I-League: Pride and points at stake in the Big Kolkata derby

Kolkata derby

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan host arch-rivals East Bengal in a mouth-watering round ten clash of the Airtel I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday evening.

This will be the 306th meeting between the bitter rivals and this historic rivalry has been given a new dimension with the appointment of I-League’s most successful coach Armando Colaco as the new East Bengal boss.

The Red-and-gold brigade could only manage seven points from their first five matches under Brazilian Marcos Falopa and thus would be looking to revive their campaign under Colaco starting with a derby win.

The run to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup will always be considered a massive achievement in the Club’s illustrious history but it’s the I-League trophy that the East Bengal fans crave for the most and now a coach that has won the league title five times would be aiming to achieve that.

Colaco has a fully fit squad to choose from but couldn’t have wished for a tougher first game as East Bengal head coach. However the 60-year-old former India coach is not feeling any pressure and is looking forward to the contest.

“There are huge expectations and I will be experiencing this famous derby for the first time but I am not feeling any pressure. If the coach feels pressure then what will happen to the players? So I am trying to keep a very relaxed atmosphere and have told the boys to enjoy the match,” Colaco was quoted as saying.

Mohun Bagan too haven’t had a great start to the season as they have picked only three points more than their fierce rivals, having played three more games. However the Mariners are on a four-match unbeaten run and have skipper and talisman Odafa Okolie finally fit again.

A couple of players are ruled out as midfielder Zakeer Mundampara has a shoulder injury while Nigerian defender Ecehzona Anyichie is unavailable due to suspension but Karim Bencherifa will have Odafa, Kenyan Eric Muranda and Japanese Katsumi Yusa all fit together for the very first time.

The Moroccan coach is not a stranger to this fixture but is still very excited about the match.

“This is definitely the biggest derby in Asia so I am very excited again. Our big strength recently has been our defending and I am very happy with the way we have been playing. We are high on confidence and everybody is looking forward to get involved in this match,” Bencherifa stated.