Augusto trains with Abahani, Emeka to join tomorrow

Brazilian playmaker Raphael Augusto on Wednesday joined Abahani's training camp after arriving in Dhaka in the early hours of the day as the title contenders continued their training during the Bangladesh Premier League break.

Augusto had played for the Sky Blues from 2020 to 2023 and put on tremendous performances in the midfield. He scored 13 goals in 46 league matches alongside three goals in six matches of two Federation Cup campaigns.

"He is a brilliant midfielder who can perform well and inspire the whole team. He knows about Abahani and Bangladesh football very well, which is why we roped him," said the club's manager, Satyajit Das Rupu said, adding that Nigerian forward Emeka Oghbugh is likely to join the camp on Thursday.

Abahani are only four points shy of league leaders Mohammedan with eight matches left in the league.

"Due to the changed situation last year, our main job was to keep Abahani on the pitch. The club always plays for becoming champions and the local players did an excellent job to keep the team in second position in the league.

"Adding foreign players was a demand from supports and club officials, so that the team can fight boldly in the second phase of the league. Even though we had planned to sign three players, due to financial constraints, we could only sign two," added Rupu.