Mohun Bagan receive I-League trophy, 7 months after clinching title

KOLKATA: More than seven months after Mohun Bagan clinched the 2019-20 I-League title, they were handed over the trophy at a city hotel on Sunday morning.

Dhanachandra Singh along with a couple of other players, assistant coach Ranjan Chaudhuri and other members of the support staff and senior clubs officials received the trophy from AIFF Leagues CEO Sunando Dhar in the presence of state sports minister Aroop Biswas.

Spanish coach Kibu Vicuna and other members of the squad watched the programme online.

The trophy was then put in a glass cascade and taken to the club through a pre-decided route with a huge four-hour long procession - with people mostly on motorcycles and some walking - following it. The procession swelled as the trophy made its way through, giving the city green and maroon hue.

While it's true the fans had waited for a long time, it begs the question whether it was prudent and justified to have this procession where social distancing norms were not properly followed and quite a few were spotted without masks at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.

Many champion clubs across the globe have shelved their celebration plans and it probably would have been wise for Mohun Bagan to skip the procession.

Meanwhile, the programme at the hotel started with Bagan fan and banking professional Sumanta Chakraborty singing a special 'Champion' song that he has himself written and composed. The song is part of Bagan's I-League-winning documentary.

An audio-visual of Bagan's three National Football League and two I-League titles were played and a champions' plaque was unveiled before the trophy was handed over.

"I am happy to be with you on this special day. I will always remember my time at Bagan. I would have loved to be present with you all today. My heart and soul is there," said Vicuna in a pre-recorded message.

Dhar commended the Bagan team for the beautiful football they played and hoped that they will do well in AFC Cup as well.