The media centre at the Mohun Bagan ground — crammed with a platoon of mediapersons — had a suffocating feeling on an unusually humid Thursday afternoon. Even Mohun Bagan Super Giant coach Jose Molina expressed his displeasure. “It’s bad,” the Spaniard complained wiping off sweat, finding it difficult to breathe.
Bagan host Mumbai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday as the ISL-XI season gets going and Molina will hope Bagan will not have the experience he endured at the pigeon-hole-like media room.
On May 4 evening earlier this year, when the city was finding it difficult to deal with the inhuman summer, Mumbai City FC had turned the heat on Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium, running away with the ISL Cup with a 3-1 comprehensive win. That was after Bagan had won the ISL Shield, beating the same opponents at the same venue.
“I have been watching some matches of the last season, but last season is a thing of the past. This is a new chapter. They are playing with the same coach but different players,” Molina said.
“We have a new coach and some new players. I think it’ll be an absolutely different match from the last ISL final and it doesn’t matter what happened last season. The past is the past, Now we have to work in the present to make for the best future possible, that is what we’ll do to win tomorrow (Friday),” he added.
Bagan and Mumbai City, two of the strongest and most consistent teams of the ISL, have developed a rivalry that sometimes turned murky like the one in December last year. There was a flurry of red cards at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai and that was followed by multiple-match bans on players.
“Yes, it’s a good rivalry,” Mumbai City captain Lallianzuala Chhangte said.
In most of the duels with Bagan, Chhangte had Apuia Ralte as company. The last time the two teams met, both Chhangte and Apuia worked in tandem to silence a full-to-the-brim Salt Lake Stadium.
On Friday though, Chhangte would find Ralte on the opposite side. The 23-year-old Mizo midfielder switched over to Bagan during a summer that saw Mumbai City losing some key players. “I am looking forward to this match,” Ralte said.
Anwar moves court
Defender Anwar Ali, his current side East Bengal and parent club Delhi FC on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court and sought a stay on the suspension imposed on the player by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for “illegally terminating” his four-year contract with Bagan.
The AIFF on Tuesday slapped a four-month suspension on Anwar after finding the defender “guilty” and asked him and the two clubs to pay a compensation of Rs 12.90 crore to Bagan.
“Yes, we have filed a writ petition with the Delhi High Court and the it is listed for tomorrow (Friday). All three parties have filed the petition on various grounds,” Delhi FC owner Ranjit Bajaj said.
East Bengal’s top official Debabrata Sarkar said that they had moved the court as they don’t want the player to lose out on matches until the AIFF’s Appeals Committee arrives at a decision.
Anwar and rest of the East Bengal contingent reached Bengaluru on Thursday night. They play Bengaluru FC on Saturday.
