The Indian Super League heads into a long break before the second half as the Indian National Team is all set to kickstart their AFC Asian Cup Journey on 13 January. While the national team players will be busy playing their AFC Asian Cup matches, their respective clubs will lock horns as the Kalinga Super Cup starts on 9 January.
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> THE SUPER CUP
The Super Cup first took place in 2018 as a replacement for the Federation Cup. Since that time Super Cup has been the main knockout tournament of Indian Club Football. Bengaluru FC and FC Goa emerged victorious in the first two editions of the Super Cup and then the tournament was suspended from 2020-2022 due to the pandemic. In 2023 when the Super Cup resumed Odisha FC emerged victorious and became the first club to qualify for the AFC Cup group stage from the Super Cup.
The Kalinga Super Cup 2024 is set to be held from 9 January to 28 January where 16 teams will be fighting for the silverware and the winner will be awarded the preliminary round sport for ACL 2. 16 teams (12 from ISL, 4 from I League) are divided into 4 groups. The group winner will head into the semifinals where the winner of Group A will face the winner of Group B and the winner of Group C will face the winner of Group D. The winners of both semi finals will lock horns in the final for the ultimate glory.
> OUR OPPONENTS
Mohun Bagan has been grouped with East Bengal, Hyderabad FC, and Sreenidi Deccan FC in Group A.
East Bengal FC are looking better than last season and they will be looking to draw some inspiration from their recent performance against Mumbai City and Odisha FC. Last time In the Durand Cup they were drawn in the same group as Mohun Bagan and won the Group Stage Kolkata derby. This time they will be trying to repeat the Durand Cup group stage performance.
Meanwhile, the situation in Hyderabad FC looks scrappy. Nawabs are currently sitting at the bottom of ISL with only 4 points. Three foreigners have already left the club and many players may follow the same path in January. But they showed some brilliant football in patches and have ample potential to put pressure on the opposition.
Sreenidi Deccan FC are looking impressive in their I-League campaign so far. With 20 points in 11 matches, they are standing strong in the third position.
> OUR FIXTURES
9th JAN'24, 7.30 PM - Mohun Bagan SG vs Sreenidi Decan
14th JAN'24, 2.00 PM - Hyderabad FC vs Mohun Bagan SG
19th JAN'24, 7.30 PM - Mohun Bagan SG vs East Bengal FC
> OUR PROBABLE LINE-UP
It will be a tough task for Mohun Bagan to field a strong team in this edition of the Kalinga Super Cup as seven players from the club are out for their national duty in AFC Asian Cup 2023. So here we will discuss how could Mohun Bagan team look without them.
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> OUR RECORDS
Matches Played : 6
Matches Won : 3
Matches Lost : 3
Goals Scored : 12
Our Best Finish : Semi Final (2018)
> FINAL CHANCE FOR JUAN?
According to several news media, this Kalinga Super Cup is the very last chance for Juan Ferrando to save his job at Mohun Bagan. A team full of stars has been struggling to win matches under Juan which made the fans doubt his ability to manage this team. However, Juan is known for turning things around and he'll be looking for the same. But this time without his main players it might be a mountain to climb. As national team players will be out of this tournament, it gives much-needed game time and brings a golden opportunity for our reserve team boys to show their talent at a national-level competition.