It’s a Bengali nostalgia. It is the most awaited clash in Indian football, which divides the whole of Bengal into two almost equal halves. For almost the past 100 years, it has been the topic of heated discussion in every Bengali household, locality and “adda”s. It’s the 2nd most hated derby in the history of world football. When Mohun Bagan and East Bengal take the field in the flood lit Nehru stadium in Assam on New Year’s Eve, the whole of Bengal will wait with bated breath for the result.
As soon as the curtains came down on east Bengal’s last match in Silchar, it was official. The arch rivals will battle it out for the third consecutive time in the last three years for a place in the finals of India’s most prestigious tournament, the Federation Cup. And if the last two encounters are anything to go by, the audiences are in for a feast of football.
Both teams come into the match with contrasting backdrops. Mohun Bagan are one of the form teams this year. They are the runners of both the IFA shield and the Durand Cup and are just three points behind a possible top spot in the ONGC I-league. They are way ahead in the CFL with maximum points from 6 games. New signing Edeh Chiddi has been in red hot form and so has been new Asian signing suoeka ryuji. They have won 9 of their last 10 games drawing only one and their enigmatic striker Jose Ramirez Barreto has finally shrugged of his long injury stint and is looking sharp as ever. On the whole, they are looking like a well oiled machine at this moment.
East Bengal on the other hand, has had a disastrous start to the season. Group stage elimination from both IFA shield and Durand led to the resignation of their mercurial coach Mr. Subhash Bhowmik and all their foreign recruits were shown the door. They were also handed a drubbing in their first derby clash against their arch rivals where they were convincingly beaten 5-3. Since then though, they started to turn around. New foreign recruit Okpara brought in the much needed solidity in defense and the Nigerian Abel Hammond along with wily old fox Yusuf Yakubu has brought in the potency in attack. They have also had a long undefeated steak lately and their enigmatic striker Baichung Bhutia in on his way back to full match fitness. But they still have a long list of injuries and are slowly but surely trying to find their way under their new Belgian coach, Phillip Di Rider.
But when it comes to this famous clash, the form book goes out of the window. It’s always is a 50-50 affair. It’s a match where tempers run high; emotions are displayed like never before. Crunching tackles, flurry of cards, goalmouth skirmish, argument with referees, everything is present. The ground takes the shape of a battle field, where the opponents are vouching for each other’s blood. It’s like two sets of blood hounds going for each other’s throat.
The battle cries have already started with Karim Bencharifa stating that he has no time to think about East Bengal’s combinations and Baichung stating that 5 goals will not happen every time. So it’s a request to all the fans of both the teams to see the match, either on the ground or on television. Its surely will be a humdinger of a contest. And it’s a request to all the players to make this occasion one of the greatest in Indian football. Just can’t wait for the match to start. wishing both the team’s best of luck.
Reported by : Debabrata Dutta
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
THE MOTHER OF ALL DERBY CLASHES
It’s a Bengali nostalgia. It is the most awaited clash in Indian football, which divides the whole of Bengal into two almost equal halves. For almost the past 100 years, it has been the topic of heated discussion in every Bengali household, locality and “adda”s. It’s the 2nd most hated derby in the history of world football. When Mohun Bagan and East Bengal take the field in the flood lit Nehru stadium in Assam on New Year’s Eve, the whole of Bengal will wait with bated breath for the result.
As soon as the curtains came down on east Bengal’s last match in Silchar, it was official. The arch rivals will battle it out for the third consecutive time in the last three years for a place in the finals of India’s most prestigious tournament, the Federation Cup. And if the last two encounters are anything to go by, the audiences are in for a feast of football.
Both teams come into the match with contrasting backdrops. Mohun Bagan are one of the form teams this year. They are the runners of both the IFA shield and the Durand Cup and are just three points behind a possible top spot in the ONGC I-league. They are way ahead in the CFL with maximum points from 6 games. New signing Edeh Chiddi has been in red hot form and so has been new Asian signing suoeka ryuji. They have won 9 of their last 10 games drawing only one and their enigmatic striker Jose Ramirez Barreto has finally shrugged of his long injury stint and is looking sharp as ever. On the whole, they are looking like a well oiled machine at this moment.
East Bengal on the other hand, has had a disastrous start to the season. Group stage elimination from both IFA shield and Durand led to the resignation of their mercurial coach Mr. Subhash Bhowmik and all their foreign recruits were shown the door. They were also handed a drubbing in their first derby clash against their arch rivals where they were convincingly beaten 5-3. Since then though, they started to turn around. New foreign recruit Okpara brought in the much needed solidity in defense and the Nigerian Abel Hammond along with wily old fox Yusuf Yakubu has brought in the potency in attack. They have also had a long undefeated steak lately and their enigmatic striker Baichung Bhutia in on his way back to full match fitness. But they still have a long list of injuries and are slowly but surely trying to find their way under their new Belgian coach, Phillip Di Rider.
But when it comes to this famous clash, the form book goes out of the window. It’s always is a 50-50 affair. It’s a match where tempers run high; emotions are displayed like never before. Crunching tackles, flurry of cards, goalmouth skirmish, argument with referees, everything is present. The ground takes the shape of a battle field, where the opponents are vouching for each other’s blood. It’s like two sets of blood hounds going for each other’s throat.
The battle cries have already started with Karim Bencharifa stating that he has no time to think about East Bengal’s combinations and Baichung stating that 5 goals will not happen every time. So it’s a request to all the fans of both the teams to see the match, either on the ground or on television. Its surely will be a humdinger of a contest. And it’s a request to all the players to make this occasion one of the greatest in Indian football. Just can’t wait for the match to start. wishing both the team’s best of luck.
Reported by : Debabrata Dutta
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