Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Emami East Bengal play the Durand Cup quarter-final derby at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday, at a time when Indian football is grappling with a major crisis.
The uncertainty over ISL 2025-26, wait for the Supreme Court verdict on the constitution for the All India Football Federation, ISL clubs either putting salaries on hold or suspending operations and FIFPro, the world players union, sending a letter to Fifa asking for intervention on the footballers’ plight. Indian football is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
So, this derby comes as a welcome relief for fans who want nothing more than action on the field. There is a huge demand for tickets for the match where top players of both teams will have a go at each other for the first time this season, and a full house is guaranteed.
East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon at the news conference. EEB
East Bengal have not won against Mohun Bagan at Salt Lake Stadium since August 2023, when the first teams featured in a derby, and Bagan have not lost at the venue in all competitions since last year’s Durand Cup final loss to NorthEast United FC.
For the past few years, Bagan have held the upper hand, but this year, with East Bengal building a competitive team, the red and gold fans are bullish about a close fight.
“Bagan are unbeaten at this stadium for many days, and that will always motivate us to play well. It’s a derby and we want to make it memorable,” East Bengal midfielder Souvik Chakrabarti said at the news conference on Saturday.
East Bengal will be without Palestine-born United States midfielder Basim Rashid, who lost his father on Friday. “It will definitely affect us. We want to do it for Rashid,” Souvik said. Coach Oscar Bruzon wanted to leave the bereaved Rashid. “Best thing will be
to have some privacy,” the Spaniard said.
Bagan will miss the services of Manvir Singh, Kiyan Nassiri and Subhasish Bose.
“Manvir is a top player. I love playing with him,” Bagan’s Jason Cummings said.
Cummings was asked about Bruzon’s claim that Bagan would see a new East Bengal on Sunday. He said: “We don’t care about East Bengal. We just worry about ourselves. They said the same last season that they had signed a lot of good players and they want to be stronger. We still finished on top.”
Bagan’s consistent success has brought pressure on the players to deliver every time they take the field. Cummings has no problem with that. “Yeah, I love it. Pressure makes diamonds. And I love diamonds.”