AGORC strengthen squad

Chennai: Accountants General’s Office Recreation Club (AGORC) are one of the prominent teams in the Chennai Football Association senior division league. They belong to the big league comprising ICF, Chennai Customs and Indian Bank.

AGORC’s Anto and Muthu are household names in Chennai football. Playmaker Anto has called it a day. Muthu is still playing but doesn’t have much left in his tank. The forward’s telepathic understanding with Anto won him a legion of fans in the city.

It would be difficult to imagine an AGORC team without the two icons. But time and tide wait for no men. Even the best can’t go on forever.

AGORC saw their fortunes dip following a barren spell in recruitment. In 2008-09, they were even close to relegation. Only luck and some skullduggery prevented them from going down. Chastened by their dalliance with relegation, they finally recruited midfielder Sherin and Vinoth Kumar. The benefits were almost instant as AGORC reclaimed the title two seasons ago.

The government unit once again opened their doors to a quartet — Joffin, Stegin, Alexander and Sudhakar — after the end of the last season. Alexander is a goalkeeper while the other three are midfielders.

Recruitment was a step in the right direction but most of the new players were midfielders and there was a glaring absence of forwards. AGORC’s travails last season mainly resulted from the lack of a cutting edge up front and not to select one forward in the previous recruitment drive was baffling.

Goals win matches and AGORC didn’t have many scorers. When Muthu pulls the curtain on his fruitful career, someone should be ready to carry forward his torch. The AGORC management has certainly realised its football team’s shortcomings to give the go ahead for another set of sports quota recruitment.

This time the government team got what they wanted: a prolific forward. A. Reagan, one of the best strikers in Chennai football, has joined AGORC. Having played for MSU, Arrows and ICF in the senior division, the experienced player knows where the goal is.

AGORC have also given job to midfielder Vikram Patil, whose spirited performance for Indian Bank during the last two seasons impressed many. Indian Bank coach Syed Sabir Pasha holds him in high regard.

Both Reagan and Vikram are assets to the former champions. AGORC would certainly be title contenders when the senior division league gets underway in February.

Meanwhile, the resourceful AGORC (Chennai) have finished second in the national AG’s inter-state tournament. In the final they lost to West Bengal 0-2. AGORC had beaten Assam 4-0 and Haryana 1-0 in the league stage. In the south zone final, they had defeated Hyderabad 1-0.