AFC Champions League 2: Mohun Bagan SG Braces for Ahal Challenge in Opening Group C Match

Mohun Bagan Super Giant starts his campaign in the Asian stage by including Ahal FK of Turkmenistan in the opening group C League match of the AFC Champions League 2 in the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.

With the Indian football calendar uncertain about the hosting of the Indian Super League (ISL), the continental competition has come as a relief for the ISL winner with double crown. This will be the second consecutive year that Mohun Bagan will play the Group League phase of the Second-Tier club competition in Asia after it had defended the League Shield in the latest edition of the ISL.

While most ISL clubs are in hibernation, Mohun Bagan has his energy aimed at proving his merit at continental level. The team has added a few new names to its selection during the over-seasons transfer in August and looks well prepared to start its continental campaign.

The Mariners have stacked their arsenal with six foreigners and have also strengthened their beautiful domestic register with the addition of names such as Mehtab Singh and Abhishek Singh.

«We will be confronted with some of the largest teams in Asia, but I have faith in my team. Hopefully we will have a good start,» said the Mohun Bagan SG coach Jose Molina.

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The Spaniard, who has won the ISL -Kroon in both Stints in Indian football, now has the greater responsibility to repeat the club to continental glory.

With the Asian Football Confederation Rules that make unlimited foreign recruits possible in a team, Mohun Bagan has retained five foreigners from the previous season – Jamie Maclaren, Jason Cummings and Dimitrios Petratos in attack; Tom Aldred and Alberto Rodriguez for defense – while he adds Brazilian Robson Robinho to perform the creative role instead of the Scottish playmaker Greg Stewart, who was released after the end of the ISL season.

Mohun Bagan misses the services of Manvir Singh, who still has to recover from his injury, but has the rest of the squadron available. Anirudh Thapa and Subhasish Bose have joined the team again after a brief dismissal of injuries.

Although he arrived without a foreign recruit, Ahal will rely on his fitness and discipline. The city witnessed the power of a Turkmen team when Arkadag FK East Bengal defeated in the first stage of the AFC Challenge League quarterfinals early March of this year. The Kolkata giant again lost during a visit to Arkadag, which ensured that his exit from the tournament (with 1-3 aggregated).

Ahal, which has six players from the national team, will be a major challenge for Mohun Bagan, who will make his first outing after losing the quarter finals of Durand Cup against arch -rival Eastern bengal. Since then, the Kolkata team had almost four weeks to complete his exercise for the season and is expected to overcome the form and fitness issues that have plagued his performance in the season opening tournament.

Ahal, the former champion of Turkmenistan’s Top League (Yokary League), will be the first major challenge in the group phase, which will be played in a round Robin system with double legs. The other two opponents of Mohun Bagan are Sepahan SC by Iran and Al-Hussein SC from Jordan in the competition phase, who will see his engagement until the last week of December.

«We know that Mohun Bagan is the champion team of India. So we have prepared well and are ready for the game. We hope to give our maximum tomorrow,» said the Ahal head coach Eziz Annamuhammedov, who added that the team had played three training matches with local sides before he arrived.

Mohun Bagan also played a preparatory match six days ago with the other ACL 2 participant FC Goa, and the match ended as a goal. Mohun Bagan has imposed the right amount of preparation and expects good support for home to guarantee a winning start.

Published on September 15, 2025