• Durand semis: DHFC, more than a typical newcomer’s story
    Times of India | 20 August 2025
  • Kolkata: Diamond Harbour FC offer more than a newcomer's fairytale.

    Born on April 15 — the Bengali New Year's Day — in 2022 and backed by the local Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, the club's meteoric rise from the humble Bata stadium ground in Maheshtala — a part of greater Kolkata — to gaining promotion to I-League this year has happened so quickly and so spectacularly that it has taken Indian football by storm. This also looks magical in the current scenario of Indian football, characterized by chaos. At a time when future of the country's top league is shrouded in uncertainty and many Indian Super League clubs contemplating shutdown, Diamond Harbour FC represent the essentially ‘other' and more positive side of the story. They are Indian football's new aspirations, not only ready to break into the established order but determined to break new ground as well. "Three years ago, we were playing in Batanagar against Port Trust (in the first division of Calcutta Football League). And three years later, we are here in the semifinals of the Durand Cup and preparing to play against East Bengal, one of the best teams in India. This is quite a journey, right?" Kibu Vicuna, the team's veteran Spanish coach, said on Tuesday. Very few would doubt it. That match against Port Trust on July 26 in 2022, set the new kid on the block on a dazzling journey that saw them win the CFL first division and qualify for I-League 3 in their very first year, then clinching the I-League 2 title in 2024-25 and securing promotion to I-League, the second most important tier of Indian domestic football pyramid. DHFC have now set sights on winning the I-League and becoming the next team to book a place in the ISL through promotion. Vicuna — the man with the Midas touch — has supervised DHFC's transition from Day I with utmost care and conviction. "We had started from zero. I remember that we had to do trials because we didn't have players and it was very challenging. But at the same time the reward has been very high," recalled Vicuna, who had guided Mohun Bagan to their second I-League title in 2019-2020. Ahead of their I-League debut, they have bolstered the team with signings of Slovenian attacker Luka Majcen from Punjab FC, Brazilian forward Clayton Silva and Spanish defender Mikel Kortazar. "We are not only growing every season, we are learning every season about how to manage, how to play and how to challenge… We are going step by step and at the same time enjoying every step," the Spaniard maintained. "We are the only team to have played against three ISL teams in the Durand Cup. We are now in the semifinals. But we don't want to stay here. We want more in the competition.

    " Manas Bhattacharya, renowned midfielder of the 80s, has been associated with Project DHFC since the first day, serving the club as its CEO. "We are here to stay," he said. Beyond the legacy of Mohammedan SC, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in the city, DHFC promose to arrive with a different alternative, ready to write their own story.
  • Link to this news (Times of India)