Thursday , March 28 2024

ATK sign Jaaskelainen, Mohanraj & Darren Caldeira for ISL-4!

Defending Indian Super League champions ATK have been busy in the transfer market by signing experienced goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen besides defender Nallappan Mohanraj and midfielder Darren Caldeira.

42 year old Mikkeli-born Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen started to play football for his local side MP Mikkeli, where he also made his professional debut. From 1995 he spend two seaons at VPS Vaasa before making a move to Bolton Wanderers, where he would go on to spend 15 years in the Championship and Premier League.

On Bolton Wanderers’ EPL relegation Jaaskelainen joined West Ham United in 2012. He stayed there for threes seasons before moving to Wigan Athletic, where he spend two seasons, first in League One and then as champions in the Championship but on relegation again this summer he left the club to now join ATK.

“Indian football has certainly become an exciting prospect due to the onset of ISL It gives us a platform to interact with a whole new world of football fans who are equally erudite about the game. I have heard about the fans in Kolkata from team management and I am hoping to be a part of ATK’s winning legacy,” Jaaskelainen said, who has played 56 times for Finland in international football.

28 year old Gandhipuram in Namakkal born Nallappan Mohanraj got his early football education at SDAT Madurai Sports Hostel and SAI Chennai Hostel before appearing for India at various age group levels.

He was also India captain at Under-19 level and had his first professional contract at HAL in Bangalore before moving to Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan AC, where he spent five years. Mohanraj also had a spell at Pune FC and had been part of the India senior national team set-up under Bob Houghton since 2008 with the senior international debut coming in March 2011 during the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.

Mohanraj spend time with Mumbai Tigers (Dodsal FC), Sporting Clube de Goa and Kalyani Bharat FC, while also playing for ATK in the first two ISL seasons and he won the tournament in its inaugural season 2014. He joins Chennaiyin FC on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract at ATK for ISL-3 and now returns to Kolkata.

29 year old Mumbai-born Darren Caldeira brings a lot of I-League experience to ATK without ever having played in the ISL. After spending time with disbanded Mahindra United at youth level, Darren played for Air India, Mumbai (twice), Bengaluru FC (twice), and Chennai City FC over the last seven seasons. He has been signed by his former Bengaluru FC manager Ashley Westwood, who is now the technical director of ATK.

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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