July 13 1997: Bhaichung Bhutia’s historic leap towards greatness

The road to being the Indian football icon wasn’t smooth for Bhaichung Bhutia but at times he made it look easy. In a career spanning almost two decades, Bhaichung produced memorable displays for both club and country and on most occasions it was done in a very special way.

He created history several times and broke numerous records but 16 years ago on this date, he achieved something that may not be repeated by an Indian player and even if it is emulated, it won’t have the same classy touch.

On July 13 1997, a 21-year-old from Sikkim ensured himself a place in the famous old Kolkata derby history books by becoming the first player to score a hattrick in this marquee fixture. The treble was achieved in the colours of East Bengal with the red-and-gold brigade beating arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 4-1.

But this was not just another derby between the fierce rivals. It was the semi-finals of the Federation Cup and the Salt Lake Stadium had a record attendance of more than 131,000. The buildup to any derby is always intense but this one seemed to have no holds barred with then-Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutta’s ‘diamond’ system catching the attention of the local language media in particular.

The atmosphere at the game was simply electrifying and in the eyes of most experienced heads of the Kolkata maidan such a setting before and during the game is unlikely to be repeated in any other Indian club football fixture ever.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, reputed sports journalist Dhiman Sarkar of the Hindustan Times recalled the build-up to the game giving some great insights.

“The build-up to this game wasn’t anything like you would usually associate with a Kolkata derby. At least not over the past 25 years. A large part of the reason was Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutta employing the diamond formation. The idea may have been as old as the hills in football’s more developed countries but the media, particularly the Bengali newspapers (there was little or no 24X7 local news channels then) played it up using graphical representation to explain how Mohun Bagan would play.

“Moreover, Mohun Bagan had begun the Federation Cup with a bang and put in six goals past Churchill Brothers who were then coached by the astute Scot Danny McLean. Dutta’s deliberately slanderous pronouncements about East Bengal players (Chung-Chung for Bhaichung, Omlette for Sammy Omollo) further fuelled the expectation around this semi-final,” Sarkar, who covered this historic match, told Sportskeeda.

Clearly, Dutta’s pre-match comments added to the excitement and anticipation of this derby but what were the expectations from Bhaichung?