Dibyojyoti Baksi
dibyojyoti@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: When it comes to Kolkata Derby, Bengalis’
romanticism with the football teams—East Bengal and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bahan)—the frenzied support for each team, infield and otherwise, can diminish a Premier League to a street football.
This is no less awaited than their biggest of festivals—Durga Puja or Diwali.
Sure enough, no one can explain the steroid-spirit of the supporters in the stadium if he has not experienced it. Bengal, under the surface discipline, is deeply divided in favour of the respective teams.
The fan revelry across Bengal use to start since the day the date of the match was declared and seven days to the match the city and its suburbs wore a different look; it could be likened to any political campaign where posters were pasted in the local clubs with rival followers, chains of flags were hung along the streets, intermittent theme songs were played in support of individual teams. If one street entrance had East Bengal emblem hung a nearby street would have Mohun Bangan’s. The rivalry was so intense that it even brought otherwise harmonious relations to the ridge.
In Kolkata, South Kolkata was primarily East Bengal as it’s mostly populated with people from outside and North Kolkata or old Kolkata was very orthodox Mohun Bagan. But they were not enough, a huge compartment-full supporter, students bunking schools and colleges, office goers slipping out of office unapologetically, travelled from outskirts like Ranaghat, Krishnanagar, Naihati, Halisahar, even hanging on the doors, waving flags and cheering their team. In the halting stations rival supporters preferred not to board that train, to avoid any untoward situation, shedding his normally cool demeanour in anguish or disgust. Even from the station, there were different auto-rickshaws for the East Bengal and the Mohun Bagan supporters.
Come to the do—Salt Lake Stadium—two separate entry point and two exit points for each team supporters that too on the two-opposite side of the stadium, to avoid any commotion. In 1997, I remember during the IFC, in second semi-finals between the arch-rivals, where East Bengal won by 4-1, the Salt Lake stadium was air-tight with 1 lakh something followers. Can you imagine if 50000 people from each side of the gallery scream—one cheering, other[side] spitting out sarcastic to scatological comments– the pressure the players had to endure. Even in 2003, 2004 when gladiators like Baichung Bhutia, Bijen Singh, Deepak Mondal dared Mohun Bagan FC’s Jose Barreto, Sunil Chettri and Ashim Biswas in the field—the garbled deafening decibel ripple the excitement across the city.
But the players have always manifested a high level of sportsmanship between the two rival teams. During the 2012 Kolkata derby when Mohun Bagan player, Syed Rahim Nabi was injured by stone thrown from the stand, East Bengal players were seen carrying him with care to the sideline and laid him on the stretcher. Even when Indian team was formed, it had players from both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and they bonded as team mates, without any contention.
We never thought that East Bengal would respawn but now the team is full of foreign players. Even ATK Mohun Bagan players who have played only for their city thus far cannot imagine the audience pressure the erstwhile core East Bengal and Mohun Bagan players have weathered during the matches. When SC East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan faceoff for the first time after six editions of Indian Super League (ISL), the nostalgia is so strong that the thought itself that they are ill-fated to play in a stadium is mourned by their fans. Nevertheless, the sentiment is strong that none would miss to watch it on television.
I am long away from the city but Facebook fan clubs are so active that if situations would have been favourable and the Derby was played in Kolkata, sure enough, the 85000-seating Salt Lake stadium would have been full to the brim with chest-thumping supporters.
Today’s Fixture: SC East Bengal v ATK Mohun Bagan,
Kick off at 7.30 p.m.
