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Not just me, the entire team needs to play well to win the title: Wedson | Image : XtraTime[/caption]Kolkata: A trophy which has been untouched for almost thirteen years, a trophy which has been 'so close, yet so far' for almost thrice in last ten years, a trophy which has come to Kolkata, but with the hands of their arch rivals. Kingfisher East Bengal to start the 2017 Hero I-League with a new pledge, with a new hunger and of course with a new determination on Saturday against a young and tenacious Aizwal FC side who have rejuvenated their hopes with their new coach Khalid Jamil, who has the reputation of stealing important points against the big teams over the years.
The last training session before playing their opening game of the new I-League season has been an eventful one today. Coach Trevor Morgan, who loves to operate with a 4-3-3 system, will most likely be playing with a 4-4-1-1 formation, leaving Mohammad Rafique as the lone forward.
If the training was an indication, then Haitian midfielder will play the role of the no.10, who would be operating just behind Md. Rafique. Ugandan defender Ivan Bukenye and Trinidad and Tobago forward Willis Plaza both trained with the second team today but the defender might be there in the bench tomorrow. Willis Plaza, the new no.9 for the Red and Gold brigade had a light training session today as he arrived last night only. The way the team has been shaping up for the first game, it seems that Rahul Bheke and Narayan Das would be the two fullbacks and Gurwinder and Anwar will be the centre backs against Aizwal. Rowllin Borges and Mehtab Hossain both will start as central midfielders and Nikhil Poojary and Jackichand Singh on the wings.
Aizwal has three African players, one as central midfielder and the other two as forwards. The double defensive pivot of Mehtab and Rowllin will thus be an extra cushion for Trevor Morgan. The Haitian Wedson Anselme will be the key for Trevor's side as the other foreigners are not match fit. Wedson too seemed very much excited to start the campaign on a high. He said, "Eagerly looking forward to this game. It would be my first official match for East Bengal. If we win tomorrow, it will be a great morale booster for the team and the fans." He added, "Everyone knows what I did for Dhanmondi in Bangladesh. Here after coming to East Bengal, everyone wants me to show the same quality from me and this is my challenge as well to help my team in the I-League." At the same time Wedson has made it clear that he alone cannot win every game, he stated,"One thing I want to make clear to everyone, Wedson alone cannot win all the games, the team is good and the entire team needs to perform to win the league. It's not just me, but Team East Bengal is important."
On the other hand, the clouds over the selection of East Bengal's fourth foreigner continues, as East Bengal's Football Secretary Santosh Bhattacharya said, "Yes we are facing a lot of problems in choosing the fourth foreigner. The foreigners whom we selected so far in the Asian category, had problems in collecting the 'no objection certificate' from their respective clubs and we are still in search to recruit a good player." Except Wedson, the two other available foreigners Ivan Bukenye and Willis Plaza have arrived late to join the side and created problems for the coach to select them for the first game. Naturally, the question was raised to the Football Secretary and he said, "Yes, that was unfortunate. We expected the foreigners to join much earlier. But you can't help it when it is related to the visa. Hope the things would run smoothly from now on."
East Bengal will play the first game at Barasat Stadium on Saturday at 4:30pm.
Probable East Bengal XI: Subhasish ; Rahul Bheke, Gurwinder Singh. Anwar Ali, Narayan Das ; Nikhil Poojary, Mehtab Hossain, Rowllin Borges, Jackichand Singh ; Wedson Anselme ; Mohammad Rafique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYbkjeDixZ0
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