Calcutta: “@atletidekolkata We are proud of you! Well done! :)” — that’s one of the tweets on Atletico Madrid’s official website. Not just that, the website also has full match details and report of Sunday’s Indian Super League opener.

These are small facts which go a long way in explaining how serious the La Liga champions are about their latest venture, Atletico de Kolkata (ATK), and was endorsed by Ignacio Aguillo, executive board director with the Spanish club.

Aguillo, who is a part of the Atletico Madrid team which came to attend the ISL opener, revealed that the ISL and ATK have generated good interest in Spain. “The Spanish newspapers and journalists have a lot of interest about the ISL and ATK.

On our part, we are trying our best to promote and support ATK. Atletico Madrid captain (Gabi Fernandes) and the team sent good luck messages for ATK… So yes, we are very excited and hopeful about the project,” Aguillo said.

Asked if other La Liga clubs have contacted them enquiring about the possibilities and prospect of engaging with Indian football, Aguillo said: “Football is a competitive and complicated game. Even if they come to us, we may not want to share our trade secrets. All I can say is that a lot of people in Spain are intrigued about India and the ISL.”

Speaking about Atletico Madrid’s plans about ATK, Aguillo said: “It was an amazing show on Sunday. As part of the ATK team, we couldn’t have hoped for a better start. I was very impressed with the Indian players also… It goes on to show that with proper pre-season training and discipline, you can achieve results. From here, the sky is the limit.

“We are in India primarily for ATK and the ISL… But our goal is to be a part of the overall development of Indian football, keeping in mind the 2017 U-17 World Cup, which will be held in this country. Our success has to be the national success for India. We are in talks with the AIFF and other parties to begin our grassroots programme as soon as the ISL ends. We can’t waste time,” Aguillo added.

If Aguillo is to be believed, Atletico Madrid’s association with ATK is only going to get bigger. “A lot of ideas are being discussed… While I can’t reveal all of them, I can assure the fans that all of those ideas will be executed.

“We wish to bring some of the first team players of Atletico Madrid to Calcutta during this ISL season… If possible, manager Diego Simeone as well. Not just that, we also hope to arrange for pre-season tours for ATK. We have taken a leap of faith and we will be going full throttle.”