Mohammedan attempt to revive former glory
For nearly a decade until this season, Mohammedan Sporting Club have been devoid of any silverware at the top-flight football and apparently the Black and Whites have not shown the necessary drive to negate their long miserable journey, though such apathy from the club was unthinkable up to late 1990s.
Back then, the footballers and officials were heavily pressured by Mohammedan supporters whenever results went against their beloved outfit, but that supporters' passion appears to have faded beyond repair following non-stop failures – a stark contrast considering how they usually roared almost every season by winning one or two titles.
Recent success amounts to Mohammedan SC sealing the trophy of the country's newest tournament -- Super Cup -- twice in 2011 and 2013, respectively, but the Motijheel-based outfit could not win the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 13 attempts as the BPL remains the only silverware missing from their cabinet.
Following the introduction of BPL in 2007 and except for its second and third editions, Mohammedan was no match to challenge their arch-rivals Abahani or revamped Muktijoddha Sangsad or newly formed Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Bashundhara Kings -- with the latter two even went on to share the professional league honours six times.
Since Sheikh Jamal tore apart Mohammedan in their debut season of 2010-11 after luring in more than dozen players from the Black and White outfits in the season prior -- involving big names like Jahid Hasan Emily, Zahid Hossain, Aminul Haque, Rezaul Karim, and many others -- the Mohammedan management never pushed to rope in recognised players, having cited financial constraints, and instead they kept settling for mediocre squads.
The Mohammedan management, however, have adopted a contrasting policy this time, though a couple of well-known players – national defender Riyadul Hasan Rafi, Rahmat Mia and goalkeeper Mohammad Nayeem – reportedly slipped from their radar despite the club handing them token money for the forthcoming season.
Still, Mohammedan showed their will for a turnaround by confirming the services of two current national players -- Sazzad Hossain and Shahriar Emon -- and five national discarded players -- Jafar Iqbal, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, Manik Mollah, Mehdi Hasan, and Alamgir Kabir Rana.
Apart from retaining the services of 13 old guns, including foreign recruit Souleymane Diabate of Mali, the Black and Whites also signed 19 new players, most notably four foreigners -- midfielder Muzaffar Muzaffarov from Uzbekistan, forward Daniel Ricardo Febles from Venezuela, defensive midfielder Meysam Shahmakvand Zadeh from Iran, and defender Roger from Brazil -- during their players' registration formalities at the BFF House in presence of the BFF president Kazi Salahuddin yesterday.
"If Mohammedan can bring back its past glory, the country's football will be developed further, I believe," said Salahuddin, who also played for Mohammedan during his illustrious career.
"Last season we hardly got any time to make a good squad because the board of directors had just taken over the responsibility of club," said Engineer Golam Mohammad Alamgir, the committee chairman and director of Mohammedan.
"However, we had enough time to consult and form a strong team this time and believe that success is possible," he concluded with optimism.
Meanwhile, Shafiqul Islam Manik, Mohammedan head coach and former national footballer, reckons his side can challenge the title contenders despite being inferior on paper, and he even revealed the objective of bagging two out of eight trophies this season.
"Quality players, a coaching panel and visionary club management is needed to become champions and this time all elements are in place for Mohammedan," added Manik, who guided Mohammedan twice in 2007 and the 2010-11 season before rejoining to take charge for the last seven matches of last league season.
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