Dhaka, March 6 (bdnews24.com) – Having retained the professional football league title, Abahani are dreaming of lifting the inaugural Citycell Super Cup that begins on March 11.
"It is very much important to us to finish atop in the Super Cup and we have been preparing accordingly," said Abahani coach Amalesh Sen at a press briefing at BFF House on Friday.
Abahani will begin their campaign taking on Rahmatganj MFS on the opening day at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
"The players are eager to play the tournament," said Abahani's long-serving coach.
Abahani were drawn along with Sheikh Russel KC, Chittagong Mohammedan Sporting Club and Rahmatganj.
Sen said that they were not taking any opponents lightly though they had a bunch of good players in the side with a Nigerian attacking midfielder joining the Dhanmondi-based outfit.
The inclusion of Nigerian Adzah Titteh will certainly strengthen Abahani's midfield comprising Arif Khan Joy, Prantosh Kumar, Mamunul Islam, Abul Hossain and Nigerian Emeka Christian, the second highest scorer in the B League.
Strike pair Ghanaian Awdu Ibrahim and Jahid Hasan Emily proved to be dangerous in the opponent D-box in the concluded B League as Emily had found the net 13 times.
Besides, it was tough for opponent strikers to break the Abahani's backline, marshalled by Samad Yousuf, Nazrul Islam, Mohammad Sujan and Wali Faisal in the B. League. In addition, their goalkeeper Biplob Bhattachariya was hardly tested in 20 matches as he conceded only 11 goals.
"No doubt we will play for the title as it is something new in the country's football history," said captain Nazrul Islam.
The defender said that the award for the best player and goalkeeper was an extra incentive for the players, who never saw the best player and the best goalkeeper getting a private car and Tk one lakh respectively.
Abahani manager Sattyajit Das Rupu said they have been training for four to five days after the B League ended in the middle of February.
Farahganj SC, placed with Mohammedan SC, Brothers Union, Chittagong Abahani, also appeared in the press briefing.
"Our first target is to qualify for the semi-finals though we have lost three out of four foreign players, who helped us to finish sixth in the B League," said Farashganj coach Kamal Babu.
Babu said they were depending on the local players. He informed that they had roped in Imon Babu and Shanto for the Super Cup.
Farahganj captain Kabir Hossain said, "We want to play better football. If we do our job accordingly, I believe we will reach the semi-finals."
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