Bhaichung Bhutia with Mohun Bagan coach Biswajit Bhattacharya during a press conference at the club tent on Wednesday

Calcutta: Mohun Bagan have decided to honour the Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto’s return to the club by naming him the captain in the 2006-07 season.

“Barreto had played for Mohun Bagan in the past with distinction and so when he has decided to come back, what better way to welcome him than handing over the captain’s band to him?,” the club secretary Anjan Mitra told a media conference on Wednesday.

Mehrajuddin Wadao will be Barreto’s deputy. The Brazilian’s inter-state transfer papers were submitted at the IFA office on Wednesday.

The club on Wednesday also unveiled Bhaichung Bhutia, who returned to the green-and-maroon brigade after a couple of seasons with East Bengal.

“Barreto is a legend in Mohun Bagan and playing alongside him (Barreto) will be a great honour for me,” said Bhaichung, who kept the fans and officials waiting for about four hours due to logistical problems.

In the 2002-2003 season, when Barreto and Bhaichung were paired together, the latter was largely off-colour because of injury problems.

“I had to miss the NFL for injuries and the local league for national duties at that time. Last year, I wanted to come back here, but some management problems forced me to stay back (with East Bengal),” Bhaichung maintained.

The club has presented a 30-man squad for the season ahead and claimed to have retained their last year’s squad barring a few who have been released.

Meanwhile, former great Umapati Kumar will be awarded the Mohun Bagan Ratna on the Mohun Bagan Day, the club announced.

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Imran Khan, Sangram Mukherjee (Salgaocar), Shilton Pal (TFA); Defenders: Manas Das, Dulal Biswas, Sanjeev Maria, Mehrajuddin Wadao, Eduardo Chakon Coelho, Bijoy Basfore (Mohammedan Sporting), D. Ravanan (Dempo), Deepak Mondal (Mahindra United), Goutam Debnath (TFA); Midfielders: Tomba Singh, Dharamjit Singh, Mehtab Hussain, Chinmoy Sarkar, Basudeb Mondal, Subhas Chakraborty (Mahindra United), Satyajit Bose and Suman Dutta (Mohammedan Sporting), Lalkamal Bhowmick (Ever-Ready), Mickey Fernandez (Salgaocar); Forwards: Sushil Kumar Singh, Dipendu Biswas, PC Lalwumpuia (TFA), Ayan Chowdhury (Tollygunge Agragami), Bhaichung Bhutia (East Bengal), Jose Ramirez Barreto and Surajit Bose (Mahindra United).

Coach: Biswajit Bhattacharya; Goalkeeping coach: Atanu Bhattacharya; Physical trainer: Robson Mattos.