1657 days and counting, that’s more than four years and six months when East Bengal last won against their bitter rivals Mohun Bagan in a Kolkata derby.
But with a new coach and a brand new team at helm, East Bengal will look to take fresh guard in Durand Cup’s much-anticipated clash against their traditional rivals Bagan, on Saturday. Carles Cuardat, who coached Bengaluru FC to the Indian Super League title in 2018-19, offers a fresh ray of hope to turn the tide for the red-and-golds. East Bengal finished ninth in their inaugural ISL season, while in 2021–22, they slumped to the bottom of the 11-team table, winning just one out of the 20 matches. In the last season, they finished at ninth spot with six wins from 20 matches.
The Spaniard is well aware that he has a big task in hand, but having assembled a strong squad with the likes of Cleiton Silva and Javier Siverio up front, he has rekindled the hopes of fans. East Bengal had last won against Mohun Bagan, way back in January 27, 2019 in the I-League. Since then, Mohun Bagan have won eight on the trot and drew once against East Bengal across all competitions. The Durand Cup derby will also mark the first big match of the season, before the teams go into the ISL mode. On paper, Mohun Bagan, the ISL reigning champions, appear to be clear favourites to hold on to their bragging rights but the fact that the star-studded side is yet to come on their own will give Cuardat an opportunity.
Mohun Bagan assembled a young side that delivered a 5-0 win against a sloppy Bangladesh Army FT in the Durand Cup opener. But against I-League champions Punjab FC, they appeared rusty in securing a 2-0 win. While the first was a gifted own goal by Punjab, it took Mohun Bagan 48th minute to score their first goal. As for Mohun Bagan, they cannot afford to go all out as they have a much-important AFC Cup match in four days’ time. “AFC Cup is important because it’s international competition. Obviously, the players train, they are in the season and it’s the last match before the AFC Cup, so we will look to win it,” said Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando. Mohun Bagan have six points from two matches and another win will confirm their quarterfinal berth in the tournamen
