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Atletico de Kolkata formally announced on Friday that they will be having a one-month pre-season camp in Spain with the squad leaving on August 25.
However their four East Bengal players (Arnab Mondal, Cavin Lobo, Mohammed Rafique and Baljit Singh Sahni) and Mohun Bagan’s Kingshuk Debnath will only be joining the camp after the Calcutta Football League derby clash, scheduled for August 31.
The remaining nine Indian players will be part of the camp from day one with the foreigners expected to join once the visa issues are sorted. Atletico de Kolkata have eleven foreigners in total including marquee player Luis Garcia while six of them were selected from the ISL international draft in Mumbai on Thursday.
Their training base will be at Los Angeles de San Rafael ground in El Espinar, Segovia, Spain. Atletico de Kolkata officials are in talks with Segunda clubs of that region for four friendlies during their stay in Spain.
They will return to Kolkata on September 25 with the ISL starting on October 12. The opening match is expected to take place in Kolkata between Atletico and the Mumbai franchise.
Atletico de Kolkata’s head coach Antonio Lopez Habas raised slight concerns regarding the artificial turf of Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium but stated that his team have no scope for excuses.
“The artificial turf is a big problem but we have to adapt and can’t make excuses. The pre-season camp in Spain should bring us all even closer and help build understanding between Indian and foreign players,” Habas said.
Physical coach Miquel Martinez stated that the squad will be trained with the ideals of Atletico Madrid.
“The pre-season will start with physical and medical tests. We will try to introduce the Atletico Madrid and La Liga methodology in training. It will be a great experience and exposure for the Indian players to train in facilities similar to that of Atletico Madrid,” Martinez told the media.
