn Fernandes, 3-James , 2-Anes Edathodika; 29-Subash Chakraborty, 20-Riston Rodrigues, 17-Kalia Kulothungan (8-Noel Wilson), 21-Aseem K (7-Sampath Kumar Kuttimani); 10-Felix Aboagye (9-Abhishek Yadav) , 11-Abel Hammond. West bengal Police A.C won Sahara CFL Super League Title 2008 30.09.2008 : :After winning Prestigious Bengal-Peerless Trades Cup this Year, The Football Team of West Bengal Police also won the Sahara CFL Super Division League Title 2008 under coaching of Probhat Haldar and Sahadev Chatterjee.. Today in the crucial match,they beat the Football Team of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) through the only goal of Debasish Giri, who was also the joint top scorer of Trades Cup this Year. Now West Bengal Police A.C will be played in the Sahara Premier Division Football League 2009 against East Bengal,Mohun Bagan ,Mohammedan,Chirag United along with other seven Teams. PIFA – CYFC player makes it to the Indian U-16 team. 30.09.2008 : :PIFA Colaba Youngstar FC player, Ajith Dhruva Bhoir has made it to the Indian U-16 team coached by Colin Toal He will play at the U-16 Asian Championships to be held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 4th October 08 to 18 October 2008. Ajith has played as a central defender for PIFA CYFC in the MDFA Senior Division in 2006-07 and in the MDFA Super Division team in 2007-2008 helping the team to get promoted in both the years. He along with goal keeper Harshad Meher were identified and spotted at a very young age by Mr Sudhakar Rane, co-manager of PIFA-CYFC. Both the boys were part of the successful tour to Saudi Arabia last year for the AFC qualifiers. Unfortunately, Harshad was unable to recover and get fit on time due to his knee operation. India will play her first match against Korea Republic on 4 October 2008. The other 2 teams in group B are Syria & Indonesia. Mohammedan S.C hold Air India 1 - 1 in first match      29.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta: Mohammedan Sporting hold Air-India 1-1 in their first round encounter of the ONGC I-League at the Barasat Stadium today. Mohammedan Sporting, who had finished runners-up in the second division I-League and promoted into Iat Divn. along with another Bengal Based Team Chirag United. Air India took lead in the 23rd minute through Surajit Roy from a well-organised move by Air Men Michael Tayo - Emmanuel Ovieghara . Surojit who was a player of Mohammedan S.C just 2 years ago and also an inhabitant on Barasat. The First half ended a (1 - 0) lead on behalf of Air India. Mohammedan Sporting, visibly under pressure after the first goal, lost an easy chance early in the first-half. It was Sunday, who almost gave the Kolkata team the lead but his shot was deflected by Air India goalkeeper Aloke Debnath to give opponent coach Shabbir Ali some frustrating time. In the 2nd half,Sahara CFL Premier League Runners Kolkata team beginning to put pressure on the visitorsas through their Sunday - Okoro duo .For the reason in 58 th minute, CFL Premier League Top Scorer Theordor Sunday of Mohammedan S.C bring the equaliser for Mohammedan Sporting.(1 - 1) Mohammedan S.C Midfielder Adebayo Adewusi adjujed Man of the Match Today Mohammedan S.C: 1-Naseem Akhtar; 23-Rajib Ghosh (26-Gautam Thakur), 19-Gurpreet Singh, 2-V Prem Kumar, 30-Bijoy Das, 27- Jothi Kumar, 20-Adebayo , 16-Sovan Chakraborty (34-Lalchhuan Awma), 5- Farooq Hyder (4-Subhas Mondal), 10-Mike Okoro, 11-Theo AIR-INDIA: 24-Arup Debnath; 2-Napoleon Singh, 29-Chukwuma Udofia, 6-Uttam Singh, 3-Ravinder Singh, 10-Soccor Velho, 28-Michael Tayo, 4-Syed Farid, 22-Surojit Roy (18-Vijith Shetty), 8-Samson Singh (12-Subhas Singh, 19-Santosh Koli), 25-Emmanuel Yellow Cards: Subhas Singh (70') (Air India). AFC U-16 2008 : Team India will Leave on 1st Oct      28.09.2008 :India U - 16 Team consisting of 23 players and eight officials will leave Delhi on 1st Oct for Uzbekistan to participate in the AFC U - 16 Championship to be held in Tashkent ,Uzbekistan from 4th to 18th Oct 2008. A total of 16 teams divided into four Groups are participating in AFC U 16 championship 2008. India’s Fixtures (Gr.B) 4th Oct : India Vs Korea Republic 6th Oct : India Vs Syria 8th Oct : India Vs Indonesia Other Teams GROUP A : Iran - Singapore - Uzbekistan - Bahrain GROUP C : China - Saudi - Arabia - Australia - Turkmenistan GROUP D : Japan - Yemen - UAE - Malaysia Japan who won the title two years back (2006) in Singapore after defeating DPR Korea 4-2 in extra time. U-16 TEAm India Goalkeepers: Abhishek Das , Gurpreet Singh Sandhu & Jayanta Paul. Defenders: Ajit Dhurva Bhoir , Vikas Guila , Asish Chhetri , Deepak Devrani, Sumit Rawat ,Tonmoy Ghosh, Vishal Kumar R, Midfielders: Akshay Mall , Harpreet Bedi, Bikramjit Singh , Shilton D’Silva, O Lalrindika,Sunny, Tirthankar Sarkar ,Ongnam Milan Singh . Forwards: Manandeep , Abhishek Das , Malsawmfela , Prem Kumar , Vivek Kumar . Officials : Narayana Menon/Coach , Sanjoy Sen/Coach, Tanumoy Basu/GK Coach , Chandru Jayaraman/Physiotherapist , Dr Kiran Sanzgiri /Doctor ,Col BMR Mehta/Media Officer , Ankur Dutta/Manager , Colm Joesph Toal/Chief Coach . Defending Champion Dempo lost their first match to JCT      28.09.2008 :Rahul Sengupta::JCT beat defending champions Dempo S.C 2-1 to make a good start in the second edition of AIFF ONGC I-League in their away match at goa today. The result is just opposite of First edition of I-League when Dempo defeat JCT 2 - 1 in the match of Feb 2008. Today, the Boys of Armando Colaco dominated the game but JCT took the lead in the 17th minute when Their Brazilian Striker Eduardo Escobar chested a fine cross from Daljeet Singh and beat Dempo custodian Abhijit Mondal. Balwant doubled the lead for JCT in the 63rd minutes with his left footer after receiving off a ball from Baljeet Singh Saini. Dempo's Nicolou Borges pulled one back in the 79th minutes from a zero degree angle with his left footer feded by Beto.After lost to Jct in their first match like Mahindra United and Mohun Bagan, Three times winner Dempo coach Armando said he was not disappointed with the result as he is looking at the AFC Cup semi-final. JCT as well as India Sr. Team Defender Anwar Ali adjudged Man of the Match today. DEMPO S.C: 1-Abhijit Mondal (21-VP Satish Kumar); 28-Mahesh Gawli, 16-Samir Naik; 14-Anthony Pereira, 8-Climax Lawrence , 11-Beto, 18-Valeriano Rebello, 3-John Dias,15-Clifford Miranda ( 22-Nicolau Borges), 9-Ranty Martins, 20-Mboyo Iyomi. JCT F.C:: 1-Karanjit Singh; 12-Daljit Singh, 4-Julius Akpele, 3-Anwar Ali, 6-Baljit Singh Sahni (8-Jaswinder Singh),2-Jaspal Singh; 13-Baldeep Singh Sr, 27-Baldeep Singh Jr (7-Jagpreet Singh), 24-Gurwinder Singh, 9-Balwant Singh (22-Pawan Kumar), 10-Eduardo Escobar. This puja is sobuj and maroon for them      28.09.2008 :Subhransu Roy:On the morning of the auspicious day of Mahalaya, members of Sabuj Maroon Swapno gathered at the Mohun Bagan club lawn to give puja gifts to the groundsmen, canteen staffs and the office staffs of Mohun Bagan AC. Sabuj Maroon Swapno from its very inception promised to do something meaningful and constructive. In 2007 they showed the same jesture. This has been the second year in a row where the members of Sabuj Maroon Swapno decided to give some new clothes to the grounds men, canteen staffs along with the office staffs. Members of Sabuj Maroon Swapno would consider this as an opportunity to recognise the immense contribution of all these staffs for the success of the club. On behalf of Sabuj Maroon Swapno Sandipan Gupta told “Durga puja is the festival of Bengal which is observed by every section of society. We organized this programme to see smile in all our club stuff’s face.We have dream to do more for them.” Mr. Swadhin Mallick alongwith other high officials of Mohun Bagan A.C were present in the occasion. MUMBAI FC STUN MOHUN BAGAN      27.09.2008 :Rahul Sengupta::Its been only two days since the 2nd edition of the I league kicked off and it has already started staging good surprises. Mumbai Fc the debutants in the top level football in India caused major upset by defeating the Green and Maroon mariners by 2-1 in the league opener at Vidyasagar Stadium in Barasat.The match saw debutants Mumbai Fc pressing from the first minute itself and Bagan goalkeeper forced to save two goal line balls in the 2nd minute itself. The foreigner duo of Felix and Abbel Hammond of Ghana was like a constant threat to the back four of Manju, Deepak, Rino and Odafe. As early as the 9th minute saw the Mumbai outfit take the lead through a crisp long ranger from Hammond. The Mohun Bagan team did try to stage a comeback but their efforts were subsided by the quality finish of Kalia Kulothungan from an inch perfect cross of the Ghanaian Hammond. In the 24th Minute Mohun Bagan were down 2-0. The ground condition showed the same story of the Calcutta premier league and thus shows the intensity of having an Astro-turf at the Mecca of football in India. In the second half Bagan coach Karim replaced inexperienced Rino anto with Mohunraj to continue the overlapping runs made by the young Tamil Nadu player. Bagan showed some character in the second half only because the Mumbai FC team got carried away with their two-goal lead. But the lead was short lived when Lalampuia put one back in the 76th minute. Later on Bhaichung got 3 clear chances to not only equalize but also to take the lead but a special mention must be made of the Mumbai Fc goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey whose heroics saved the Mumbai side from a downfall in the later stages. M.MOHUN BAGAN : 31-Shilton Pal; 24-Rino Anto (26-N.Mohanraj), 14-Peter Odafe, 4-Deepak Mondal, 3-N. S. Manju; 19- Malswam Tulunga (Pachau Lalam Puia), 25-James Singh ( 7-Lal Kamal Bhowmick), 20-Rakesh Masih, 11-Ishfaq Ahmed; 10- Barreto, 15-Baichung Bhutia MUMBAI FC : 13-Kalyan Chaubey; 19-Sanjay Parte, 5-Selwyn Fernandes, 3-James , 2-Anes Edathodika; 29-Subash Chakraborty ( 27-Anees Kutty), 20-Riston Rodrigues, 17-Kalia Kulothungan, 21-Aseem Kutty ( 7-Sampath Kuttimani); 10-Felix Aboagye (9-Abhishek Yadav), 11-Abel Hammond. Yellow Cards: Kalyan Chaubey, Kulothungan Kalia and Felix (Mumbai F.C) Referee: Arjunan (Services) MATCH 1 : Odafa's brace hampers Mahindra’s hope.      27.09.2008 : Abhishek Bhattacharyya:It was the first big match of this year’s I-League when last years runners-up Churchill took on former Champion Mahindra United in their own den at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao,Goa. Churchill had an advantage of playing in their home turf and they fully utilized it as they defeated Derek Perreira’s men 2-1 in their season opener. It was a dismal week for Churchill after their Ghanaian coach Emeka Ezegou was sacked for his unprofessional behaviour and was replaced by Serbian Joran Djordevic.The Goan outfit ended their week in a happy note after Odafa’s brace helped the team to register a victory against the Mahindra United. The Churchill team spearheaded by Captain Odafa Okelie in front created confusion for Mahindra United’s defence.An eventful first half saw both the teams missing many chances of scoring.Mahindra earned the first opportunity to score when Pierre Douhou’s pass found Steven Dias near the Churchill box but he sends the ball wide off the post. In the 12th minute of the game Churchill’s Chitra’s long ranger was well gathered by Mahindra Goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhary.In the 14th minute of the match Last year’s highest goalscorer Odafa came close of scoring when he dribbled into the Mahindra box but N.P.Pradeep’s strong defending hampered Odafa’s intention.Mahindra attacked more from the right wing courtesy Steven Dias where Churchill seemed to have got their things right courtesy Robert & Chitra whose through balls to Odafa did the trick for them.In 21st Minute Shushant Matthew again came close of scoring but his effort was fisted away by Churchill Goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharyya.On the other side Subhashish kept on saving from Odafa’s onslaught.In 35th minute Odafa again came close as Subhashish came charging down to save it but Odafa hammers it over the crossbar. Mahindra had many more chances in the first half but they were well covered by Churchill defenders Gourmangi Singh and Man-of the-Match Govin Singh.The deadlock was broken in the 61st minute of the game when Odafa scored from a through ball.What was notable was the celebration after scoring the goal where he lifted the shirt to unveil the lines “Happy Birthday to Odafa Junior” that was written in his vest. Mahindra clawed one back through Shushil Singh in 81st minute but Odafa had some other plans as he destroyed Derek Perreira’s hope of acquiring one point from this match when he scored his 2nd one of the game in the 87th minute of the match. K.East Bengal down City rival Chirag 3 - 1 in 1st Match      26.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta: Three times winner King Fisher East Bengal beat local challengers Chirag United 3-1 in their ONGC I-League opener at Barasat Stadium . Padmasree P.K.Banerjee and Chuni Goswami,Sport Minister of West Bengal Subhash Chakrabarty and IFA Secretary Utpal Kr. Ganguly were present in the evening to open the I- League 2008-2009 here.Surkumar Singh, Yusif Yakubu and Sunil Chhetri scored for the winner while Sankar Orao pulled one back for Chirag United .East Bengal opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Surkumar Singh punched the ball into the Chirag goal.Chirag keeper Arindam Ghosh, who failed to prevent the ball from entering the goal (1 - 0).Recently coming Ghanian Striker from Mahindra United Yusif Yakubu increased the lead for East Bengal in 19th minutes of the match with a good header off a measured cross from midfielder Rennedy Singh,who came from JCT (2 - 0). Sunil Chhetri another new comer from JCT who scored a hat-trick and man of the AFC Challenge Cup final, opened his scoring for his new club in the 27th minute(3 - 0). In the second-half Chirag created a few chances and lastly reduced the margin through Sankar Oraon, whose strong left-footer beat national goalkeeper Subrata Pal.Sunil Chettri of KF East Bengal fgot ther man-of-the-match award. KF EAST BENGAL: 24-Subrata Pal; 27- Surkumar Singh, 4-Suley Musah, 3-Nirmal Chetri, 29-Saumik Dey; 19- Rahim Nabi, 26-Mehrajuddin , 12-Yakubu Yusif, 8-Renedy Singh (14-Mehtab Hussain); 30-Edmilson (10-Ashim Biswas), 11-Sunil Chetri (25-Parveen Kumar). CHIRAG UNITED: 1-Arindam Ghosh; 8-Sasthi Duley ( 5-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury), 4-Kingshuk Debnath, 15-Dulal Biswas (18-Sukhen Dey), 6-R Dhanarajan, 30-Gauranga Datta, 16-Arnab Mondal, 27-Malswama Hmar (7-Hardip Singh Saini), 11-Snehasish Chakraborty, 10-Ayan Chowdhury, 25-Shankar Orao. YELLOW CARDS: :KEB: Renedy Singh (56'), Nirmal Chetri 57', Chirag: Arnab Mondal (49'), Subhashish Roy Chowdhury 90', In the First match of the day at Goa, Sporting Clube de Goa beat their city rival Vas co F.C through a last minute goal of Elija Junior and picked up full points. Nostalgia.... East Bengal... 38 Years ago Article by: Arghyadeep Basu (Executive Commitee Member) and Rabi Shankar Sen (Vice President ) of Online Forum East Bengal The Real Power 25.09.2008:This is the 38 yrs of East Bengal’s IFA Shield win over the Irani giant PAS Club. To celebrate this grand occasion East Bengal club has organized a felicitation programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Not only had the old heroes, The club also congratulated the Indian Football team for winning the AFC challenge cup. The great veteran players of the IFA Shield Winning team were present in this occasion; they also played a 5-side football match against UB office team. Legends like Nayimuddin, Santo Mitra(Captain of East Bengal who defeat PAS Culb in the year 1970). Pramial Dey( The only scorer of East Bengal against PAS Club to win the IFA Shield in the year 1970), Sudhir Karmakar, Swpan Sengupta, Smaresh Chowdhury, Shyam Thapa participated in the match. Later in a felicitation programme Indian player including Captain Bhaichung Bhutia were congratulated for their victorious performance. Our community, ‘We are EAST BENGAL the Real POWER Fans’ were also present in grand manner in this programme, members were there in our community jersey on this occasion. The little footballer and other kids of our camp of Panshila, Sodpur also there in this occasion from all the way from Sodepur to Netaji Indoor. A great respect was there in our young footballer for their elder ones who made our club proud in 1970. From our community we felicitated the legends with a memento. Our young members for whom the 1970’s win was a history got the chance to express their love and respect for our loving old heroes. Not only have our legends we also donated some puja gift to our ground staff in this grand occasion, without whom our players can be so well. The heroes of our club’s golden history who remains behind the back stage were also thanked and congratulated by East Bengal the Real Power. Our community members have taken the signature of 1970’s legend in our community jersey and in a football to keep this history alive to the present and future generation of East Bengal club supporters. AIFF announcs ONGC I- League 2008-09 Prize Money 24.08.2008: : ONGC will continue to sponsor the 2nd Edition of I LEAGUE, event to be called ONGC I LEAGUE. With a prize money of Rs. 1.25 crore , ONGC I League is one of the richest domestic sports event. Second edition of ONGC I LEAGUE will be played at Kolkata, Goa, Mumbai and Ludhiana. Zee Sports, will telecast the matches of the ONGC I LEAGUE, LIVE and Exclusive starting September 26, 2008. Speaking at a Press Conference in New Delhi ,Mr. Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, President All India Football Federation said that AIFF is thankful to ONGC for their continued support to Indian Football. 2nd edition of ONCG I LEGAUE will offer total prize money of Rs 1.25 crores. The winner of the tournament will take home Rs. 50 lakh while the runners up will win Rs.28 lakh. The winner of third place will take home Rs 20 lakh and winner of fourth place will win Rs.10 lakh. A cash award of Rs. 25000 each will be given to Best Player of the League, Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Forward and Best Coach. Highest Goal Scorer carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000/- .A cash award of Rs. 1 lac will be to best Fair Play team and Man of the Match will be given a award of Rs. 5000/-. Dempo S.C reach the Semi-Final of AFC Cup 2008 OLD PICTURE 23.08.2008: :what East Bengal and Mahindra United could not do but the last 2 Years Indian National League champion Dempo S.C made history becoming the first team from India to reach the semi-finals of the AFC Cup by defeating Home United F.C of Singapore 4 - 3 at Jalan Besar Stadium,Singapore who needed a win or at least a 2-2 draw. Home United Played 60 Minutes with 10 men when Valery Hiek was given the marching orders for a second bookable offence by referee Fareed Ali Mohamed Al Marzouqi of the UAE in the 30th minute. They were held 1-1 in the first leg of the AFC Cup quarter-finals in Hyderabad last Wednesday through Congolese Mbyo Iyoumi. Previously Dempo S.C thrashed Oman’s Sur 5-2 in their last group game to qualify as the best runners-up team after Muharraq beat Al Ansar to take the top spot. Today Dempo Striker Mboyo Iwomi who joind from Churchill Brothers this Year opened the scoring in the very first minute of the Match. Home United Captain Peres De Oliveira nullified equalised in the 14th minute following a quick counterattack. But Dempo's Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes Silva scored in 25th minute Through a header off a Corner from Clifford Miranda.He added a second in the 84th minute when he drilled in a shot past Lewis. Two quick goals through Indra Sahdan Daud in the 36th minutes off a rebound after Oliveira's penalty and another in 38th minutes . Climax Lawrence of Dempo netted in first half injury time. India Teams in AFC CUP ( This year is the 5th Edition) 2004 :: K.F.East Bengal ---- QR.Final -----:: Mahindra United ----Group Stage 2005 :: K.F.East Bengal ---- Group Stage -----:: Dempo S.C ----Group Stage 2006 :: Dempo S.C ---- Group Stage -----:: Mahindra United ----Group Stage 2007 :: M.Mohun Baganl ---- Group Stage -----:: Mahindra United ----Qr.Final 2008 :: K.F.East Bengal ---- Group Stage -----:: Dempo S.C ----Semi Final Suvidha Infoserve join hands with M. Mohun Bagan 23.08.2008: :MOHUN BAGAN today announced its pact with Suvidhaa for ticket distribution. Suvidhaa will sole the concession air for this purpose and will be selling tickets from Suvidhaa kiosks at its S-Commerce outlets across the country. Mr.Anjan Mitra, Secretary of MOHUN BAGAN on the occasion said" Given the distribution network of Suvidhaa and its service orientation, we are sure that the fans of MOHUN BAGAN Club would benefit from this pact". Mr.Alok Jha, the VP, Marketing & Sales of Suvidhaa Infoserve Ltd said that "in times to come, the fans of MOHUNBAGAN will feel much value addition as they will be offered tremendous convenience to the fans wherever they are with the availability of tickets in their neighborhood outlet of Suvidhaa, right at their doorstep". Supporters and fans of McDOWELL MOHUN BAGAN will be able to procure tickets of the ONGC l-League from 90 odd outlets of Suvidhaa spread across the length and breadth of the city. Tickets for the 27th September match against Mumbai FC would be available from 25th September onwards. Mohun Bagan, the national club of India is the first club to clinch a deal with an organization regarding ticketing. Vice President of Suvidhaa, Anil Jha has officially sold the first ticket to Baichung Bhutia, captain of Mohun Bagan club. The price of tickets will be Rs. 20 and Rs. 50 for all matches. However, as usual tickets will also be available from Mohun Bagan tent and Salt Lake stadium. The members of Mohun Bagan club will be able to see all its matches free by showing the membership card of 2008-09. Courtesy:www.mohunbaganclub.com hope to do well in the top division also... Henry Menezes 21.08.2008: Abhishek Bhattacharyya:Mumbai F.C Manager and Ex- Team India Goalkeeper as well as a successful commentator of Doordarshan and Zee Sports Mr.Henry Menezes expresses his views about the coming AIFF ONGC I- LEAGUE tournament exclusively to Abhishek Bhattacharyya of www.kolkatafootball.com KFC:Tell us how the preparation of your team going on for the 2nd edition of I-League. HENRY:Well…the preparation hasn’t been that great.Our practise was hampered by heavy rain here in Mumbai.We haven’t been able to practise properly.We went to Goa for 10 days were we practised on the artificial pitch.We had some games in Durand Cup but still a long way to go. KFC: What are the objectives of your team for this season. HENRY:Well…we are a new team in the block.We have a long way to go. We need to observe the top teams that will be playing and we need to learn from them.This is our first season and our main objective would be to stay in the I-league next year and so on.We start our I-League campaign against Mohun Bagan followed by East Bengal and both are away games so we will have a tough time fighting these teams but all I can say is that we are ready to fight. KFC: Mumbai FC have come a long way since its inception.They have done a commendable job by earning promotion to I-League in their very first season.How are you people planning to keep this momentum going on & how are you planning to promote football. HENRY:We have corporate backings of Essel Group.They are a well known company in Media & Entertainment sector.They are planning to invest on youth development & community building programmes & Mumbai FC foundation will also play an important role in near future and that’s how we will be promoting football. KFC: So do you think corporate houses have the power to change Indian Soccer?. HENRY:The most important thing is to associate with the people & with the community. You see clubs like East Bengal,Mohun Bagan,Mohd.Sporting are community based clubs and the fans play a very important role.That’s why its important that we should connect with the people and work on community development.That’s how the corporate houses can play a vital role in building up Indian football and if you see our club’s name it’s there so that people of Mumbai can associate themselves with the club. KFC: You have managed Mahindra United in recent past (2001 - 2007).But what made you join Mumbai FC (From 2007)? HENRY: Managing a club from its scratch is always a challenging job and also very exciting.When Managing Director Amit Goenka & Sanjoy Das approached me I didn’t gave a second thought and took the job as it was a big challenge for me.I am really happy with our management. KFC: Coach David Booth is a very important part of the team.Tell us a bit about him and your working relationship with him. HENRY:Yes….David is great to work with.I share a great rapport with him.We have worked a lot in past and his performances says it all.He has been a coach of the Bobby Charlton Academy in Ghana,then he have done coaching in Vietnam, Thailand & also have been the national coach of Myanmar & Brunei.He has also worked in the UK and Maldives and has been the coach of Mahindra United in recent past.He is also a qualified AFC instructor and has enjoyed prolonged stints with other leading clubs.When we started working with the players they lacked consistency but he has turned them into utility players and consistent performers and that’s how we have done well in the 2nd division of I-League and hope to do well in the top division also. KFC: Tell us a bit about your team and the young guns especially. HENRY:Our team has a nice combination of experience & youth.We have experienced players like Kalyan Choubey,Noel Wilson.Our young brigade comprises of players like Kuttimani, Pradeep,Anas and Romanjit Singh.We have signed up former Dempo player Selvin Rodriguez & Koluthungan.Foreigner Abel Hammond who will be playing in forward zone with the likes of Abhishek Yadav is also an integral part of our team. KFC: Do you have any messege for the supporters of the club & Indian Soccer? HENRY:Always be with us.We are a new team and we will always dish out good quality of football.Watch out for us. KFC: Thank you very much for speaking to us we would like to wish you the best wishes for your I-League endeavor from the entire Kolkatafootball.com team. HENRY: it was my pleasure talking to you and best wishes to you also. M.Mohun Bagan Starts their residential camp at Barasat 18.09.2008 : :The Sahara CFL Premier League Champion Mcdowell Mohun Bagan Starts their I-leage residential camp at Barasat Stadium today before facing their first encounter against Mumbai based Club Mumbai F.C on 27th Sept in ONGC I - league 2008 - 2009 under Coach Karim Bencherifa “FUTURE OF FOOTBALL IN INDIA IS BRIGHT”: ZIDANE 18.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta :That’s what legendary footballer Zinedine Zidane had to say after seeing the performance of the boys in blue in the recently concluded Danone Nation’s Cup in Paris 2008.Danone Nation’s Cup is a nine years old tournament hosted and sponsored by Danone Inc. it is an annual event where teams from top forty football nations participate through their U-12 teams. India was invited to participate and Mohun Bagan Club had qualified after winning the India leg to represent the country in the official tournament in Paris.The Mohun Bagan colts performed brilliantly capturing the hearts of local admirers as well as football players from all around the world. Mohun Bagan started their journey by winning a practice match against Brazil by two goals to nil.Later on the Green and Maroon juniors went on to reach the round of 16 ultimately losing out to Czech Republic in the Tie Breaker. The Kolkata outfit had to be satisfied after finish 12th out of 40 teams during the classification rounds. Mr.Amiya Ghosh was coaching the team and the team manager was Dr. Rathin Chakravarty. Mohun Bagan’s Road to success was: - India 2-0 Brazil (Practice Match) India 4-2 Poland (penalties) India 2-1 Saudi Arabia India 0-2 Italy India 1-0 Spain India 1-2 Czech Republic (Sudden Death) India 2-0 England India 0-1 South Africa India 0-1 Russia Striker Anubroto Maity excelled by netting in 6 goals in the tournament. Mohun Bagan Jr. coach Amiya Ghosh expresses his views about the whole tournament exclusively to Rahul Sengupta of www.kolkatafootball.com KFC : Congratulations on participating in such a big tournament where forty of top teams from Kolkata participated. Tell us how do you feel on being a part of this occasion? AMIYA GHOSH: It was a very proud moment on my 21 years long coaching career. When we reached there I was aiming to take my team to the finals but unfortunately we had to crash out narrowly on the sudden death against Czech Republic. But overall we matched all standards against top ranked teams like Spain, England, Italy and Brazil. I remember after we won against Brazil, their coach came and congratulated me telling that Indians have excellent skill but we need to improve on our speed and technique. KFC : The performance of your team was totally fabulous. But where do you think we lack with other teams all around the world? AMIYA GHOSH: Practically speaking if you look at U-12 level it is very difficult to differentiate between European teams and India. But we lack in Speed, Strength and Stamina. KFC : India cannot boast of having too many Youth Development programs so what will be the future of the current U-12 team in the near future? AMIYA GHOSH: I totally agree with you that we do not have any youth development schemes but on the other hand we have Mohun Bagan club in India, which has its U-12, U-15, U-17 and U-19 teams along with a full time residential academy perhaps the only club in India. Talking about the current U-12 team, these players will gradually grow within the club and progress to higher age group and then may be the senior team. KFC : So tell us about few of the players who were excellent in Paris? AMIYA GHOSH: Well the Whole team was excellent but I must make special mention about Anubroto Maity (Striker), Rahul Das [C] (Defender) and Souvik Ghosh (midfielder). KFC : Zinedine Zidane was the brand ambassadors for the tournament did you get to meet him? AMIYA GHOSH: Of course we did meet him. Our captain Rahul Das received the Trophy and Memento form him and he also congratulated all my boys for putting up such a brave effort. KFC :What do you have to comment on the facilities at the Parc Des Princes and Mohun Bagan Club? AMIYA GHOSH: It was like a dream come true for each and everybody of us. Everything including the Dressing room, the pitch, the Gym, the practice turfs were totally fantastic. I don’t want to repeat the sad story about lack of facilities in India. KFC : You had been coaching youth players for the past 21 years. So what will be your message to budding footballers in the country? AMIYA GHOSH: I would say that Practice hard! Practice makes one perfect, apart from that I believe that kids need to develop Love and Passion towards the game to excel in it. KFC : What are your next objectives or future vision? AMIYA GHOSH: Up next is the Manchester United premier Cup for U-15 team. My objective will be to take the team to Manchester. QUIZZING KARIM!! 15.09.2008 : Sahara CFL Premier League 2008 winner Mcdowell Mohun Bagan winning Coach Karim Bencherifa speaks exclusively to Rahul Sengupta of www.kolkatafootball.com KFC: First of all, congratulations on helping Mohun Bagan Club win the CFL title for 28th time. What are your initial reactions about this? KARIM: It is a great feeling. From the time I took charge of the Mohun Bagan Club I accepted the challenge and also expected to be amongst the topsides in Kolkata and now here we are the champions of Kolkata! KFC: As a coach of Churchill you had banked on young players like Vashum, Naoba, Gourmangi etc. here at Mohun Bagan also you had youth players like Ramluha, Rakesh Mashi, Rino Anto so does that mean youth players are reason behind your success? How do u explain it? KARIM: the secret behind my success is of course my hard work. I believe that proper communication between all parties involved makes me wand the Magic Wand again and again. Apart from that I am blessed to have good and talented players at both the clubs and most of the credit should of course go to the players involved. KFC: Tell us something about your coaching career from where did you start your coaching? How did you manage to come to India? KARIM:I started coaching professionally with Club B.M.Rabat (Morocco) in the year 1993 as the head coach of the U-23 team. Later on as a Coach I have coached in countries like Morocco, Malta, U.S.A, Brunei, Singapore and of course India. When I was coaching in Singapore with Woodlands Wellington FC I got numerous offers from Clubs in Middle East as well as Indian Clubs like Churchill and East Bengal. I chose Churchill because they provided me a very good package including Money, Objectives and realistic goals. KFC: You were a coach at Goa with Churchill Brothers, how different was it from coaching in Kolkata? Which place is better for you? KARIM: Goa was a very beautiful place to live, my family and me enjoyed our stay over there but Kolkata is different it is very modern and vibrant city where we have loads of activities to do like shopping, eating out etc. But if you tell me to choose one I would rather choose India! (Laughs) KFC: What will be your ultimate objective for the I-League? KARIM: I think we will perform well in the I-League we have experienced players like Bhaichung, Barreto, Sangram as well as young players who are hungry to prove themselves so I think we can do well. KFC: Lastly What will be your feelings when Mohun Bagan takes on Churchill this season? You must have some feelings for the side you had coached for two long years? KARIM: Churchill was a great experience for me I still maintain cordial relationship with Mr. Churchill Alemao. I must say that I am a professional coach and now currently I am the coach of Mohun Bagan and I am dedicated towards Mohun Bagan so whenever I am on the field I work with my brains not my heart. KFC: Thank you very much for speaking to us we would like to wish you the best wishes for your I-League endeavor from the entire Kolkatafootball.com team. KARIM: : it was my pleasure talking to you and best wishes to you also. Indian Tycoon Anil Ambani sets his sights on buying Everton 14.09.2008 :According to Forbes, Anil Ambani is the sixth wealthiest man in the world,with a fortune of £24 billion,has targeted English Premier League famous Club Everton F.C after failing in an attempt to take control at Newcastle United. His elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, who ranks one spot ahead of him in the world at number five richest man. The 49-year-old Young Businessman,head of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, the largest business house in India, had recently been linked with a £230m takeover of Newcastle United of EPL but withdrew his interest because of the ongoing uncertainty of the Club. But in Everton’s recent extraordinary general meeting at Goodison Park, called by it's shareholders to demand a withdrawal from the plans to move to Kirkby with Tesco Super Market Scheme, in a £400m development.A Public inquiry date has been set for Everton FC and Tesco's joint bid to build a stadium and superstore in Kirkby.The £400m bid was called in by Government office North West only two weeks ago but now Whitehall has offered the date of November 18 for the public inquiry. On 9th August 2008,during their final pre season match against PSV Eindhoven Ambani's 16 year old son Jai Anmol conversing with Bill Kenwright and Rober Earl, the majority shareholders of English Premier League side Everton FC. But it is not known if Joi Anmol's presence at the game indicates any interest in acquiring the club or simply a social visit. But Anil Ambani is known be visiting the city of Liverpool during 18- 20 September, 2008 where he will be guest of Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright, during the UEFA cup tie against Standard Liege.There is speculation he may hold talks with Chairman of Everton to buy the Premier League club who is looking for a billionaire owner. CHANGE OF GUARD AT RED AND GOLD! 14.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta:The club management of Kingfisher East Bengal appointed Stanley Rozario as the new coach for their club’s I-League campaign for 2008-2009 season. After current East Bengal coach Manoranjan Bhattacharya offered his resignation letter to the East Bengal officials on Saturday afternoon, quick came the appointment of Stanley Rozario as the new coach for the red and gold brigade. The appointment of Stanley as the new coach was in the pipeline as close sources confirmed that most of the players of the team recommended his name as 7 players of the current roster was the part of the AFC CHALLENGE CUP winning team so was Stanley. The club officials confirmed that Manoranjan Bhattacharya offered resignation due to personal problems and said that the disastrous league outcome had no effect in his decision to quit the job. Stanley Rozario has been working as the Assistant Coach of the National Team under British Coach Bob Houghton and has been part of the Nehru and AFC Challenge Cup winning team. He was earlier the coach of Army XI side in Bengaluru and was almost sure to take charge of newly promoted Vasco SC in the I-League but he chose East Bengal as a better deal. Club Secretary Kalyan Majumder confirmed that he is one of the few effective Indian coaches available and thus gave him the green signal after negotiations with Myanmar’s Brazilian Coach Marcos Falopa failed on financial grounds. It is Stanley’s first job of a top- flight club all eyes will on him to see whether he can deliver and prove his worth.He will join East Bengal's I - League conditioning camp at Salt Lake SAI from Monday. Liberian Theodore Sunday Wrobeh - Top Scorer in CFL Premier 2008 2004 - F.C Cochin - Kerala 2004 - George Telegraph 2005 - Formerly Everready Association, now Chirag United - lien in IFA shield 2006 - Nine Bullets -Tripura (Scored 15 Goals) 2007 - Chirag United - Kolkata (Scored 13 Goals in 11 matches) 2008 - Mohammedan S.C (Scored 11 Goals in 14 Matches in CFL 2008) Success: Scored 7 Goals in 2nd Divn NFL 2007 for Chrirag United. Scored 1 hattricks against Pune F.C in 2nd Divn NFL 2008 for Chirag United and 4 goals. Scored 5 Goals against East Bengal, Mohun Bagan,Mohammedan S.C in last year CFL for Chirag United. Goals in 2007 : 27 Goals in 2008 (Upto 13th August) : 21 Theo Scored 11 Goals in Sahara CFL Premier - 2008: 13 July against Railway F.c - 1 28 July against Mohun Bagan (1st Leg) - 1 6th Aug against Chirag United(1st Leg) - 2 16th Aug against Peerless - 1 20th Aug against East Bengal - 2 31st Aug against Mohun Bagan(2nd Leg)-1 10th Sep against Port Trust - 1 13th Sept against Chirag United (2nd Leg ) - 2 Theo 5 times Man of the match out of 14 Matches 20 th July against East Bengal 28th July against Mohun Bagan 6th Augf against Chirag United (1st Leg) 16th Aug against Peerless S.C 13th Sept against Chirag United(2nd Leg) ONE ON ONE WITH THEO Liberian striker Thoedre Sunday Wrobeh has helped Mohammedan sporting kick start their league campaign on a high by scoring 11 goals in the 2008 edition of Sahara Kolkata Premier Football League. 13.09.2008:Here’s Theo Sunday sharing his feelings exclusively to Rahul Sengupta of Kolkatafootball.com KFC: First of all congratulations on your recent performance with the Mohammedan sporting club by scoring a mammoth 11 goals and helping the Black and white outfit regain the second spot after a long gap. How do you feel about this special achievement? THEO: It’s a great feeling. I am very happy that at least our loyal fans are having the smile on their face after a gap of 27 years. But we are also disappointed that due to some off-field issues like poor referring and bad match schedule that we are not the champions. But it’s a good start for the season. KFC: Tell us something about your football career? Before coming to India and playing for FC Kochi in 2004, where did u play your fair share of football? How did make your trip to India and later Kolkata? THEO: I started playing professional football for a local club in Liberia in the year 2000. Later on my first big club was Abbiah Continent Club where I started playing as a youth and was also appointed as the Captain for the U-21 team. After that I played one season in Malaysia for Selangor. Later I came to India through a friend of mine who was playing in Salgaocar at that point of time. An Official named Nabab Bhattacharya brought me to Kolkata and my first club in Kolkata was George Telegraph under a great Coach Mr. Raghu Nandy. KFC: You have also played for a club named Nine Bullets in Tripura in the year 2006 scoring 15 goals. How different was it than playing in Kolkata? THEO: well it differs a lot. Everything is different Agartala is such a quite place but Kolkata is totally opposite. I enjoy playing more in Kolkata because playing here satisfies me. I have also played in Kerala and have seen football in Goa I believe Kolkata is number 1! KFC: Previous season you helped Chirag United earn a promotion to I-League. This season do you think you can help your team win the I League? THEO:: I-League is very different there are many competitive teams battling it out for one motive. We have our objectives set. We had a good start for the season; we also will be having a residential camp before the I-League to improve our games. I think we are doing everything right to win the I-League. KFC: Who was your toughest opposition in the Sahara Calcutta Premier League? THEO: (Laughs) the toughest competitor was of course Anupam Sarkar for East Bengal as far as I am concerned. But I expect more such competitions to come on my way in the I-League. KFC:Tell us something about your teammate Mike Okoro? THEO: What to say about Mike! He is a very close friend of mine we share a cordial relationship both off and on the pitch and that is why we are often called a Deadly Combo! (Laughs) KFC: Thank you very much for sparing some time from your busy schedule and speaking to www.kolkatafootball.com. We wish you all the best for the I-League from the entire KFC team. THEO: you are welcome and it was my pleasure talking to you Best Wishes. Foreigner vs Indians in Sahara CFL Premier - 2008 TEAM GOALS SCORED FOREIGNERS INDIANS SAMESIDE M.Mohun Bagan 24 9 15 - Mohammedan S.C 25 18 5 2 KF East Bengal 21 3 17 1 Camellia George Telegraph 16 5 11 - Cal.Port Trust 9 5 4 - Chirag United 11 3 8 - Railway F.C 6 0 5 1 Peerless S.C 8 6 2 - TOTAL 120 49 67 4 Man of the Match : Foreigner :14 and Indians:22 INDIANS CLUBS TIMES FOREIGNERS CLUBS TIMES Lalampuia M.Mohun Bagan 2 Barreto M.Mohun Bagan 2 Satyajit Bose Mohammedan S.C 1 Mike Okoro Mohammedan S.C 4 Jayanta Sen KF East Bengal 1 Francis Camellia George 1 M.Tulunga M.Mohun Bagan 1 Theo Mohammedan S.C 5 Suroj Mondol Railway F.C 1 Peter Odefe M.Mohun Bagan 2 Subho Kumar Camellia George 3 - - - Asim Biswas KF East Bengal 2 - - - Parveen Kumar KF East Bengal 1 - - - Rakesh Prasad Railway F.C 1 - - - Simanta Das Cal.Port Trust 1 - - - Abhra Mondol KF East Bengal 1 - - - Malswamma Hmar Chirag United 2 - - - Kartik Kisku M.Mohun Bagan 1 - - - Sanju Pradhan KF East Bengal 1 - - - Sk.Azim Mohammedan S.C 1 - - - Surkunmar Singh KF East Bengal 1 - - - Rakesh Masih M.Mohun Bagan 1 - - - EAST BENGAL HOLD BAGAN AS MARINERS CLINCH CFL TITLE FOR 28th TIMES 12.09.2008 : Rahul Sengupta:After seven consecutive wins over KF East Bengal in IFA Kolkata Premier League the Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C found it difficult to set a record of eighth victories in a row. ** 2005 (1st Leg) Mohun Bagan 1 - 0 East Bengal MMB::Glay Yao Rodrigue Return Mohun Bagan 1 - 0 East Bengal MMB::Glay Yao Rodrigue 2006 (1st Leg) Mohun Bagan 1 - 0 East Bengal MMB:Baichung Bhutia Return Mohun Bagan 1 - 0 East Bengal MMB:Baichung Bhutia 2007 (1st Leg) Mohun Bagan 4 - 3 East Bengal MMB:Lalam,Barreto,Venkatesh 2 :: KEB:Alvito 2, Edmilson Return Mohun Bagan 2 - 0 East Bengal MMB:Barreto 2 2008 (1st Leg) Mohun Bagan 2 - 1 East Bengal MMB:Lalampuia 2 ::: KEB: Alvito Return Mohun Bagan 1 - 1 East Bengal MMB:Barreto ::: KEB: Edmilson ** Thanks to East Bengal coach Monaranjan Bhattacharya and his unusual attacking tactics that Mohun Bagan had to satisfy with only a draw( 1 - 1 ). Playing with Indian strike combo of Sunil Chhetri and Ashim Biswas, the red and gold brigade created very few openings in the first few minutes of the match as the ball possession was mostly held by the midfield players of the arch rivals teams. The first real chance came in the favor of Karim Benecharifa’s boys when Malswama Tulunga nearly found Barreto in an inch perfect cross only to see a perfect timing shown by Indian goalie Subrata Paul. In the 24th minute lively as ever U-19 player Nirmal Chhhetri fouled Malswama Tulunga in the penalty area only to see Jose Ramirez Barreto score to take the very vital lead in the match ( 1 - 0 ). With this Goal Barreto scored his 15th individual goals for Mohun Bagan against arch rival East Bengal. The first half rarely saw any other moments of excitement as both the teams where founding it hard to play with slush underfoot conditions with rising mercury providing a deadly combo for the players. The second half saw East Bengal showing more character in the game and what we saw after the 73rd minute was a rare first timer in Indian football where East Bengal where playing with four strikers namely Ashim, Sunil, Edmilson and Parveen Kumar. The results did pay off as East Bengal’s Brazilian striker Edmilson scored a spectacular goal in the 83rd minute to bring smiles to the thousands of East Bengal supporters present at the Yuba Bharati Kriangan ( 1 - 1 ). M.Mohun Bagan TFA Boy Rakesh Masih was selected "Man of the Match" for his outstanding service in this Derby. With this draw Mohun Bagan clinched their 28th IFA Kolkata Football League title. Mohun Bagan's Winning Years : 1939,1943,1944, 1951,1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 1978,1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007 AND 2008 = 28 TIMES Final Score: KF East Bengal 1 - 1 M.Mohun Bagan MMB: Barreto - 24' (From Penalty) ::: KEB:Edmilson 83' (From Free Kick) Referee: Mrinanghsu Bhattacharya KF East Bengal : 24-Subrata Pal; 27-I Surkumar Singh, 3-Nirmal Chetri 4-Suley Musah, 29-Saumik Dey; 22-Sanju Pradhan (73' 25-Parveen Kumar ), 26-Mehrajuddin, 9-Alvito D'Cunha (54' 30-Edmilson), 19-Rahim Nabi (36' 28- Malswamkima); 11-Sunil Chetri, 10-Ashim Biswas Y/C :Nirmal Chettri 22' ,Subrata Paul 23' M.Mohun Bagan: 1-Sangram Mukherjee ,24-Rino Anto, 3-N.S. Manju, 29-Anandavasan, 26- Mohanraj (76' 17-Rahul Kumar); 19-Tulunga, 25-S.James Singh, 20-Rakesh Masih, 23-Lalramluaha; 10- Barreto (85' 16-James Singh), 9- Lalam Puia (90+1' 15-Baichung Bhutia) Y/C :Mohanraj-10',Barreto 20',Lalramluaha 28',S.James Singh33', Manju 90',Baichung Bhutia 92' M.Mohun Bagan Agree with IFA's request to play Derby match tomorrow 11.09.2008:Following IFA's requests to M.Mohun Bagan to play in the Derby match against arch rival Kingfisher East Bengal as Schedule (12th Sept at YBK - 3.00 PM), the executive committee of M.Mohun Bagan held an emergent meeting in the evening and decided to honour IFA Secretary Mr. Utpal Ganguly's request. IFA has also stated in their requesting letter of M.Mohun Bagan that, from next year onwards, last one or two rounds of CFL Premier Matches involving the three Big teams would be held on the same day and time in different venues, as demanded by M.Mohun Bagan Officials. But M.Mohun Bagan team weekend on the eve of their derby encounter.Defender of M.Mohun Bagan Peter Odafe injured today in the practice match and another defender Habibur Rahaman also miss the derby due to his injury.Captain Baichung Bhutia is not fully fit and unsure for the match while Isfaq Ahmed is out of tomorrow's derby as he was red carded in Port Trust Match. M.Mohun bagan has to get at least 1 point from tomorrow's match in order to become the league Champion for 28th times,irrespective of the outcome of Mohammedan S.C vs Chirag United match scheduled to be held on 13th September. CFL Derby return leg uncertain on 12th September ?? 10.09.2008:Sahara CFL premier League Derby return leg match between Kolkata Giant KF East Bengal and Mcdowell Mohun Bagan uncertain after Bagan demand to organise Mohammedan S.C and Chirag United match on the same day and time at two other different venues. In this regards on behalf of Mohun Bagan a letter has been sent to IFA - the organiser of Kolkata Football League. The scheduled Derby match fixture is 12th Sept and Mohammedan - Chirag on 13th. Mcdowell Mohun Bagan virtually wins the Sahara CFL Premier 2008. 09.09.2008:Defending champion, Mcdowell Mohun Bagan, beat Camellia George Telegraph 1 - 0 today in their 13th match at their home ground to keep the IFA organised Sahara CFL Premier League title, like last year, with one match remaining against arch rivals, KF East Bengal, on 12th September. Today in the first half Mohun Bagan's Brazilian striker, Jose Ramirez Barreto scored the only goal in the 30th minute and also scored his 6th Goal in this Premier League. In injury time of the 2nd half, Isfaq Ahmed of Mohun Bagan was shown the red card. Camellia George Telegraph's midfielder, Subho Kumar, was selected Man of the Match for his outstanding services. This is his 3rd Man of the Match award in this Premier League. This is a great success for former Churchill Brothers Coach, Karim Bencharifa, who took charges as Coach of Mcdowell Mohun Bagan this year. Before playing in the forthcoming ONGC I- league, Bagan boys have got a huge confidence boost, courtesy today’s performance. Mcdowell Mohun Bagan: 1-Sangram Mukherjee,5-Habibur Rehman Mondal (17-Rahul Kumar), 14-Peter Odafe, 4-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 3-N.S.Manju; 19-Malswam Tulunga (11-Ishfaq Ahmed), 25-S.James Singh (22-Karthik Kisku), 20-Rakesh Masih, 23-Lalramluaha; 10-Barreto, 9- Lalam Puia. Camellia George Telegraph: 21-Swarup Das; 3-Suman Dey, 23-Safar Sardar, 6-Debkumar Sashmal, 2-Biswajit Saha; 17-Beokhokhai, 12-Gautam Debnath (19-Sayantan Das Roy), 7-Subho Kumar, 15-Pradip Roy, 10-Freebone Itejere (20-Swapan Mandi), 11-Francis. Clubs Performances :McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C 11th July (1st Leg) :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 3 - 0 : Peerless S.C 15th July :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 3 - 1 : Chirag United : : Barreto - Hattrick 18th July :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 3 - 0 : Railway F.C :: M.Tulunga - Hattrick 22 July :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 0 - 0 : Cal Port Trust 28 July :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 2 : Mohammedan S.C 2nd Aug :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 3 - 2 : Camellia george Telegraph 5th Aug :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 2 - 1 : K.F.East Bengal 11th Aug (2nd Leg) :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 2 - 1 : Peerless S.C 17th Aug :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 1 : Chirag United F.C 25th Aug :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 0 : Railway F.C 25th Aug :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 1 : Mohammedan S.C 4th Sept :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 2 - 1 : Cal Port Trust 9th Sept :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 0 : Camellia George 12th Sept :: Mcdowell Mohun Bagan A.C : 1 - 1 : KF East Bengal Individual Scorer : Match - 13 :: Goals : 23 Foreigner :8 :: Indian :15 P.Lalampuia 8 Jose Ramirez Barreto (Foreigner) 6 Malswama Tulunga 4 Habibur Rahaman 2 Peter Odafe (Foreigner) 2 Branco Cordozo 1 PIFA have finalised camp dates for Bangalore & Hyderabad. 09.09.2008:Due to a strong demand from our PIFA camers, Bangalore & Hyderabad will host the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) international camp in the Dasserra break. These camps will be in addition to the 2 camps announced for Diwali break in Mumbai. Highly experienced and qualified coaches will be flown in from England by PIFA to conduct the latest football training sessions, used by premier league youth academies in UK. The camp is open to all children boys & girls of all abilities between the age of 10-18 years. The green fields of Inventure Academy at Whitefield-Sharjapur Road will be the venue for the Bangalore camp from 4 to 7 October 2008, PIFA will also provide an optional bus service for the campers. The beautiful Apoolo Complex at Jubilee Hils will be the venue for the Hyderabad camp form 9 to 12 October 2008. PIFA International camps in Mumbai After a two month long trial period, PIFA-CYFC announced their team that will participate in the 2008 Mumbai Elite league. The team will be trained and coached by PIFA Director & UEFA licensed coach Nirvan Shah. The teams is as follows : 1. Rashid Sheikh 2. Clifford Garreth 3. Imran Khan (GK) 4. Vaibhav Thandel 5. Mahendra Thandel 6. Prateek Ian 7. Ratan Khandhadia 8. David D’souza 9. Raza Rizvi 10. Satish Singh Keer 11. Mohammed Shadab 12. Balbir Rawat 13. Sagar Ghadigaonkar 14. Nilesh Patidar 15. Burges Master 16. Naresh Raina 17. Joynacks Mathews 18. Ivano Fucci (foreign Italian transfer) 19. Mohammad Khan (GK) 20. Ankur Gogia (GK) PIFA has been able to use its Italian association to sign an Italian striker, Mr Ivano Fucci, he has played the Italian serie league. The team is in negotiation for one more foreign player to strength their defence. The youngest player in the team is 16 year old Burges Master, a product from the PIFA academy. The team training was taken over two years ago by PIFA, it achieved promotions in both the years by being runners-up in their league. The team will play its first match on 9 September 2008 against Union Bank of India at the RCF grounds. This year due to lack of a sponsor the management was unable to have a big squad and had to cut costs drastically. The team still hopes to make it to the Elite play off stages. 03.09.2008 :For the 5th consecutive year, Premier India Football Academy will be flying in the best UEFA/FA licensed academy coaches from England to conduct football camps in Mumbai. The camp is open to boys & girls between 10-18 years of all abilitiies. These camps are an unique opportunity for all young football players of different abilities to improve their game. Past participants from these camps like Rickin Dang have gone on to excel for their school and state teams. The 4 day camp cost is Rs 8,500 with 6 hours of training daily and with lots of activities related to football such as a skill test, quiz, fitness test, etc. So if you want to be the best, then make it your GOAL to be there. The camp is co-sponsored by Nike. Due to popular demand, Mumbai will host 2 camps during the Diwali break. The first will be held at Karnatak Football ground from 25 October to 28 October 2008 and the second at St Andrews ground from 29 October to 1 November 2008 Last 12 Match Fixture of Sahara CFL Premier 2008 01.09.2008 :Today Evening in a press meet IFA Secretary Mr.Utpal Kumar Ganguly released the rest matches fixture of SAHARA CFL Premier League 2008 which will be started on 4th September. DATE TEAM Vs TEAM TIME VENUE 04.09.2008 M.Mohun Bagan Vs Cal.Port Trust 3.00 PM MMB 05.09.2008 KF East Bengal Vs Chirag United do YBK 06.09.2008 Peerless S.C Vs Cal.Port Trust do Howrah do Camillia George Tele Vs Railway F.C do Kalyani 08.09.2008 KF East Bengal Vs Peerless S.C do YBK 09.09.2008 M.Mohun Bagan Vs Camillia George Tele do MMB 10.09.2008 Mohammedan S.C Vs Cal.Port Trust do YBK do Chirag United Vs Railway F.C do Kalyani 12.09.2008 KF East Bengal Vs M.Mohun Bagan do YBK 13.09.2008 Mohammedan S.C Vs Chirag United do YBK DO Peerless S.C Vs Railway F.C do MMB DO Camellia George Tele Vs Cal.Port Trust do KEB