Sourav Ganguly takes penalties in front of thrilled Kolkata crowd.Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has filled many highlight reels with his elegant batting. Yesterday, however, at Kolkata’s famous Salt Lake Stadium, the ‘Prince of Bengal’ showed he has considerable footballing ability as well.Ganguly took to the pitch during halftime of the Calcutta Football League title-deciding clash between East Bengal and Tollygunge Agragami. He faced off against former East Bengal star playmaker Alvito D’Cunha, who took up the unfamiliar role of goalkeeper as Ganguly took five penalties, scoring three. Ganguly then delighted the fans by kicking a few footballs into the crowd.The renowned cricketer used the opportunity to exhort Kolkata’s football-loving fans to turn out in full force for the upcoming Hero Indian Super League (ISL). The city’s ISL team, Atlético de Kolkata, is co-owned by Ganguly.“You have turned up in huge numbers for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan matches. Now, I urge you to come and support Atlético in the same way and watch some quality football,” Ganguly said when addressing the crowd. “Every team is quite competitive. There will be legends like Zico (the FC Goa manager) and we will have Luis García (marquee player for Atlético de Kolkata). The standard will be very high and we will have the opportunity to see high-quality football of speed and agility. Football in India will get a huge boost,” enthused Ganguly. Atlético de Kolkata is managed by Spaniard Antonio López Habas, with local legend Jose Ramirez Barreto as his assistant. They will kick off the ISL here against Mumbai City FC, in the league’s opening match on October 12.
