Kolkata: It is already a known fact that Spanish giants Atletico Madrid have severed their ties with ISL franchise Atletico De Kolkata but Sanjiv Goenka, the principal owner of the Kolkata based club revealed that the Spanish club hasn’t invested a, ‘single penny’ for the franchise.
“ATM (Atletico Madrid) have not invested a single penny for our club. Hence, they wouldn’t be a part of ATK going forward into the future,” revealed Goenka, while speaking at a press conference in the city.
He also said that their separation with the Spanish club hasn’t affected his friendship with them. “We continue to be good friends,” he added.
A slight change was also noticed in the logo of the ISL club, where only the words, ‘ATK’ was seen in place of the name, ‘Atletico De Kolkata.’ “You call it Atletico De Kolkata but it can also mean Aamar Tomar Kolkata!” he said jokingly.
Teddy Sheringham, the former Manchester United striker who is among the top scorers in the history of the English Premier League has been named as the new coach of the Kolkata based franchise.
Introducing him, Goenka said, “I have always wanted to work with winners. We at ATK want to go ahead with people who are successful, and who can strategise for success. We met Teddy in London and we were very impressed with his presentation. He can strategise very well and we feel that he perfectly fits in a team, which has the culture of winning.”
Another Englishman, in the form of Ashley Westwood has been named as the technical director of the defending ISL champions. Westwood has had a successful stint with former I-League champions Bengaluru FC where he guided them to two league titles and one Federation Cup.
The industrialist showered praise on the Englishman saying that his experience of Indian football would help in building the ATK team for the upcoming season.
“He (Ashley) has been here for four years and has led BFC to two titles. He has a good knowledge of Indian football and his partnership with Teddy, would help in building up the ATK team,” opined Goenka.
Talking of ATK’s home ground and a possible conflict with East Bengal and Mohun Bagan over having their matches played at the Salt Lake stadium, he said that there is no competition between both those clubs and his team.
“Mohun Bagan and East Bengal are great clubs with great legacies. We’ve grown up watching these clubs. We do not have any competition with them. They are Dadas (big brothers), we are bachchas (children)!” said Goenka.
He also announced that the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group would provide five scholarships to five women athletes in the country. Referring to the brilliant performance shown by the Indian women in the ongoing women’s cricket World Cup in England, Goenka said that the Indian women has already shown what they are capable of and this scholarship would help them get access to better training and resources. He also wished Mithali Raj’s team good luck ahead of the final against tomorrow.
“This scholarship would help women athletes get better training facilities and resources. The women’s cricket team has already shown what Indian women are capable of. I would like to wish them a very good luck for tomorrow’s final.”