The stranded foreign players and coaching staff of both the Kolkata giants, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, left for their homes on Tuesday after an arduous bus ride of 29 hours from Kolkata to Delhi.
All the foreigners of the two renowned clubs were left stuck in an abrupt situation after the I-League was called off, with several games remaining to be played, and a nationwide lockdown was imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kibu Vicuna, who guided Mohun Bagan to the I-League title, said he would love to return soon to celebrate the success with football-crazy Kolkata fans. Vicuna-coached Mohun Bagan won their second I-League title with four rounds left before the I-League came to an end because of coronavirus-forced lockdown.
“When normalcy returns, I would love to come back and celebrate with all the players, fans, club officials and members,” the Spaniard was quoted as saying by the official website of All India Football Federation just before departure.
“None of us ever really got the opportunity to say our goodbyes properly. It was all over the phone. I am a person who likes to do this kind of thing face-to-face,” he added with a tinge of regret.
The Embassy of the Netherlands arranged a special flight which would take the footballers from Delhi to Amsterdam. From there the players would travel to their respective home cities.
“My family is very happy to know that soon I will be in Spain. Fortunately, all are good and we are all set to leave finally,” East Bengal’s Spanish coach Mario Rivera told PTI.
“No doubt this will be an arduous journey but there was no other way out for us. Otherwise, we will have to stay back here,” he added.
With inputs from PTI