New order here to stay

When 10 of the national players left Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club before the start of the season, not many people would have bet on them winning the season's curtain-raising Federation Cup. But the Dhanmondi Club silenced the doubters and reaped the reward for three months' hard work to upstage favourites Abahani and Muktijoddha on way to lifting the title.
What was more heartening about the triumph is that it was a campaign free from the stigma of match-fixing, a stigma that has haunted the club since their maiden triumph in the professional league last season.
So the club had sweet cause for celebration and they did so by having sweetmeats and lunch together at the club tent, which has been decked up with decorative lights. The club rewarded the triumphant members of the club with a bonus of Tk 10 lakh. The festive mood was dampened a little though, as a few of the over-enthusiastic players got into slight scuffles while celebrating with the trophy.
But the coach Saiful Bari Titu and captain Aminul Haque are having none of that over-enthusiasm as they know that the challenge of retaining the professional league title will not be an easy one.
“The league is going to be a tough one for everyone and we have already shifted our focus to the league which is the main challenge. Apart from us, (Sheikh Jamal), Abahani, Muktijoddha, Sheikh Russel and Mohammedan, we have to count BJMC too as title contenders,” said Titu.
Explaining the components of their success, Aminul said, “We had started our preparation much before the start of the season and the determination among the players to give maximum on the pitch was the key to our success.”
If Sheikh Jamal winning the trophy was a surprise, Team BJMC reaching the final, let alone fighting gamely in the title-decider, was awe-inspiring.
Tuesday's final was evidence enough that the status quo is changing in local football, and that final battles could become classics even without the presence of the two popular outfits Abahani and Mohammedan.
With a 29-year absence from top-flight football and a squad which has an average age of 30, not many people would have dreamt of BJMC reaching the final. But they did and proved that they are a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming league.
“Even though the boys are a bit disappointed with the final defeat, they are all looking forward to doing better in the upcoming professional league,” said BJMC coach Jakaria Babu.
Veteran players like Alfaz Ahmed, Abdul Hossain, Saiful Islam Saif, Amit Khan Shuvro and Masud Khan Jonny, all of whom spent the last season warming the benches of different clubs, have turned out to be key weapons of BJMC along with their hard-working foreign trio of Ismael Bangoura, Ajagun Abdul Rasheed and Jeans Jules Ikanga.
The Team BJMC were encouraged by the presence of Textiles and Jute Minister Abdul Latif Siddique who met them yesterday and had lunch with the players.
“Maybe we were not considered among the favourites as we have an ageing side but we were determined to prove our worth and that there is still football left in us,” said BJMC captain Alfaz Ahmed, who is likely the oldest player on the circuit at 37 years of age.