Edmilson’s return to fitness from hamstring injury is a big boost for East Bengal

Ludhiana: Subrata Bhattacharya won 78 trophies for Mohun Bagan as a player and 14 as coach.

Yet, his eagerness to win a maiden trophy for East Bengal was what shone through as he mingled with journalists in his crowded but neatly kept hotel room here on Friday.

“I need to give a gift to East Bengal supporters who have been extremely supportive. The Federation Cup should be a good start,” he said with unmistakable determination.

East Bengal play Mahindra United in the final on Saturday with the Calcutta giants starting as clear favourites to win the title. East Bengal had last won the Federation Cup in 1996.

Eleven years ago, East Bengal beat Dempo in the final at the Salt Lake Stadium through a golden goal by Raman Vijayan. The last time East Bengal won this prestigious tournament outside Calcutta was in 1985 when wing back Balai Mukherjee led the red-and-gold brigade to a memorable triumph in Bangalore.

The best news for East Bengal is Brazilian striker Edmilson Marques can play and, according to Bhattacharya, would be in the starting XI on Saturday. The Brazilian took part in Friday morning’s entire training session and later confirmed that he was eager to play.

“Today (Friday) is my daughter’s (Gabriela) birthday,” Edmilson said. “I want to play tomorrow and win the trophy as a birthday gift for her,” the Brazilian said after practice at the Agricultural University ground.

Edmilson, who scored four goals in the first two matches, suffered a slight hamstring tear against JCT and sat out the semi-final against Mohun Bagan. His absence, though, wasn’t felt as Dipendu Biswas and Ashim Biswas shone brightly to steer East Bengal to a thrilling 3-2 win.

The earlier-than-expected return of Edmilson brought a lot of cheer to the East Bengal camp, but Bhattacharya had his feet firmly on the ground.

“Edmilson’s return gives us an edge up front, but we need to be on our guard right throug,” he said.

Edmilson’s availability would mean Bhattacharya returning to his favoured two-striker formation. Dipendu, who tore Mohun Bagan apart the other evening, would be the likely sacrificial lamb.

In Ludhiana, almost everything has gone according to the script for East Bengal. Players rose to the occasion, stayed calm when things did not go their way and showed great fighting qualities.

But on Saturday, the Calcutta side is pitted against a team whose coach Derek Pereira is known to be a shrewd tactician.

“We have some surprises in store for East Bengal,” said the Mahindra United coach, who was bothered by the absence of key defender N.P. Pradeep because of a double booking.

Last season, Mohun Bagan bagged the Federation Cup after winning three back-to-back tie-breakers from the quarter-final stage. Mahindra have so far won two matches via the penalty shootout, but they are not looking for a hattrick.

“We would like to finish the match in 90 minutes,” Pereira said. “Sunil Kumar would be the likely replacement for Pradeep.”

Pereira didn’t sound happy with the performance of his three foreigners, but would most likely field the trio again in order to gain a physical advantage.

Besides Edmilson, East Bengal would be bankin on midfielders Alvito D’Cunha and Syed Rahim Nabi, who are in fine nick.

Like in the match against Dempo, the Mumbai outfit is not expected to offer much space and time to the two East Bengal livewires.

Bhattacharya, though, shrugged it off with a smile.

He paused and said: “No one knows Indian footballers better than me. Why don’t you wait till tomorrow evening?”

East Bengal fans have been waiting for more than 10 years. Bhattacharya can perhaps end their frustration.

Advantage EB

East Bengal have won 23 matches and lost 9 out of the 39 times they have clashed with Mahindra United. The remaining 7 games were drawn. The following are lists of their last 10 clashes (East Bengal lead 4-3), and their Federation Cup encounters (1-1):

LAST 10 CLASHES

Dec. 31, 2003 — EB bt Mahindra 1-0 in Mumbai (NFL)
March 5, 2004 — EB bt Mahindra 2-0 in Calcutta (NFL)
Feb. 18, 2005 — EB drew Mahindra 1-1 in Calcutta (NFL)
May 4, 2005 — Mahindra bt EB 1-0 in Calcutta (NFL)
Feb. 6, 2006 — Mahindra bt EB 1-0 in Calcutta (NFL)
April 20, 2006 — Mahindra bt EB 1-0 in Mumbai (NFL)
May 27, 2006 — EB bt Mahindra 2-1 in Mumbai (Super Cup)
Dec. 11, 2006 — EB drew Mahindra 1-1 in Calcutta (IFA Shield)
March 16, 2007 — EB drew Mahindra 2-2 in Mumbai (NFL)
May 15, 2007 — EB bt Mahindra 2-1 in Calcutta (NFL)

IN FEDERATION CUP

April 26, 1993 (semi-final) — Mahindra (0) bt EB (0) 4-2 in tie-breaker in Kozhikode
Jan. 11, 1996 (cluster league) — EB bt Mahindra 2-0 in Kannur

Compiled by HARIPRASAD CHATTOPADHYAY