Kolkata: Indian goalkeeper Debjit Majumder, who was one of the heroes of Atletico De Kolkata’s second ISL title win in 2016 has been retained by the club ahead of the next edition of the tournament. Well, it indeed is good news but the sad part is that he wouldn’t be able to play in the I-League as both these tournaments would be held simultaneously. Speaking to the media at an event, the star goalkeeper, who played for Mohun Bagan for three years in the I-League said that he missed those practice sessions. But now, he is an ATK player at heart.
“Obviously I miss those practice sessions. I have played for Mohun Bagan for three years now and there were some really good memories. I would want to wish this new team a very good luck and hope that these new players perform nicely and establish themselves. As professional players we have to move on. I am at ATK player now.”
For the first time ever in Indian football, there are going to be two major leagues taking place simultaneously. While many have supported this move, there are players like Debjit who believe that a unified league should be put in place.
” As a player, it is definitely very challenging as now, we have to play just one league for an extended amount of time. I believe that there should be one league because after playing for four months under one coach in the I-League, a player has to adjust himself again to the demands of a new coach in the ISL. So playing one league takes away this problem. ”
This year onwards, there would be a change in the Kolkata outfit for the ISL as they have ended their ties with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. This has resulted in a change of team management for Atletico De Kolkata as they would have a new coach from this season.
Their new coach is former English striker Teddy Sheringham and former Bengaluru FC manager Ashley Westwood would fill in as the technical director. Speaking on this, Debjit said, ” As a professional player, I would try to find out what the coach expects from me. I would then prove myself on the field and try to fulfill his expectations.”
Earlier there were talks of Atletico retaining Pritam Kotal, Prabir Das, Bikash Jairu along with Debjit. But at the end, it was only him and Prabir who were retained ahead of the next season. Debjit however believed that this a decision entirely made by the team management.
“I heard that they (ATK) would retain me and Pritam. At the end, they chose to retain me and Prabir. This decision entirely rests on the management and the officials. There’s a still the player’s draft where we can still pick these players,” he said.
Speaking on whether he will miss the famous I-League derby or not, Debjit said, “Obviously I would miss the derby. Every player dreams of playing the famous derby. From my childhood, I always wanted to be a part of this contest be it for any team, with East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. There is a different pressure in a derby but it is also very exciting.”
A press conference was arranged at the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club for launching a football tournament and beginning a football academy in memory of late Pinky Roy, who was a renowned sports journalist and had a cordial relation with most of the players.
There would also be a unique exhibition match played between the cricketers and footballers in which former Bengal cricketer Shib Shankar Paul would lead the Cricketers XI and Debjit would captain the Footballers XI.