I-League 2012-13: Kolkata Preview (Take 3, Prayag United).

Prayag United is being called the Real Madrid of India by many people. And why not? If you compare the Prayag team with Real Madrid, you can see a lot of match-winners in the team. Ranti Martins, Costa-Rica’s world-cupper Carlos Hernandez, Aussie star Kayne Vincent and India’s no. 1 goal-keeper Subrata Paul all are in the team. Though they did not have a good Fed cup campaign, there’s no doubt they will be the main contenders as well as a team to watch for this season I-League.

Now take a close look on some strengths and weaknesses of Prayag United and what the legends are thinking about them.

Prayag United:

Coach—Sanjoy Sen.

Recent Success—Their last success was in the season 2010, when they won the Durand Cup.

Strengths—Like another Kolkata giant Mohun Bagan, Prayag’s attacking line up is quite solid. Ranti Martins, last season’s top scorer in I-league and Costa Rica’s world-cupper Carlos Hernandez will be the key players for India’s Real Madrid. They have also signed two good goal-keepers, Subrata Paul and Sangram Mukherjee. No doubt these two will boost up the team from the back.

Weaknesses—Prayag’s main weakness is lying on their defense. Apart from Gourmangi Singh, they do not have any experienced defender in their squad. Side by side, they also have a shortage of players in the mid-field, who can read the pace of the game very well and can assist Ranti and Carlos while scoring goals.

Prediction—5^th-7^th.

Subrata Bhattacharya—

“Inspite of having a good team they did not click yet; the mid-field is needed to be a little bit strong. Though they are a good team to win the I-league but I think they will finish this time in 4^th-5^th position.””

Jose Ramirez Barreto—

“They have a very good team. Ranti and Carlos will be a threat for any defense. I will not be surprised if they finish within top 3 this time.”