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Kolkata Derby

Other names	Boro Match
Location	Kolkata
Teams	East Bengal Mohun Bagan
First meeting	East Bengal 0–0 Mohun Bagan Cooch Behar Cup (8 Aug 1921)
Latest meeting	Mohun Bagan 0–0 East Bengal CFL (1 September 2019)
Stadiums	Eden Gardens; Mohun Bagan Ground; Salt Lake Stadium; East Bengal Ground; Kanchenjunga Stadium;
Statistics
Meetings total	Total: 368 :
Top scorer	Bhaichung Bhutia (19)
All-time series	East Bengal: 129 Mohun Bagan: 118; Draw 121
Largest victory	East Bengal FC 5–0 Mohun Bagan 29 September 1975 (IFA Shield Final)
Kolkata

Kolkata Derby, locally known as "Boro Match" (or 'Big Match' in Bengali), is the football match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The rivalry between these two teams is almost 100 years old, and features in the FIFA's classic derby list. The matches witness large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons. It is considered to be one of, if not the biggest Asian footballing rivalry.

The two clubs currently meet at least 3 times a year, twice in the I-League and once in the Calcutta Football League. Often these two clubs meet in other competitions like the Federation Cup, the IFA Shield, the Durand Cup etc.

Both teams have huge and dedicated fan bases around the world. Both clubs represent a specific class of Bengali people, Mohun Bagan represents people existing in the western part of Bengal (known as Ghotis), while East Bengal is primarily supported by people hailing from the eastern part of pre-independence Bengal province (known as Bangals).

Culturally, this derby is very similar to the Scottish Professional Football League's Old Firm derby, since a majority of the Mohun Bagan supporters represent the 'nativist' population (similar to Rangers) and a majority of the East Bengal fans represent the 'immigrant' population (similar to Celtic). However, some people having Bangladeshi origin also support Mohun Bagan. Similarly, some people of Bengali (West Bengal) origin support East Bengal.

Origins

Mohun Bagan is oldest existing club of India having been established in 1889 in the city, then known under its anglicized name, Calcutta and till date one of the two most successful clubs in India, the other being East Bengal Club. The significant British influence in what was, until 1911, the nation's capital, ensured the game flourished, drawing players from other regions, and it is against this backdrop in which today's rivalry took root.

In 1920, the Jora Bagan club took field against Mohun Bagan who chose play without their star halfback Sailesh Bose, much to the chagrin of club vice-president Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri. Such was the industrialist's displeasure, he decided to form a new club and East Bengal FC was born. As Chaudhuri and his co-founders hailed from East Bengal, essentially now modern-day Bangladesh, the club is now generally supported by people who migrated from that region. This resulted in the clubs being backed by two different socioeconomic groups, although this has largely changed over period of time.The first ever clash happened on 8 Aug 1921 in Cooch behar cup which ended in a goalless draw. Mohun Bagan won the replayed semi final on 10 Aug 1921 by defeating East Bengal 3-0. The goal scorers were Rabi Ganguly, Paltu Dasgupta and Abhilash Ghosh. The first ever league meeting happened on 28 May 1925 in the Calcutta Football League at the Mohun Bagan Ground where East Bengal won 1-0 with the help of a solitary goal from Nepal Chakraborty.

After many research, the overall matches including competitive,walk overs and friendlies matches data have been retrieved as far as possible. Though the data is just an approximation, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 367 matches up till now, where East Bengal have been triumphant 129 times while Mohun Bagan 118 times.

Including: walkovers, competitive matches.

Brief history of the Derby

The 1960s proved a golden period for Mohun Bagan and it concluded in perfect fashion for the Mariners. Having already won the league, Mohun Bagan then did the double, defeating their rivals on their own ground in the IFA Shield final. The 3–1 victory credited to the then revolutionary 4–2–4 formation employed by innovative coach Amal Dutta.

The wheel eventually turned, and the 1970s was East Bengal's decade. They lost only one derby in six years (1970 to 1975) which culminated in a 5–0 IFA Shield win over their great rivals. The Red and Golds won with a record 5–0 scoreline and, with it, a record of five consecutive Shield victories. Such was the ignominy surrounding the heavy defeat that several Mohun Bagan players spent the night holed up on a boat in the Ganges trying to escape the wrath of shell-shocked supporters. Umakanto Palodhi, an ardent Mohun Bagan fan, committed suicide. He wrote in his suicide note that in his next life he will born as a Mohun Bagan footballer and will take revenge of that 0–5 defeat.

On 16 August 1980, 16 football fans died due to stampede and riot inside the Eden Gardens stadium, Kolkata on the occasion of a Kolkata Derby match in the Calcutta Football League.

The tables turned again. Mohun Bagan won 8 derbies in a row scoring 16 goals in total thus humiliating the red and golds.The most memorable derby on many accounts took place in 1997 at the semi-final of the Federation Cup, when a remarkable crowd of 131,000 – a record attendance for any sport in India – filled a heaving Salt Lake Stadium. India's most recognizable footballer, Baichung Bhutia, took centre stage, scoring a hat-trick as East Bengal triumphed 4–1. In 2009, Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 5–3 with Chidi Edeh scoring a hat-trick for Bagan.

Here are the trophy counts of the two clubs in some of the major footballing tournaments in India:

Taking both major and minor trophies into consideration Mohun Bagan won close to 250 trophies, whereas East Bengal has won over 150 trophies.

Records

Recent Record of Kolkata Derby

The records of the meetings between the sides since 2014 have been listed below.

Last updated: 1 September 2019
Source: soccerway.com and indiafooty.com

• Since 2014, 19 matches have been played between the teams where:

Mohun Bagan won: 6, East Bengal won: 6 (including 2016 CFL walkover), and 7 matches were draws.

• Highest scorer in a single match — Chidi Edeh (Mohun Bagan), scored 4 goals in 2009.

Note(s)

On 7th September 2016, a match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal was turned into a walkover win for East Bengal after Bagan decided not to field a team for this game as they claimed their team should've got some time to practise on the pitch which they weren't allowed to, and hence East Bengal was awarded 3 goals and walkover victory.

References

1. "Hero I-League – KOLKATA DERBY: Origins and History". mi-league.org.
2. "11 Facts you must know about the Kolkata Derby - Goal.com". 9 February 2013.
3. "Bhaichung Bhutia's kiss, Manna Dey's unwelcome embrace, and Chuni Goswami's biryani". 10 February 2017.
4. FIFA.com (8 April 2011). "India's all-consuming rivalry".
5. ^ "Kolkata Derby: Stats add intrigue to the Bagan-EB rivalry". Sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
6. "India's all-consuming rivalry : Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal". FIFA.com. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
7. "কলকাতা ডার্বি". sobbanglay.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

• Sport in Kolkata
• East Bengal F.C.
• Mohun Bagan A.C.
• Association football rivalries in India