Traditional giants Dhaka Abahani Limited look to end their disappointing season on a high note by winning the Super Cup, which is just a day away. Despite forming a strong squad, the Sky Blues lost the Bangladesh Premier League title to their neighbours Sheikh Russell while they also failed to appear in the final of the other two professional tournaments.
However, Muktijoddha Sangsad KC, who will face Abahani in the tournament opener Friday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, also aim to achieve glory and end their poor season with a trophy. The Muktis, who formed a team with a combination of youth and experience, lost the league title last year by a single point and they failed to continue with the momentum which saw them finish sixth this year.
Since the top two teams from each group will reach the semifinals, the opening match promises a heavy battle between the group ‘A’ sides as the winner will have the edge over the other contenders. Treble winners of the season Sheikh Russell and Feni Soccer Club are the other two teams in the group.
Abahani are bolstered by the return of their six key players, who missed the last part of the premier league, from injury. Sujon and Mishu will be seen in the backline while Pranotosh and Shahed will take hold of the midfield. Komol, Rony and Enamul will add strength in the front line along with the new U-16 recruits Imon, Badshah, Mithu, Didar and Naim Sheikh.
“We had six players injured in the last part of the premier league which cost us the title. Now the good news is we don’t have any injury problem anymore,” said Abahani manager Satyajit Das Rupu Wednesday. Rupu also admitted that their major concern is scoring foals for which they are focusing more on finishing.
Captain Waly Faisal has no doubt in winning the title and end the trophy drought. “I never ended a season trophy-less with Abahani in the last 10 years of my career. Now all our concentration is on Super Cup and we want to finish the season on a high note. If the players give their 100%, we will win the cup.”
Abahani coach Amalesh Sen spoke about the team formation. “The formation will be different as we are not playing with foreign players. We have been working for the last one week to settle our formation and whichever suits us, we will go with that.”
In the absence of the key foreign players, Bhashani will replace Samad Yusuf in centre-back while either one of Arman and Shahed is likely to join as defensive midfielder replacing Yoko Samnick.
On the other hand, Muktijoddha coach Shafiqul Islam Manik admitted they are not favourites, but hinted revelation. “My team is not in a good position on pen and paper. As there is no foreign player in the Super Cup, teams with most number of national players are being considered as the favourites, but football is a game that depends on a particular day’s performance. So anything can happen.
“We will fight for the championship. I hope we could reach the final and even win it. But I believe if we had one more week for the preparation, we would do better,” added Manik who also termed the first game as the most vital one.
“If we can implement the lessons we have learnt from coach during the training, we will have a good result. We will prove who are the best on the pitch,” said Muktijoddha skipper Jahurul Islam.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
