'Need to cancel return tickets', says Rajasthan United owner after quarter-final qualification

No one expected this nascent club from Rajasthan to reach so far into the competition, not even the management! "We had booked return tickets for the 5th of September!," Kamal Saroha, co-founder of the club, said.

"We weren't getting entry into the Durand Cup initially. Then ultimately we got in after Sreenidi Deccan FC, another I-League outfit, backed out from the tournament," Saroha said.

Rajasthan United's qualification into the Durand Cup quarter-finals is much more special as they were able to get out of the "group of death", which had the likes of Mumbai City FC, ATK Mohun Bagan, and East Bengal, and in the process display their footballing prowess against both the Kolkata giants.

Mohammedan SC and Rajasthan United are the only two I-league clubs to have made it to the knockout stages of the ongoing cup competition.

Nothing to lose

Head coach Pushpender Kundu believes that his team can continue the inspiring run as Rajasthan United is a club known to dole out "upsets".

"We had already created history after defeating a national club like ATK Mohun Bagan. Now, we have scripted it again after reaching the quarter-finals. I respected all the teams in the cup, but that day (against ATKMB) was ours," Kundu said with a feeling of pride in his voice for his team.

RUFC, after defeating the Mariners, held East Bengal to a commendable draw, but couldn't outplay a class Mumbai City FC side. It all came down to their match against the Indian Navy, and they delivered.

"I told my boys that we have nothing to lose. We entered the competition with zero pressure. I just told my team to give their best. With that mentality, they entered the ground and beat ATKMB. The rest is history," Kundu concluded.

An engineer-turned-founder

Kamal Saroha was pursuing Civil engineering in Jaipur, but like many, had a craze for the sport of football. And just like that, he formed a team inside his college, JECRC (Jaipur Engineering College and Research Centre), which did not have its own football team.

After graduation, Kamal fell prey to the corporate world as he took up a job in Gurgaon. But, his heart was always with football. So, to follow his passion, he closed the gates to his 9 to 5 job and went back to Jaipur to open a sporting apparel company.

One of their clients, in 2018, was an aspiring football club by the name of AU Rajasthan FC. AU Rajasthan had dreams of qualifying for the I-League second division, and for that, they needed to win the Rajasthan state league.

However, the state league needed eight teams in order to go ahead with its commencement, which meant that JECRC FC was revived and asked to take part in the state league just to fill the quota.

"Our team at that time had physical training instructors, cobblers, and engineering students," Saroha recalled.

What started as a mere formality ended with Kamal's team winning the state league and being the side to represent Rajasthan in I-League's second division.

Unfortunately, the team had to forego this opportunity due to a lack of experience and preparation.

Fortune favours the bold

Despite this setback, Kamal made sure that they would be ready for the following season. The Covid pandemic gave them ample time to get prepared and show themselves the ropes of the footballing world.

With friends and co-founders Rajat Mishra and Swapnil Dhaka, JECRC was renamed Rajasthan United FC, the team which once again played in the state league with another charge to qualifying for the I-League second division.

However, another club named Zinc pipped RUFC for the title.

"We are a very straightforward team. If someone wrongs us, we will speak about it. That year, the rules said that winner between teams having the same number of points will be decided by the head-to-head, similar to Durand Cup rules," Kamal explained.

"In head-to-head, we led Zinc 2-0. However, the organisers changed the rulers at the last moment and made the goal difference the deciding factor. On the virtue of greater goal difference, Zinc qualified," the former engineer added.

Zinc might have thought that had qualified for the second division, but there was another twist in the tale.

"By god's grace, Zinc had not done their documentation on time, which meant we were the winners of the state league," Saroha said.

While this was a case of jubilation, Rajasthan United barely got a day to get their affairs into place. "We got the news on the 30^th, and we had one day to sign all our players and register! The league had a rule that we had to have at least 15 players in order to play. So, in one day we signed around 15 to 20 professional players," Kamal quipped.

Philosophy of the club

After they qualified for the I-League last year, Rajasthan United has slowly made themselves into a force to be reckoned with, almost like a David in front of the Goliaths of Indian football.

"If you see our squad, the average age of our Indian players is about 21 years. Due to our budgetary constraints, we are unable to sign star players, but we look for those who are hungry to win. This is our club's philosophy," Saroha said passionately.

The co-owner feels that developing consistency and continuity in the squad is key to becoming better and better. "In three to four years, we aspire to qualify for the Indian Super League."