Over-exposure the bane of Calcutta giants Calcutta giants have been caught out. Just when the importance of time management is slowly being felt in Indian soccer, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been stumped by their non-stop football activity. The fall-out is a spluttering showing in the Coca-Cola National League. Mohun Bagan failed to qualify for the inaugural League but won it next year. East Bengal finished third in the first season and second in the next. Both are presently struggling in the third edition. Two of India?s most prestigious clubs may not be in sync with time but it is good to see teams from other states, mainly Goa, take a more judicious approach. Post-National League, they?ve realised that the hitherto blue riband tournaments ? the IFA Shield, Durand Cup, Rovers Cup ? should be viewed in a different perspective. That?s why they are concentrating on their own little home leagues ? Punjab doesn?t even have one ? playing the odd tournament as much for match practice as to win it. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?s schedule is a lot more taxing. The players who do duty in a long-winded local league ? played in energy-sapping weather and grounds reduced to mud parks during monsoon ? and in a number of tournaments thereafter, turn out in the National League. This induces weariness. Players also take longer to recover from injuries. As a result, when it?s time for Indian football?s annual showpiece, they are hit by a litany of injury woes and lack of form. Chima Okerie?s troubled hamstring may not allow him any further part in the League. I.M. Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri have struggled with injuries through the season. And neither Hemanta Dora nor Sammy Omollo are far from fighting fit. East Bengal?s injury list is not that long but they too have been hit by the law of diminishing returns. There is no denying that their Ghanaian recruits played a lot better when they first came here. And remember, they haven?t been here for the whole season. The point I?m trying to make is that if you really have to play so many tournaments, then use your second and third strings for most of them and leave the top guns for championships like the Federation Cup and the League. Nothing has affected Calcutta?s arch-rivals more than overkill in this League. While the Goan clubs, JCT and to an extent even F.C. Kochin have kept players fresh for the big one, the Calcutta duo began to look increasingly ragged as the season wore on. True, the slump has been more protracted for Mohun Bagan but it wasn?t long before East Bengal joined them. Matters have been compounded by the League providing very little breathing space between matches. As it is, playing for the glamour duo is emotionally and physically more draining than it is elsewhere. That?s because in no other club is the pressure to deliver as intense as it is in Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. For them, there are no prizes for finishing second. It is imperative that Mohun Bagan and East Bengal prepare their own calendars to get the best returns from their almost-always awesome investments. Picking and choosing of tournaments could well influence the team?s run during the season. Because AIFF?s annual schedule leaves almost no gap between tournaments, clubs must do their own planning. The talking point of the Super League may well have been Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?s poor run but a clash between the two still generates a fair amount of interest. The day this gets published, the League?s and the season?s last Derby will be played. A win for either team will give its title-prospects a major second wind. But a draw will be just what Salgaocar and Churchill Brothers want. The teams to watch out for, however, in the final phase may not be any of the top four but those below them. Results achieved against JCT and F.C. Kochin will have a decisive bearing on the final outcome. And neither of them will be pushovers.