Kolkata Derby

Further information: List of Kolkata Derby Matches

Kolkata Derby
The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on a matchday of Kolkata Derby in 2020
Other namesBoro Match (Big Match)
LocationKolkata, West Bengal
Teams
First meeting
Latest meetingMohun Bagan 1–2 East Bengal
2024 Calcutta Premier Division (13 July 2024)
BroadcastersSports18 (Indian Super League)
StadiumsVivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan
East Bengal Ground
Mohun Bagan Ground
Kanchenjunga Stadium
Eden Gardens
Statistics
Meetings totalTotal: 398
Competitive: 373[3]
Top scorerBhaichung Bhutia (19)
All-time seriesTotal:
East Bengal: 142
Mohun Bagan: 129
Drawn: 127
Competitive:
East Bengal: 137
Mohun Bagan: 119
Drawn: 117
Largest victoryEast Bengal 5–0 Mohun Bagan
30 September 1975
(IFA Shield Final)[4]
Location of the two teams in Kolkata, as well as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, the shared home ground of the two clubs.

The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match") is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.[5] The rivalry between these two teams is over 100 years old, and the matches witnessed large audience attendance and rivalry between patrons. It is considered to be one of the biggest Asian footballing rivalry. The first match was played on 8 August 1921 in Cooch Behar Cup and latest match of this historical derby was played on 10 March 2024 in Indian Super League. The Kolkata Derby is considered to be greatest derby in Asian Football and also one of the biggest derbies in the world.[6]

The two clubs meet at least 3 times a year, twice in the Indian Super League and once in the Calcutta Football League. Often these two clubs met in other competitions like the Durand Cup, IFA Shield, Super Cup etc.

Both clubs have large and dedicated fan bases around the world, and 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 (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).[7][8] The celebrations of a derby win is traditionally marked with dishes prepared from either ilish or golda chingri, depending on which team wins.[9] The East Bengal supporters celebrate their win with ilish courses, being associated to the eastern region of Bengal (now Bangladesh), where as the Mohun Bagan fans celebrate with courses of golda chingri.[10][11][12]

  1. ^ "First meeting". sportstar.thehindu.com. April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ "A trip down memory lane".
  3. ^ Sharma, Amitabha Das (27 November 2020). "ISL 2020-21, Kolkata Derby: Stats add intrigue to East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan rivalry". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Kolkata Derby's Most Notable Encounter – East Bengal 5-0 Mohun Bagan". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  5. ^ Caless, Kit (19 February 2017). "クリケットの街から眺めるインドサッカー界の未来" [The future of Indian football seen from the city of cricket]. vice.com (in Japanese). Vice Japan. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ^ Adnan Bhat. "The Kolkata derby: Asia's fiercest footballing rivalry". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ "100 years of Kolkata derby". 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Kolkata derby history". Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. ^ Sen, Shomini (7 September 2016). "East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: The War Between Hilsa and Prawns". News18. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ Nag, Utathya. "Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal rivalry: Divided by cultures, united by passion". Olympics. Olympics. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Old Firm in Calcutta". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  12. ^ "16th August: The day of eternal shame in Indian football". Retrieved 16 May 2024.