Kolkata Derby

Kolkata Derby

Other names	Boro Match
Locale	Kolkata
Teams	East Bengal Mohun Bagan
First meeting	East Bengal 0–0 Mohun Bagan Cooch behar cup (8 Aug 1921)[1][2][3][4]
Latest meeting	East Bengal 2–2 Mohun Bagan CFL (2 September, 2018)
Stadiums	Eden Gardens; Mohun Bagan Ground; Salt Lake Stadium; East Bengal Ground;
Statistics
Meetings total	Competitive: 340 Exhibition: 18
Most wins	Competitive Matches: East Bengal - 123 Mohun Bagan - 115 Drawn - 120
Kolkata

Kolkata Derby, locally known as Boro match (or 'Big Match' in Bengali), is the football match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The rivalry between these two teams is almost 100 years old, and features in the FIFA's classic derby list.^[5] The matches witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons. It is considered to be one of, if not the biggest Asian footballing rivalry.

The two clubs currently meet at least 3 times a year, twice in the I-League and once in the Calcutta Football League. Often these two clubs meet in other competitions like the Federation Cup, the IFA Shield, the Durand Cup etc.

Both teams have huge and dedicated fan bases around the world. Both clubs represent a specific class of Bengali people, Mohun Bagan represents people existing in the western part of Bengal (known as Ghotis), while East Bengal is primarily supported by people hailing from the eastern part of pre-independence Bengal province (known as Bangals).

Culturally, this derby is very similar to Scottish Premier League's Old Firm derby, since a majority of the Mohun Bagan supporters represent the 'nativist' population (similar to Rangers FC) and a majority of the East Bengal fans represent the 'immigrant' population (similar to Celtic FC). However, many people having Bangladeshi origin also support Mohun Bagan. Similarly, some people of Bengali (West Bengal) origin support East Bengal.

Origins

Mohun Bagan is oldest existing club of India having been established in 1889 in the city, then known under its anglicized name, Calcutta and till date one of the two most successful clubs in India, the other being East Bengal Club. The significant British influence in what was, until 1911, the nation's capital, ensured the game flourished, drawing players from other regions, and it is against this backdrop in which today's rivalry took root.

In 1920, the Jora Bagan club took field against Mohun Bagan who chose play without their star halfback Sailesh Bose, much to the chagrin of club vice-president Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri.^[6] Such was the industrialist's displeasure, he decided to form a new club and East Bengal FC was born. As Chaudhuri and his co-founders hailed from East Bengal, essentially now modern-day Bangladesh, the club is now generally supported by people who migrated from that region. This resulted in the clubs being backed by two different socioeconomic groups, although this has largely changed over period of time.The first ever clash ended in a draw.

So far it has been found that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have clashed 358 times in competitive matches n friendly matches so far according to authenicated sources, newspapers and Official websites. Out of which East Bengal has won 123 times, Mohun Bagan won 115 times and 120 times the fixture ended as a draw. After many research, the overall matches including friendlies and official matches data have also been retrieved. Though the data is just an approximation, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 358 matches up till now.

^b Including: friendlies, competitive matches.

Brief history of the Derby

The 1960s proved a golden period for Mohun Bagan and it concluded in perfect fashion for the Mariners. Having already won the league, Mohun Bagan then did the double, defeating their rivals on their own ground in the IFA Shield final. The 3–1 victory credited to the then revolutionary 4–2–4 formation employed by innovative coach Amal Dutta.

The wheel eventually turned, and the 1970s was East Bengal's decade. They lost only one derby in six years (1970 to 1975) which culminated in a 5–0 IFA Shield win over their great rivals. The Red and Golds won with a record 5–0 scoreline and, with it, a record of five consecutive Shield victories. Such was the ignominy surrounding the heavy defeat that several Mohun Bagan players spent the night holed up on a boat in the Ganges trying to escape the wrath of shell-shocked supporters. Umakanto Palodhi, an ardent Mohun Bagan fan, committed suicide. He wrote in his suicide note that in his next life he will born as a Mohun Bagan footballer and will take revenge of that 0–5 defeat.

The wheel turned again.Mohun Bagan won 8 derbies in a row scoring 16 goals in total thus humiliating the red and golds.The most memorable derby on many accounts took place in 1997 at the semi-final of the Federation Cup, when a remarkable crowd of 131,000 – a record attendance for any sport in India – filled a heaving Salt Lake Stadium. India's most recognizable footballer, Baichung Bhutia, took centre stage, scoring a hat-trick as East Bengal triumphed 4–1. In 2009, Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 5–3 with Chidi Edeh scoring a hat-trick for Bagan. In their 2015 meeting in the Calcutta Football League, East Bengal outplayed Mohun Bagan 4–0.
Here are the Trophy counts in some major tournaments on Indian soil:

Taking all tournaments into consideration mohun bagan won over 255 tournaments, whereas East Bengal won over 150 tournaments.

Records

The records of the meetings between the sides since 2014 have been listed below. 15 matches between the sides were played (walk over not considered it has not got played) between the sides since 2014 out of which Mohun Bagan have won 6 matches followed by East Bengal winning 3 and 6 matches ended as draws.

Highest scorer in a single match — 4 goals
Edeh Chidi,Amiyo deb for Mohun Bagan, 2009 n 1934 respectively.

Note(s)

1. ^a Mohun Bagan decided not to field a team for this game as they claimed their team should've got some time to practise on the pitch which they weren't allowed to, and hence East Bengal was awarded 3 goals and walkover victory.

References