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The first 'Boro Match’ of the ISL era is finally here. The fate of India's biggest derby - the Kolkata Derby - was up in the air a few months back when Mohun Bagan swapped I-League for the Indian Super League (ISL), courtesy of a merger with ATK while East Bengal's involvement in India's new premier competition was cast into doubt.
With Shree Cement Limited coming on board as the majority shareholder, doors finally opened for East Bengal's participation in the ISL. SC East Bengal commence their much-awaited ISL journey against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in the first Kolkata Derby of the league.
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This is the first time that a city is being represented by two clubs in the ISL. The two Kolkata giants, who are the nation’s oldest and most successful clubs, are the torch bearers of Indian football.
The tussle between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan is the oldest footballing rivalry in Asia with 100-years worth of rich history.
Even FIFA considers it to be one amongst the most iconic rivalries in the world, in the same vein as the El Clasico, North West Derby, the Old Firm derby, the Merseyside Derby and others. India may not quite hold the footballing pedigree of the countries many of the other famous rivalries are based in, but in terms of raw emotion, zest and passion, the Kolkata Derby can match any of them blow for blow, fan for fan, chant for chant.
The first ISL Kolkata derby will take place on November 27 at 7:30 pm IST at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Goa.
With the Kolkata Derby all set to unfold on a new stage, here we are revisiting the rich history of the eternal rivalry.
Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Origins
The true significance of the historic Kolkata Derby lies in the local intricacies. It is personal. The two teams are not just two football entities but they represent two sets of inhabitants of the state of Bengal, who simply cannot stand losing to the other side.
Mohun Bagan, established in 1889, shot to fame with a win over East Yorkshire Regiment in the 1911 IFA Shield final. The Mariners were the first all-Indian club to beat a British team for a major trophy in India’s pre-independence era.
East Bengal were formed in 1920 by industrialist and then vice-president of Jora Bagan, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri due to his displeasure towards Mohun Bagan, who chose to play without their star player Sailesh Bose.
As the name suggests, the club was to represent the 'Bangals', the immigrants coming from East Bengal (across the River Padma, now in Bangladesh), who were often treated like outsiders in Kolkata at the time. Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, represented the 'Ghotis' - the Bengalis from West Bengal.
While both Ghotis and Bangals were part of the Bengali community, there were several differences in terms of dialect, dressing, economic backgrounds and even palette. India’s partition in 1947 also saw a mass exodus of Bangals from Bangladesh to West Bengal, further strengthening the East Bengal fanbase and intensifying the bitter rivalry. The fact that they are situated less than 500 meters from each other in Kolkata’s famous Maidan area adds even more drama to it.
East Bengal's red and gold shirt with a logo of a flaming torch is indicative of the fire among refugees to conquer the odds of life. Mohun Bagan’s green and maroon stripes, meanwhile, represent legacy and affluence. The boatman in their logo with the sails up symbolizes the intent to always sail forward with the flow of time.
Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: First derby
The first time these two Kolkata giants met was on August 8, 1921, in the semifinal of the Cooch Behar Cup. The game ended in a 0-0 draw but the replay fixture on August 10 was won by Mohun Bagan 3-0.
Centenary, bicentenary and tricentenary derbies
The 100th Kolkata derby was played on December 16, 1967, in the Rovers Cup final where East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan 2-0. The 200th match derby was an Airlines Cup final in April 1993, in which Bagan triumphed 6-5, in a thrilling tiebreaker. The 300th meeting between the two giants was in a championship-leg encounter of the Calcutta Football League's premier division held on January 8, 2012, which the Mariners won 2-0.
Record Attendances
The derby often witnesses packed venues with crowds over 100,000. The 1997 Federation Cup semifinal between the two witnessed the football madness of the city at its fullest as a remarkable crowd of 1,31,000 – a record attendance for any sport in India – filled Salt Lake Stadium, with more waiting outside.
A young Bhaichung Bhutia scored thrice to power East Bengal to a 4-1 win over Bagan, which eventually shot the former Indian captain to super stardom.
Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Biggest margin of victory
East Bengal's famed 5-0 thrashing of The Mariners on 30th September, 1975 in the IFA Shield final is still the highest margin of victory in the Kolkata derby.
A Mariner fan named Umakanto Palodhi even committed suicide in the aftermath of the loss. His suicide note read - “In my next birth, I will take the revenge by becoming a Mohun Bagan footballer.”
Black Day
The rivalry between the two clubs has resulted in some outright violence among their fans over the years. The most infamous incident occurred on August 16, 1980, when fans of the two clubs started a riot in the stands of the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata after the referee gave Dilip Palit and Bidesh Basu the marching orders in the second half. A stampede sparked out, taking the lives of 16 fans. 16th August has since been observed as Football Lovers’ Day in memory of the most tragic day in Indian football history.
Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Head-to-head Record
Over the past 100 years, the two giants have met each other on 371 occasions, with East Bengal winning 129 while Bagan's winning tally is 119. Mohun Bagan emerged victorious 2-1 in the most recent clash held on January 19, 2020.
Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Trophy count
Only Mohun Bagan or East Bengal won the Calcutta Football League title between 1982 and 2019 - a testament to their dominance in the Indian football landscape. Considering all the domestic and international honors, Mohun Bagan take the lead with a staggering 253 trophies, while East Bengal’s total trophy count stands at 149.
Highest Goal Scorer in Kolkata Derby
Legendary Indian forward Bhaichung Bhutia with 19 goals to his name is the highest scorer in the history of Kolkata derby. Among his 19 goals, 13 came for East Bengal, while six were for Bagan.
Famous players who have played for both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal
The two footballing powerhouses have been home to some of the finest and biggest names in Indian football. Some of the biggest stalwarts like Chuni Goswami, Krishanu Dey, Sailen Manna, Peter Thangaraj, Amal Dutta, Subhash Bhowmik, I.M Vijayan, Goutam Sarkar, Prasanta Banerjee, Dulal Biswas, Bhaichung Bhutia, Renedy Singh, and current Indian captain Sunil Chhetri have all donned both the Lal Holud and Sobuj Maroon.
Mohun Bagan and East Bengal rivalry beyond the football pitch
Perhaps one of the most interesting examples of the rivalry beyond the football pitch is the fish wars that accompany the Kolkata Derby.
Bengalis’ affection for football is only equaled by their appetite for fish. The preferences, however, differ from region to region. Bangals, the supporters of East Bengal, prefer Ilish (Hilsa) while Ghotis, the Mohun Bagan fans, prefer Chingri (Prawns).
On Derby days, it’s common for prices of both fishes to go through the roof throughout Bengal due to the high demand. The winning team’s fish prices reach astronomical heights the next day but still get sold out throughout the city in the blink of an eye.
What will be in store for ISL?
As requested by East Bengal authorities, a two-minute silence will be observed before the kick-off, in memory of several Indian football greats who passed away in the pandemic-hit year.
ATKMB have already made a winning start to their ISL campaign, beating Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the season-opener. It will be interesting to see how East Bengal will line up and perform on their ISL debut against their nemesis.
Although the match will be played behind closed doors in an empty Tilak Maidan, there will be no drop in excitement levels as the die-hard East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans will be glued to their television sets. The whole of India will get a taste of the Kolkata Derby on a large scale.
