ATK Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal FC: This match, this rivalry, this history

ATK Mohun Bagan won Saturday's match 2-0. (Image via Twitter/@atkmohunbaganfc)

The official figure on the big screen gives the number as 62,542. That’s the number of people who fill out the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday evening. But as East Bengal FC coach Stephen Constantine says later with a barely noticeable grin, it was probably much more.

The Hero Indian Super League’s (ISL) first ever Kolkata Derby played in Kolkata between ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal created an atmosphere that was larger than figures. It “transcended” football, as one Bagan fan had declared on Friday, because this rivalry goes beyond just sport.

Irrespective of the actual numbers, the atmosphere at the football stadium appears surreal, except perhaps for seasoned spectators. The northern and eastern part of the stadium gets filled with Bagan supporters, with their fan-club banners hung on the railings, declaring their identity—“Birati Mariners”, “Saltlake Mariners”, “Sankrail Mariners”, among others. EB fans dominate the west and the south, with “Ichapur Unit”, “Birasat Unit”, “New Barrackpur Unit” besides several more.

Some sections remain unoccupied in the lower tiers of the stadium, for the restricted views they offer, being too close to the field of play, too close maybe to the arena which will, within 90 minutes, throw up joy for some, crushing disappointment for the others.

For two hours leading up to kick-off, which is delayed because an earlier match between Hyderabad FC and FC Goa has spilled over, Bagan supporters pour in from a few of the gates, while East Bengal supporters charge in from the other. The maroon and green colour dominates at one end, red and gold at the other.

Raunak Chakraborty, who usually comes for matches with his father, has his mother too for company, on her insistence, to experience what the whole drama is about. Dressed in a yellow and red salwar for her first Derby experience, standing out clearly in a crowd of people, she has made the trip from Jamshedpur because, well, what other local match is worth travelling for?

“This Derby has next-level excitement,” says Swapnil Basu, an East Bengal supporter, who like several others is only too happy to talk about this match, this rivalry, this history. “People are coming from different suburbs of the city, from the state… There are millions of fans of these two clubs. This rivalry has a heritage and emotion. We are going to win—Jay East Bengal,” is his impromptu monologue, before suddenly trotting off with his friends.

The emblematic Jamuna Das or “Lozens Masi” attends the match too, an ardent EB supporter who has followed the team devotedly since her husband passed away years ago. Passers-by call out her name, recognising her from social media sightings or from the time she used to sell chocolates in stadiums. Now she is known for distributing candies to players.

Lozens Masi (Image via Twitter/@DiptaBrataDutta)

“Players played from the heart in the olden days, not for money like they do now,” she says, before quickly clarifying that she means no ill-will towards anyone. She mentions all the people she has interacted with—Sourav Ganguly, Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri—crediting football for helping her deal with her losses, of husband and later brother. In mid-conversation, she pauses for a moment to respond to a fan. “Jai East Bengal,” she says, before continuing with her predictions for the match: “50-50.”

The man who, she says, drew her into the ISL, is seated in the VIP section on a white sofa behind the players’ dug-out. At half-time, Ganguly, dressed in all black, poses for pictures, waves back to fans. It seems but natural that Bengal’s greatest cricketer is present for Bengal’s greatest rivalry.

As the match begins, every move, tackle, challenge and dribble is followed by cacophony. The noise never relents, the cool weather perhaps helping in the process of delaying fatigue.

The match itself is not a classic as the momentum shifts continuously between the teams. Simple chances are missed, signs of nervousness show because neither team wants to lose.

When Bagan scores its first goal early in the second half, Hugo Adnan Boumous’ shot from a longer range that goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh misreads, one half of the stadium erupts in a deafening roar while the other falls deathly silent. The pattern repeats 10 minutes later, when Manvir Singh’s shot gets deflected off a defender’s foot to beat the unfortunate Kamaljit Singh again. It’s a match Bagan hosts and wins.

Firecrackers go off at various points from the stands—despite security checks in the stadium, spectators manage to sneak in post-Diwali remains to burst them in an arena full of people. At the end of the match, a sky lantern takes off from the Bagan section, capping the celebrations.

By the 80th minute, with the match seemingly wrapped up by Bagan, the East Bengal section begins to empty out. Banners are quickly taken down as fans, wishing perhaps to escape some good-humoured and some not-so-pleasant banter from the opposing fans, decide to make a speedy exit.

You would think that the Bagan coach, Juan Ferrando would be happy with the result. But at the post-match press conference, Ferrando zones out and needs to be prodded before he is brought back to the proceedings. “Sorry, I am disconnecting. I am thinking about Mumbai,” says the worried looking Spaniard, talking about a match to be held next Sunday.

“The Derby is a privilege, not pressure,” says Constantine, a statement he had made on Friday as well.

For a lover of sport, it definitely is.