"Clubs with CFC's history will not settle for anything less than the trophy in whichever tournament we participate." - Pratham Basu outlines Chennaiyin FC's aim ahead of the new season
Pratham Basu is one of the most celebrated sports administrators in the country. He brought Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler and fan-favorite Bright Enobakhare to India.
Pratham Basu was with Chennaiyin FC earlier in 2014 as the team manager. Later, he had different roles at other Indian Super League clubs like Delhi Dynamos and SC East Bengal.
A few days ago, Sportskeeda had an exclusive chat with Pratham Basu, who is currently the Head of Football Operations at Chennaiyin FC. Here is what he had to say.
Pratham Basu is confident of winning the title this season
Chennaiyin FC is one of the most successful teams in the ISL. They have won the title twice, in 2015 and 2017-18. This season, they have completely revamped their squad.
CFC has announced German tactician Thomas Brdaric as their head coach. They have also roped in young talents like Jiteshwor Singh, Sajal Bag, and Monotosh Chakladar.
about his plans for the new season! 
š£ļø "My job is to create a new identity for CFC"
Head coach Thomas spoke to the @timesofindia š° about his plans for the new season!
#AllInForChennaiyin #MediaWatch šļø https://t.co/a7dy8J4ehs
When asked about title chances this season, Pratham Basu looked very much confident and stated that CFC is targeting nothing less than a trophy this season.
He said:
"CFC has been one of the most successful teams in the league. We have not performed as per our expectations in the last two editions but this year we are motivated and confident to turn things around. Clubs with CFC's history will not settle for anything less than the trophy in whichever tournament we participate in."
Biobubble affected CFC's preparation last season, claims Basu
Chennaiyin FC had a poor outing last season. They finished in eighth position with 20 points from 20 matches. When asked about it, Basu termed it a collective failure. The bio-bubble also contributed to their poor performances last season.
He said:
"It was a collective failure last season, We started well but we couldn't keep the momentum and neither did the back-to-back bubble seasons help us. It was a challenging season and we have learnt from that. Preparation started early this season and hopefully we will have a good season this time around."
"A very exciting talent" - Pratham Basu praises new signing Monotosh Chakladar
Chennaiyan FC have roped in West Bengal's Santosh Trophy captain Monotosh Chakladar. He is an exciting talent and was praised for his clean tackles in the Santosh Trophy. Chakladar was a part of the East Bengal squad in 2019.
Pratham Basu was full of praise for Chakladar. The latter's ability to play in multiple defensive positions was one of the main reasons for his selection into the Chennaiyin FC ISL squad.
Basu said:
"Monotosh is a very exciting talent, A defender who can play multiple defensive positions is a rare pedigree, He has good technical qualities and hopefully he will have a good run with Chennaiyin FC."
"Was assured that he would be given opportunities" - Basu on what attracted Monotosh to the club
East Bengal and Chennaiyin FC were both involved in a tug-of-war for Monotosh. But it was Chennaiyan FC who ultimately secured his signature.
According to Pratham Basu, they provided a clear idea to the player about the project and he was given assurances of receiving enough opportunities at the club. This acted as a catalyst in the process of signing the centre-back from West Bengal.
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Defender Monotosh Chakladar is excited to ply his trade in the #HeroISL! šŖ
#LetsFootball #MonotoshChakladar #ChennaiyinFC
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Basu stated:
"Monotosh made the decision. I had a call with him regarding the position we wanted him to play and a clear idea was given about the project. We made it clear that he needs to work hard on training and impress the Coach but he was assured that he would be given opportunities to do so also."
"Identified a few" - Basu claims Chennaiyin FC management will focus on the Santosh Trophy to sign players
Chennaiyin FC have taken a completely different approach in selecting players this season. They have already roped in Monotosh Chakladar and Sajal Bag from the West Bengal Santosh Trophy squad.
They will focus on players from the Santosh Trophy to identify players for the future. Basu added:
"We need to focus on these tournaments to identify players for the future. Identified a few but lets see how many we can land."
Chennaiyin FC will look to improve on their performances from the previous season when the ISL 2022-23 season kicks off in a few months time.