This is the end, beautiful friend — you cannot miss the “it’s time to say goodbye” mood that surrounds Sunday’s I-League Derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
With Mohun Bagan deciding to merge their football team with ATK and thus paving the way for ATK-Mohun Bagan to feature in ISL from next season, I-League will never be the same again. It’s the penultimate I-League Derby between the great Maidan rivals in their current avatars.
“From the supporters’ point of view, no Derby is better than the Mohun Bagan versus East Bengal clash. Whether in I-League or any other tournament,” Rennedy Singh, former India footballer, said from Imphal.
Over the years, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have featured in some memorable Derbies in the National Football League, later re-christened I-League.
Whether the October 2009 Derby, which saw Bagan exorcising the ghosts of 1975 IFA Shield, or Lalrindika Ralte’s left-footed long ranger that stunned Mohun Bagan on a November evening in 2013, it’s been an amazing roller-coaster ride for the fans of both the teams.
“Hopefully, I will score something similar on Sunday,” Ralte, a precocious young talent in November 2013 and now the captain of East Bengal, told The Telegraph.
The Derby, to be held at the Salt Lake Stadium, will also be Bagan’s first after Thursday’s merger. There is an air of uncertainty in the green and maroon brigade regarding their future. In the pre-match media conference, coach Kibu Vicuna did not express any concern about the tense future.
“We are coming from a good result. We are just focusing on tomorrow’s game. It is a very important game against a very good team,” was all he could say when asked about the morale of the team post-Thursday.
Deep down, even he knows the merger announcement has been a big blow to the morale of the players.
Sample this. Bagan are unbeaten in five matches, while East Bengal tasted two back-to-back losses. On any other day, Mohun Bagan would have been the favourites.
But the common feeling now is that Thursday’s development has put table toppers Bagan and fifth-placed East Bengal are on an even keel.
East Bengal’s I-League campaign this season has gone from bad to worse. In six matches, they have conceded eight goals with Gokulam Kerala FC scoring three in the last match. And they have managed to score just nine.
Converting chances has been a problem with Jaime Santos and Marcos De La Espada seeming to have lost their goal-scoring boots. The defence also looks very shaky and Bagan will definitely like to capitalise on that.
For East Bengal, the key will be Kassim Aidara in the central midfield. If the midfield fails then the defence will once again capitulate. And that’s why Aidara will have to play a big role. Bagan’s Joseba Beitia and Fran Gonzalez are in great form and Aidara’s task will be cut out.
Coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia though was full of swag on Saturday. “In Derbies, the past does not count”.
You may argue on that. But one thing is for sure. Next season onwards, I-League Derbies will become a thing of the past.
