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Federation Cup: Fan vs Fan - East Bengal - Mohun Bagan
Get a feel of the country's biggest football match as two fans battle it out amongst themselves.
31-Dec-2009 12:00:49 AM
Three months after the historic Kolkata derby in the Salt Lake
Stadium, two of India’s biggest Football Clubs lock horns at Guwahati to battle
it out in the Semi Finals of the Federation Cup. A day ahead of the kick off,
Goal.com caught up with two loyal fans of the clubs to get a feeling about Thursday’s encounter.
Representing Mohun Bagan Club will be their loyal fanatic and a real life member of the club Mr. Subhashis Majumder (SM). Meanwhile East Bengal Club will be represented by one of their die hard supporters and an Execuitve Committee member of "East Bengal the Real Power" Community Mr. Kallol Das (KD), who is also a regular contributor for various East Bengal sites.
Goal.com: How do you rate your team’s performance in the Federation Cup so far?
SM: Mohun Bagan is in good form. We had a tough group with the likes of Chirag and Mahindra against us. Our attacking Line-up of Edeh Chidi, Jose Barreto and Ryuji Suoeka are our hope for tomorrow’s match. The back line led by Sheikh Azeem and Deepak Mondal is also amazing. Young player Biswajit Saha is also fitting in very well. I think Mohun Bagan is in a very good position.
KD: Our Federation Cup campaign has been good so far. People say that we were clubbed in an easy group but in Indian Football every club is dangerous. Look at Lajong, they have caused major upsets, defeating Dempo and Churchill Brothers. Even Viva Kerala or Salgaocar could have done a similar kind of thing. Coach De Ridder has really turned the team around as we have a stable defence and I am hopeful for a good show from the team tomorrow.
Goal.com: What are your opinions about your opponent? Are you scared of any particular player?
SM: East Bengal has reasons to worry because they do not have a fully fit squad and have not faced any strong competition so far. But they will always be dangerous in any derby match so I am looking forward to seeing their performance. If any particular player is to be named then I'd say Yakubu is very dangerous and I think he is the main player for them.
KD: Mohun Bagan is a good team and people say that they came out of a very tough group, but my view differs from the rest. Chirag and Mohammedan were easy if you compare it to our group. As far as the match between Mohun Bagan and Mahindra is concerned I believe Mohun Bagan was lucky to win as I think Mahindra gifted the goals to Mohun Bagan through silly defending and a penalty. For me Barreto is very dangerous because he is very experienced in derby matches. If East Bengal can stop him then the Mohun Bagan team will come to a halt.
Goal.com: Who will be the player to watch out for from your team?
SM: The left back from our team, Biswajit Saha, is a very young and talented player. He has played very well so far in the tournament. Also, there's always Jose Ramirez Barreto, simply because he is a great player who has been playing superbly in India for the last 10 years.
KD: I will keep a look out for Abhra Mondal, as his performance is essential for full fledged revenge against our rivals. I also expect wonder kid Budhiram Tudu to shine if he is given a chance to play.
Goal.com: What do you think will be the outcome of tomorrow’s match? Is there any possibility for the match to progress to a penalty shootout?
SM: We are mentally strong and have been enjoying good form of late. I feel that Mohun Bagan has an upper hand given the result we had in the last time we met. The entire team is playing a good brand of football so I do not think it will take more than 120 minutes for us to seal the match. Even if it does we have Sangram Mukherjee to win the match for us.
KD: Our team is very motivated. The performance of the entire team in the Federation Cup has been praise worthy. All the 20 members of the squad are connected to each other and are in with a motive to fight and win the tournament. I expect my team to fight and play good football. Winning and losing depends on the players. Karim Bencherifa is a clever person he will always want the match to progress to penalties because Sangram Mukherjee is very lucky in shootouts. East Bengal should avoid such a situation at any cost.
Rahul Sengupta
Representing Mohun Bagan Club will be their loyal fanatic and a real life member of the club Mr. Subhashis Majumder (SM). Meanwhile East Bengal Club will be represented by one of their die hard supporters and an Execuitve Committee member of "East Bengal the Real Power" Community Mr. Kallol Das (KD), who is also a regular contributor for various East Bengal sites.
Goal.com: How do you rate your team’s performance in the Federation Cup so far?
SM: Mohun Bagan is in good form. We had a tough group with the likes of Chirag and Mahindra against us. Our attacking Line-up of Edeh Chidi, Jose Barreto and Ryuji Suoeka are our hope for tomorrow’s match. The back line led by Sheikh Azeem and Deepak Mondal is also amazing. Young player Biswajit Saha is also fitting in very well. I think Mohun Bagan is in a very good position.
KD: Our Federation Cup campaign has been good so far. People say that we were clubbed in an easy group but in Indian Football every club is dangerous. Look at Lajong, they have caused major upsets, defeating Dempo and Churchill Brothers. Even Viva Kerala or Salgaocar could have done a similar kind of thing. Coach De Ridder has really turned the team around as we have a stable defence and I am hopeful for a good show from the team tomorrow.
Goal.com: What are your opinions about your opponent? Are you scared of any particular player?
SM: East Bengal has reasons to worry because they do not have a fully fit squad and have not faced any strong competition so far. But they will always be dangerous in any derby match so I am looking forward to seeing their performance. If any particular player is to be named then I'd say Yakubu is very dangerous and I think he is the main player for them.
KD: Mohun Bagan is a good team and people say that they came out of a very tough group, but my view differs from the rest. Chirag and Mohammedan were easy if you compare it to our group. As far as the match between Mohun Bagan and Mahindra is concerned I believe Mohun Bagan was lucky to win as I think Mahindra gifted the goals to Mohun Bagan through silly defending and a penalty. For me Barreto is very dangerous because he is very experienced in derby matches. If East Bengal can stop him then the Mohun Bagan team will come to a halt.
Goal.com: Who will be the player to watch out for from your team?
SM: The left back from our team, Biswajit Saha, is a very young and talented player. He has played very well so far in the tournament. Also, there's always Jose Ramirez Barreto, simply because he is a great player who has been playing superbly in India for the last 10 years.
KD: I will keep a look out for Abhra Mondal, as his performance is essential for full fledged revenge against our rivals. I also expect wonder kid Budhiram Tudu to shine if he is given a chance to play.
Goal.com: What do you think will be the outcome of tomorrow’s match? Is there any possibility for the match to progress to a penalty shootout?
SM: We are mentally strong and have been enjoying good form of late. I feel that Mohun Bagan has an upper hand given the result we had in the last time we met. The entire team is playing a good brand of football so I do not think it will take more than 120 minutes for us to seal the match. Even if it does we have Sangram Mukherjee to win the match for us.
KD: Our team is very motivated. The performance of the entire team in the Federation Cup has been praise worthy. All the 20 members of the squad are connected to each other and are in with a motive to fight and win the tournament. I expect my team to fight and play good football. Winning and losing depends on the players. Karim Bencherifa is a clever person he will always want the match to progress to penalties because Sangram Mukherjee is very lucky in shootouts. East Bengal should avoid such a situation at any cost.
Rahul Sengupta
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