Mohun Bagan Super Giant starts its campaign at the Asian stage by taking on Turkmenistan’s Ahal FK in the opening Group C league match of the AFC Champions League 2 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.
With the Indian footballing calendar uncertain about the hosting of the Indian Super League (ISL), the continental competition has come as a relief for the ISL double-crown winner. This will be the second successive year that Mohun Bagan will be playing the group league stage of the second-tier club competition in Asia after it defended the League Shield in the latest edition of the ISL.
While most ISL clubs lie in hibernation, Mohun Bagan has focussed its energy on proving its merit at the continental level. The team has added a few new names to its roster during the pre-season transfers in August, and looks well-prepared to start its continental campaign.
The Mariners have stacked their arsenal with six foreigners and have also bolstered their resplendent domestic register with the addition of names like Mehtab Singh and Abhishek Singh.
“We will be facing some of the biggest teams in Asia, but I am confident about my team. Hopefully, we will have a good start,” said the Mohun Bagan SG coach Jose Molina.
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The Spaniard, who has won the ISL crown in both his stints in Indian football, now has the bigger responsibility of shepherding the club to continental glory.
With the Asian Football Confederation rules allowing unlimited foreign recruits in a team, Mohun Bagan has retained five foreigners from the previous season – Jamie Maclaren, Jason Cummings and Dimitrios Petratos in attack; Tom Aldred and Alberto Rodriguez in defence – while adding Brazilian Robson Robinho to carry out the creative role in place of Scottish playmaker Greg Stewart, who was released after the ISL season ended.
Mohun Bagan will be missing the services of Manvir Singh, who is yet to recover from his injury, but will have the rest of the squad available. Anirudh Thapa and Subhasish Bose have rejoined the squad after a brief injury layoff.
Despite arriving without a foreign recruit, Ahal will rely on its fitness and discipline. The city was witness to the strength of a Turkmen team when Arkadag FK beat East Bengal in the first leg of the AFC Challenge League quarterfinal early in March this year. The Kolkata giant lost again while visiting Arkadag, which ensured its exit from the tournament (with 1-3 aggregate).
Ahal, which has six national team players, will be posing a big challenge for Mohun Bagan, which will be making its first outing after losing the Durand Cup quarterfinal against archrival East Bengal. The Kolkata team had almost four weeks since then to complete its pre-season exercise and is expected to overcome the form and fitness issues that plagued its performance in the season-opening tournament.
Ahal, the former champion of Turkmenistan’s top league (Yokary League), will be the first big challenge in the group stage, which will be played in a double-leg round robin system. Mohun Bagan’s other two opponents are Sepahan SC of Iran and Al-Hussein SC of Jordan in the league stage, which will see its engagements till the final week of December.
“We know Mohun Bagan is the champion team of India. So, we made good preparation and are ready for the match. We are hopeful of giving our maximum tomorrow,” said the Ahal head coach Eziz Annamuhammedov, who added that the team had played three training games with local sides before arriving here.
Mohun Bagan also played a preparatory match with the other ACL 2 participant FC Goa six days ago, and the match ended goalless. Having put in the right amount of preparation, Mohun Bagan is expecting a good home support to ensure a winning start.
Published on Sep 15, 2025
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com