As he stepped out of the field after an action-packed training session, Biswajit Bhattacharya came across a familiar face at the Maharaja's Stadium here on Wednesday evening.
“I remember you very well,” said the former Indian striker when athletics Olympian Mercy Kuttan, who runs her academy at the venue, was introduced to him.
“I remember you, P.T. Usha, Shiny and Valsamma very well from our 1982 Asian Games camp days. We were all after you girls.”
Tough task
Bhattacharya, from Bengal, has been brought to Kerala to virtually pull out a sinking ship from troubled waters.
He is now in charge of Chirag United Kerala as its Technical Director after the team's Sri Lankan coach Nizam Packeer Ali was sacked a couple of days ago. The former Mohun Bagan coach has been brought in, in a desperate move, to save Chirag Kerala from being relegated from the I-League.
Chirag is now in the 12th spot in the 14-team event and Bhattacharya has just seven games to help out Kerala's lone team in the country's premier league.
“Every mission is possible, if you're honest and if you do hard work,” said Bhattacharya.
“But time is a problem…we'll survive and stay in the I-League with God's help and if the boys help me a lot.”
He said he had seen Chirag Kerala play its last I-League game against Air India in Pune a few days ago.
“I told them (Kolkata's Chirag Computers, the team's major stake holder) I want to see the boys at the Air India match. All of a sudden they won that game.
“That means a lot but they have to do a lot of things, they have to learn a lot of technical things,” he said.
Chirag plays its next I-League game in Kochi on March 24 and Bhattacharya said the 40-day break would help some of the team's key players who are in the injured list, regain fitness.
The team's goalkeeping coach Partha Chakraborty was also in action here on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Chirag Computers' Vice President Rana Bandhopadhyay said the team would not play in the forthcoming E.K. Nayanar all-India football tournament in Kozhikode.
“We will not be playing there…we're also not to going play the IFA Shield in Kolkata,” said Bandhopadhyay.
Long break
“We have a long break now it's good but if injury happens we'll be in big trouble,” Bandhopadhyay added.
