By Abhishek Roy, IANS
Ludhiana : Plagued by injuries and upset stomachs of players, defending champions Mohun Bagan face an uphill task when they take on archrivals East Bengal in the semi-finals of the 29th Federation Cup football tournament here Tuesday.
For both teams it hasn’t been smooth sailing in the tournament so far, but having to face tough opponents in the last couple of matches will obviously come in handy for both sides in the semi final.
Having spent 17 years as a player with Mohun Bagan, Subrata Bhattacharya raised many eyebrows when he decided to coach city rivals East Bengal earlier this season. In his first acid test against his former club last month, Bhattacharya failed but not without a fight in a Kolkata league match. Despite being down 4-1, East Bengal came back strongly in the match courtesy a brace from Alvito D’Cunha and Brazilian Edmilson Marques.
On Tuesday at the Guru Nanak Stadium here, the East Bengal coach will be again banking on the duo. The last time East Bengal won the tournament was in 1996.
“My boys played well against JCT, which was a better team than us. But an East Bengal and Mohun Bagan match is altogether a different thing. It has a psychological effect,” said Bhattacharya on the eve of the match here Monday.
JCT were always a better team than East Bengal, but the Kolkata team played cleverly and managed a 3-2 win to get into the semis Sunday. But East Bengal had to pay a heavy price as Marques was replaced during the match after the Brazilian forward injured himself in a clash with JCT goalie Karanjit Singh.
“I have spoken to the boys after the match to sort out some of the problems and hopefully everything will be fine during the match against Mohun Bagan. But I am afraid about Marques and not sure whether he will be available for the match,” said the East Bengal coach at the hotel where his team is staying.
Just opposite the East Bengal hotel, nothing seems to be fine for their city rivals as half the team is down with either upset stomachs or viral fever. Despite all the odds, Mohun Bagan still came out all guns blazing and trounced Viva Kerala 3-1 in the quarters Sunday.
“Health is a big concern for my team and they are slowly improving. It is always a big match for us and I think the boys will be ready by the time of the semis,” said Mohun Bagan’s Brazilian coach Roberto Carlos Pereira Da’Silva.
Pereira’s trump card and forward Jose Ramires Barreto, however, said that East Bengal would be the favourites given Mohun Bagan team’s health condition, but captain Bhaichung Bhutia was of a different opinion.
“In a derby match no team is a favourite. The team that plays well wins,” said Bhutia.