The Hindu : Sport / Football : Bhutia to play for Malaysian club

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 29, 2005

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Sport - Football

Bhutia to play for Malaysian club

KOLKATA: Ace striker Baichung Bhutia announced a three-month contract with the Malaysian club M.K. Land of Selangor on Thursday. This was informed by Total Sports Asia, which is the agent of the former Indian skipper.

"The contract is for the Malaysia Cup and Bhutia will be playing through the tournament which is scheduled to end on October 1,'' said Navneet Sharma of Total Sport.

The Malaysia Cup, which has a league-cum-knock-out format, comes as the end of the country's soccer calendar and combines teams selected from the top Super League and the second tier Premier League.

M.K. Land is a premier league team, which came third in the final standing s playing in group A of the two-tier league. The club, owned by one of the real-estate tycoons of Malaysia, Mustafa Kamal, has given Bhutia a good deal which includes accommodation and a car alongside a good salary, informed Sharma. M.K. Land, which is yet to win the oldest tournament of the country, is placed in a tough group D which also has the most crowned Selangor (which carries the name of the state and has won the title 29 times), Public Bank and Perak FC, for which Bhutia played last year. The group league stage will be followed by the knock-out quarterfinals where the best two teams from each group will qualify.

Bhutia's agent informed that East Bengal — which the player is supposed to join after coming from Malaysia — has not sent the contract papers yet. Bhutia will send his confirmation from Selangor only when he receives the papers, Sharma said. — Our Sports Reporter

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