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Kolkata, Aug 01, 2024: Amidst the trials and tribulations of Indian football, if there is one club which has continued to rise in stature, it has to be Inter Kashi. A fourth-place finish in the second division I-League in its founding season, proved that the club has got many things right from get go. Now playing their first ever IndianOil Durand Cup, the club representing the oldest city of India Varanasi, is looking to extend that rising graph, by making it to the knockouts through Group B, even if that means breaking some local hearts in the process.
“Kolkata is like a second home for us as most of the squad has played here at some point of their careers and we also train in the city quite often. In-fact Durand Cup preparations were mostly done based in the city,” said Head Coach Izumi Arata, a Japanese now settled in India and himself a former accomplished player in top division Indian football.
Arata will be transitioning for Antonio Lopez Habas, the maverick Spaniard gaffer, a multiple Indian Super League (ISL) winner, who has been appointed by the club recently as Head Coach and will take over full responsibilities after the 133rdIndianOil Durand Cup, indicating that positive decisions continue to be taken at the Club.
Inter Kashi have assembled an enviable squad in the Indian context with a variety of young and experienced Indian players and some quality foreigners who have already started to deliver, if their first game resulting in an entertaining 1-1 draw against local giants Mohammedan Sporting is anything to go by.
The experienced club captain Arindam Bhattacharya appears confident of the club’s chances in the tournament saying, “We have a settled unit who have been training hard for a long time. Besides good Indian footballers and talented youngsters which makes it a healthy mix. Also, our foreign players like Nicola and Mario are proven performers. The first game was against the local side in tough conditions and although we played well, we made a few mistakes. We will only look to get better from here.”
The skipper was referring to Nicola Stojanovic, the former Mohammedan midfielder who scored the goal against his former side last Sunday. Mario Barco is their Spanish striker who scored 12 goals in their maiden I-League campaign to be amongst the league’s highest scorers.
And better they will have to get as their next game comes up against the Sunil Chhetri led Bengaluru FC at the KBK on 3rdAugust and the Blues have warmed up to the game with a 4-0 demolition of the Indian Navy Football Team in their first game.