You could never imagine seeing Hernan Crespo playing in the I-League – Barasat Franchise Owner

Uro Infra Reality had sprung the major surprise when they paid a massive Rs. 25.12 crores for Barasat when they could have easily got the rights for Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal.

“Barasat is a part of Greater Kolkata and we feel we can market our team more there than in Kolkata, moreover we also have a brilliant stadium, and then of course we can draw fans away from the Kolkata franchisee too,” reasoned Debojit Chowdhury, COO of Uro Infra Reality, who have already announced their team name as they called themselves ‘URO Musketeers’.

They picked up Teitur Thordarson from Iceland as their coach, but the real statement of intent came when they paid the most for their ‘ICON’ player, Hernan Crespo, a mind boggling $840,000. They bought him unchallenged at his base price as probably no one wanted to enter into a bidding war with the Barasat juggernaut!

Joaquin Botero, 33-year-old Bolivian striker and 31-year-old attacking midfielder from Ecuador, Christian Lara were added to the squad without much fuss and 29-year-old South Korean defender Park Byoung Gyu, completed their overseas quota.

When asked about their plans for recruiting local talent in the team, he was candid in saying that this was another reason he chose Barasat.

Why Barasat?

“Barasat forms the supply line of the football players from East Bengal and we are hoping to tap that,” said Chowdhury.

“Competition is always good,” was what he said with a wry smile, when asked whether he would actually battle it out the Kolkata giants for recruiting players, since I-League players were not sanctioned to play in the Premier League Soccer (PLS).

He also spoke at length about his passion for football and how Bengal players were not finding a place to display their talent even in the I-League teams from Bengal like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

“I feel Bengal players are being neglected and hence I wish that my team will have a clutch of players from Bengal itself to compliment the foreign recruits.”

He was also jubilant in having acquired the signature of Hernan Crespo and lamented that the likes of such players do not play in the I-league teams.

Sorry I-League, We Have Crespo

“You could never imagine a Crespo playing for East Bengal in the I-League but we have signed him, and in the coming seasons. I am hopeful that we will be able to attract even bigger stars as the league grows in profile and stature,” he stated.

Chowdhury was quick to point out that them plunging into the PLS was driven both by business interests as well as passion for football.

“When passion becomes profitable, is there anything better? And I am sure we will be able to profit from this enterprise if not today, but in the long run certainly.”

On his plans to really make the 'URO Musketeers' the team to beat, both in terms of the squad strength as well as marketing the beautiful game, he revealed that he had already spoken to Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia to play for them.

"We are in advanced talks with Bhaichung Bhutia. Not only will he play for us but he will also be our brand ambassador. We are also in talks with Dipendu Biswas to come play for us.

Come Bhutia & Co.

“Moreover, Bhutia has promised to bring in some players from his team that currently plays in the second division of the I-League,” informed Chowdhury.

He added that his company had everything chalked out and promised an aggressive marketing blitz encompassing radio, television and print media. He announced that they had tied up with one of the largest radio channels in Bengal and also admitted that he had many innovative ideas up his sleeve that he would divulge gradually.