LET US GO THROUGH THE RICH HISTORY OF INDIAN FOOTBALL.
The Kolkata Derby, also known as the “Boro Match,” is a historic football rivalry between two teams from Kolkata, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. This intense competition has been going on for over a century, making it one of the oldest football rivalries in Asia and among the biggest in the world.
The first match took place on August 8, 1921, in the Cooch Behar Cup, and the most recent one occurred on February 4, 2024, as part of the Indian Super League. The derby is a major event, drawing large crowds and sparking intense rivalry between fans.
These two clubs clash at least three times a year – twice in the Indian Super League and once in the Calcutta Football League. They often face each other in other competitions like the Durand Cup, IFA Shield, and Super Cup.
Both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan boast substantial and passionate fan bases worldwide. Interestingly, the fan support is deeply rooted in cultural distinctions. Mohun Bagan tends to attract fans from the western part of Bengal (known as Ghotis), while East Bengal’s support comes primarily from the eastern part (known as Bangals). This cultural divide adds an extra layer to the rivalry.
The Kolkata Derby is often compared to the Old Firm derby in the Scottish Professional Football League. Much like the Rangers and Celtic dynamic, Mohun Bagan fans represent the ‘nativist’ population, while East Bengal fans represent the ‘immigrant’ population. The celebrations following a derby win are marked by traditional dishes – ilish for East Bengal supporters and golda chingri for Mohun Bagan fans, reflecting the cultural backgrounds associated with each team.
While football has always been popular in Bengal, cricket has proved to be a significantly more commercially successful sport across India.
Back in 1925, when India was still under British rule, East Bengal Football Club and Mohun Bagan AC faced off for the first time in Kolkata’s football league, marking the beginning of the Kolkata derby. This rivalry has continued for nearly a century, drawing massive crowds of up to 100,000 fans and becoming a celebrated part of Bengali culture.
Originally, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan were the only “native” teams in the top tier of the Kolkata regional league, competing against British soldiers and civilians. This set the stage for a unique football tradition, with Bengalis taking pride in Indian players beating better-equipped British teams.
The rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal grew alongside India’s independence movement. Formed in 1889, Mohun Bagan represented the “natives” of Kolkata, while East Bengal, formed in response to discrimination, drew support from newcomers who had migrated from the eastern part of Bengal, now Bangladesh.
Independence in 1947 and the partition of Bengal intensified the rivalry as more East Bengalis moved to Kolkata. The competition between native and newcomer reached its peak, with both teams hating to lose to each other.
Not all encounters between the two clubs have been graceful. In 2012, a derby had to be abandoned at half-time due to chaos on and off the pitch. Despite such incidents, the intensity of the rivalry persists through the generations.
Due to lack of proper maintenance and restoration of data, after many researches, 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, as of 27 November 2021, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 384 matches up till now, where East Bengal have been triumphant 132 times while Mohun Bagan 127 times, which also includes a walkover..
Now Mohun Bagan is a bigger brand with the backing of Sanjiv Goenka while East bengal with it’s recent trophy drought getting over is finding it’s feet back.
