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Atletico de Kolkata’s defensive general Arnab Mondal has been linked to La Liga champions’ Atletico de Madrid’s B team. The 25-year-old center back impressed critics with his performances in the Indian Super League and was one of the stars in Sourav Ganguly’s co-owned franchisee.
His impressive performances have perhaps been rightly rewarded with a speculated move to Spain. Sourav Ganguly was quick to express his delight when inquired about foreign interest towards Mondal; he was quoted as saying by ISL: “Atlético de Madrid want Arnab Mondal to play for them next season, which is a great thing, and hopefully, we’ll get some special talents next year.”
Although Mondal, as speculated by many channels, might not play for Atletico de Madrid’s first team in the La Liga, he is expected to feature in their B team, which plays in Spain’s third division. Still, Mondal will likely evolve at a much higher rate as a center back if this foreign dream comes true.
Mondal was perhaps Atletico de Kolkata’s standout player, steering his side clear of danger time and time again in the 16 matches he represented them in. His center back pairing with former Liverpool defender Josemi was perhaps the best in the Indian Super League. Lurking in the shadows, sizing up his opponent to pure perfection before delivering a crunching tackle, Mondal often played the part of Atletico de Kolkata’s saviour.
“All the time I speak to him (Mondal) and try to help him as he is a good defender. I think he is the best defender in the league,” Josemi was quoted as saying on Goal. “We have spent four months together at Atletico de Kolkata and I think he has improved over the period.”
“He has the quality to play in countries other than India. But concentration is most important for a defender and he loses it sometimes. But he is very clever and that's the most important thing,” he added.
The Indian Super League has successfully rocketed football into the national consciousness and brought unknown Indian talent into the limelight. This is perhaps the start of many Indian players moving towards foreign shores, in the process getting better exposure and experience.
