Kolkata Derby

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 0–2 East Bengal 2018-19 I-League (27 January 2019)
Stadiums	Eden Gardens; Mohun Bagan Ground; Salt Lake Stadium; East Bengal Ground; Kanchenjunga Stadium;
Statistics
Meetings total	Total: 367
Top scorer	Bhaichung Bhutia (19) José Ramirez Barreto (17)
All-time series	East Bengal: 129 Drawn: 120 Mohun Bagan: 118
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, many people having Bangladeshi origin also support Mohun Bagan. Similarly, some people of Bengali (West Bengal) origin support East Bengal.

Origins

Further information: Football in Kolkata

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.

^a 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.

Further information: Football Lover's Day

The wheel 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 in some major tournaments on Indian soil:

Competition	Mohun Bagan won	East Bengal won
National Football League / I-League	4	3
Federation Cup	14	8
Durand Cup	16	16
Indian Super Cup	2	3
Rovers Cup	14	10
Calcutta Football League	30	39
IFA Shield	22	28
All Airlines Gold Cup	8	7
Bordoloi Trophy	7	4
Sikkim Gold Cup	10	0
DCM Trophy	1	7
Trades Cup	12	0
Total	140	125

Competition	Mohun Bagan Runners-Up	East Bengal Runners-Up
National Football League / I-League	4	6
Federation Cup	6	8
Durand Cup	11	10
Indian Super Cup	2	2
Rovers Cup	10	4
Calcutta Football League	Unaccounted	Unaccounted
IFA Shield	19	12
All Airlines Gold Cup	5	3
Bordoloi Trophy	1	3
Sikkim Gold Cup	2	1

Taking all tournaments into consideration mohun bagan won over 255 tournaments, whereas East Bengal won over 150 tournaments.

Records

Further information: List of Kolkata Derby Matches

Overall Record of Kolkata Derby

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

Date	Home Team	Result	Away Team	Stadium	Competition
27 January 2019	Mohun Bagan	0–2	East Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
16 December 2018	East Bengal	3–2	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
2 September 2018	East Bengal	2–2	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	CFL
21 January 2018	East Bengal	0–2	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
3 December 2017	Mohun Bagan	1–0	East Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
24 September 2017	East Bengal	2–2	Mohun Bagan	Kanchenjunga Stadium	CFL
14 May 2017	Mohun Bagan	2–0	East Bengal	Barabati Stadium	Federation Cup
9 April 2017	Mohun Bagan	2–1	East Bengal	Kanchenjunga Stadium	I-League
12 February 2017	East Bengal	0–0	Mohun Bagan	Kanchenjunga Stadium	I-League
2 April 2016	East Bengal	2–1	Mohun Bagan	Kanchenjunga Stadium	I-League
23 January 2016	Mohun Bagan	1–1	East Bengal	Kanchenjunga Stadium	I-League
6 September 2015	East Bengal	4–0	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	CFL
28 March 2015	Mohun Bagan	1–0	East Bengal	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
17 February 2015	East Bengal	1–1	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
31 August 2014	East Bengal	3–1	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	CFL
1 March 2014	East Bengal	1–1	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	I-League
11 January 2014	East Bengal	0–1	Mohun Bagan	Salt Lake Stadium	CFL

Last updated: 15 September 2018
Source: soccerway.com

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

Note(s)

1. ^a Mohun 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.