Mohun Bagan v East Bengal
2017-18 Indian I-League
Mohun BaganMohun BaganMOH
1-1-0, 4 PTS
1
1-1-0, 4 PTS
FT
0-1-1, 1 PTS
0
0-1-1, 1 PTS
Kingsley Obumneme - 39'
\n\nMy view: Mohun Bagan Goal #MBvKEB #KolkataDerby #HeroILeague #followtheraver pic.twitter.com/o3yxjb7woG
\n- Arjun Pandit (@Arjun599) December 3, 2017
Bagan, who had once 'chosen' not to be in the Indian Super League, now found themselves forced to convince their star striker Sony Norde that they eventually would, just to keep him in their team. The derby itself was being played in the middle of the afternoon, instead of an evening slot, when the best TV audience would watch an ISL game.
\nThose bigger questions might still remain unanswered. Yet what Sunday afternoon crowd proved, is that at least in the stands, there is plenty of life in the two old clubs and there are some things the best marketing brains and vast amounts of cash cannot match.
\nIf you have never been to a Kolkata derby game, it takes some getting used to. Some 64,000 spectators were at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. The banners they unfurled said where all they had come from: 'Budge Budge', 'Balichak' and 'Medinipur' were all there. Many had come down, as is the norm, on the backs of trucks blowing horns, chanting and making rude gestures at rival supporters. Others arrived simply bearing flags or at least in one case a giant maroon and green prawn.
\nSome warned that violence was the most logical prediction to make for a Kolkata derby, but the fans and their ribbing was for the most part good-natured. A surprisingly large percentage of the crowd was made up of women and children, something that might have surprised I-League CEO Sunanda Dhar in his childhood. \"When we were growing up, the derby meant violence. Of not being a place for women and children,\" he recalled.
\nThe recent U-17 World Cup appears to have changed a few mindsets. \"The refurbishing of the ground has made a difference. The toilets are clean and you aren't so worried about bringing your family to the stadium. A lot of the younger fans will probably carry on this tradition,\" says Dhar.
\nIt wasn't just first-time spectators who were overwhelmed by the derby. Players were too. \"I've never seen this crowd before. It increased the feeling that we have to fight for them,\" goalscorer Kingsley marvelled after the game.
\nFor Dhar, who faces the unenviable task of promoting the I-League against the marketing juggernaut of the ISL, games like the Kolkata derby are a godsend. The passions the game generates are the outcome of nearly a century of bitter rivalry and simply impossible to replicate by an outfit that's been around for a few flash years.
\n\"In Kolkata you are either born an East Bengal or a Mohun Bagan supporter. For a new club it is difficult to match that. Regardless of what the situation is, Mohun Bagan versus East Bengal is the biggest club game for India. It's a tradition that is going on for the last hundred years and it is something that could go on for the next hundred,\" he says.
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