'Our toughest title’: captain Topu hails Kings’ triumph amid crisis

Having reclaimed the Bangladesh Premier League title with a match to spare, captain Topu Barman described Bashundhara Kings’ sixth league triumph as the toughest of his career.

Kings secured an unassailable lead in the 10-team table with a deserved 2-0 victory over rivals Abahani Limited Dhaka in the penultimate-round clash at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium on Friday, equalling Abahani’s record of six league titles.

“It has really been the toughest triumph compared to the previous ones, where I was part of all the title-winning teams except the first one,” Topu told The Daily Star over the phone from Cumilla.

“Because we had to sacrifice more this time and toil hard on the ground. Bashundhara Kings, like other clubs, have also been going through a difficult period over the last two years due to the changed circumstances in the country. The players are in financial trouble, we have been playing without a foreign coach since the second phase of the league, and except for one, the foreign players were also unavailable in the last few matches,” he added.

Topu had previously captained Kings to league titles in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

Amid the club’s financial difficulties, overseas-based footballers Tareq Raihan Kazi and Cuba Michell left midway through the season, while Argentine coach Mario Gomes and Brazilian midfielder Raphael Gomes did not return after the first phase of the league.

Adding to Kings’ troubles, Nigerian duo Emmanuel Sunday and Emmanuel Tony stopped attending training and matches from mid-April. The absence of foreign players saw Kings held to a 1-1 draw against Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society before Brazilian forward Dorielton Gomes resumed playing from the following match against Bangladesh Police FC.

Despite the setbacks, the local players remained determined.

“We national team footballers never gave up hope. Instead, we stayed committed to showing our love for the club and protecting its reputation by giving our best in every match. We are now really happy to succeed and are expecting to receive our unpaid wages,” said the experienced defender.

Kings entered Friday’s clash knowing defeat to Abahani could undo all their hard work and sacrifices.

“After dropping points against Bangladesh Police FC in the last match, we knew there was no option but to avoid defeat against Abahani. Every player was committed and determined to finish the league by beating them,” said Topu.

“We were never behind in the title race from the beginning. It was a deserved championship and winning six titles in seven seasons is a huge achievement for Bashundhara Kings.”

Midfielder Sohel Rana is now eyeing a domestic treble when Kings face Mohammedan Sporting Club in the Federation Cup final on May 19, having already won the season-opening Challenge Cup.

“This was very important for us. After losing the league title last season, our sole objective was to bring it back at any cost. We did it successfully,” Sohel said.

“Now we have the Federation Cup final on Tuesday. We want to win the Fed Cup too by beating Mohammedan SC.”