Despite cricket mania reaching a frenzied height following India's successive victories in the World Cup, Kolkata is in the grip of soccer fever ahead of the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan 16th round match in the National Football League at the Salt Lake stadium on Tuesday.
League leaders East Bengal, with 37 points from 15 matches, surely start as the favourites, having beaten their Kolkata mates 2-0 in the first leg. They have a clear lead of 11 points over the defending champions.
The teams have met thrice this season [2002-03], and East Bengal, who also won the Kolkata league, have won two of those encounters. They beat Bagan in the first leg of the NFL and in the first meeting in the Kolkata League while Bagan won the second leg meeting in the Kolkata league.
Yet to be conquered in the NFL this season, East Bengal had reason to be confident before the derby game. Asked to comment about tomorrow's tie, coach Subhas Bhowmik said, "To us this is like any other NFL game. Whether it's Mohun Bagan or any other team, the bottomline is that we have to win."
Though their dependable defender Arun Malhotra, who is on leave to visit his ailing mother, and Brazilian medio Douglas, who is nursing an injuryy, may not be able to take field tomorrow, Bhowmik did not seem much worried.
He said, "We have a good reserve bench who will adequately supplement them."
Sandip Nandy has excelled under the bar and the defence, manned by Dipak Mondal and M Suresh, looks rock solid. In midfield, Venkatesh, Malswama, Sasti Duley and Subhas Chakraborty are a formidable force. Though upfront the red-yellow brigade does not look as sharp as Bagan, their strikers Mike Okoro, Gilmer and Alvito D'Cunha, aided by overlapping Suley Musah, have delivered the goods.
Okoro leads the goal-getters tally with 13 goals.
But Bagan, though almost out of the league race, are desperate to win this game as victory tomorrow will salvage much of their reputation. Defeat will only erase whatever outside chance they have of retaining the title.
The silver lining for them is the return of Baichung Bhutia, who along with Jose Barreto and George Ekeh, gives Bagan the best forward line among the NFL teams. But the problem is their midfield, which is yet to perform to expectations, and the defence, which has always looked fragile and suceptible under pressure.
Bagan have conceded three defeats in the NFL so far.
Their ace striker Jose Barreto, who had a number of goals against East Bengal last year, said we have to win this match. "With Baichung joining we have a good chance to come through this time."
Bagan coach Subrata Bhattacharya said, "The one that will hold its nerve will win. We will give our best and the atmosphere is always different in an East Bengal Mohun Bagan game."
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