In the last five years, Goan clubs have won the Indian national league four times, Kolkata sides have finished in the top three four times. Dempo have won the league thrice in the last five years, Mohun Bagan have been among the top three only twice in as many years. Churchill Brothers finished runners-up last year and won the league this season, East Bengal have been among the top three only twice in the last five years.
Statistics might be the missing link in the three-piece jigsaw that also comprises lies and damn lies, but for once, statistics do not seem to lie. Apparently.
The last time a Kolkata side won the national league was in 2003-2004 when East Bengal, a traditional powerhouse and one of the two sides that contest arguably the biggest derby in Asia, finished four points ahead of Dempo. It was their second successive league triumph and one that perhaps demonstrated that Kolkata is truly the hub of Indian football.
Since then the two Kolkata giants, namely Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, have consistently managed to deceive but have always managed to fail. In 2004-2005 East Bengal finished third, in 2005-2006 they ended up second, in 2006-2007 they were fifth, in 2007-2008 they were eighth and in 2008-2009 coach Subhash Bhowmick managed to steer them away from relegation to sixth in the table.
Mohun Bagan were eighth, third, eighth again (equivalent to third from bottom), fourth and second in 2004-2005,2005-2006,2006-2007,2007-2008 and 2008-2009 respectively.
And it is not only the results that exhibit how far Goa has traveled to become a footballing haven, and a cultured one too, it is also the means. For the past few years, Dempo SC have been playing the most enjoyable football in India and this season it has been Churchill who have been the best team, both in terms of points and in terms of playing well.
No surprise then that it was Churchill who won the league this season, finishing three points ahead of second placed Mohun Bagan, scoring 53 goals in the process. This was their maiden league title.
Churchill's nearest challengers might have been Kolkata giants and former national league winners Mohun Bagan but it was their battling spirit combined with the rub of the green that led them to a record 10 league wins in a row. Bagan's football was scintillating at times, but it was inclined more towards the awkwardly rampaging and often erratic football played by Atletico Madrid of Spain rather than towards the galactic football of Catalunya giants FC Barcelona.
There were so many times that Bagan got of jail, Marcos Pereira’s creativity, Bhaichung Bhutia’s class and Jose Baretto's technique and work ethic compensating for lack of depth in the squad and for an error-strewn defence. It was their team spirit and self-conviction that won them the games and led them to second place in the table.
But while things on the pitch might have altered somewhat, things off it have not, at least not too much. The Kolkata derby still remains the most keenly contested match in Indian football, fans in Kolkata are the most passionate in the country, the rich footballing culture in the City of Joy and in (West) Bengal remains unparalleled and Mohun Bagan remain the country’s most well known club.
But still, there's no denying the fact that the rest of India has eventually caught up with Kolkata; maybe they did that some time back. After Dempo's lackluster 0-0 draw with Chirag United in the I-League at the Barasat Stadium in late March, Dempo coach Armando Colaco blamed their-nothing-to-play-for-situation for their insipid performance
, but remarked how the coach of a foreign side that had played against them was impressed with their football. Which is as much true as flattering, revealing the depth of football in the country.
Dempo reached the semi-finals of the AFC Cup last year and top their group this season too. As for Mohun Bagan, four successive defeats in their group imply that they are out.
Moreover, next season there would be only three teams from Kolkata-Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Chirag United, as many as Mumbai would have and one fewer than Goa. More than anything, it adds to the diversity of Indian football as the I-League 2009-2010 would have teams from Kerala, Pune and the North East too but maybe the fact that there would be one fewer side from Kolkata in the Indian top flight also demonstrates that the power of football in India is shifting, if it hasn’t already shifted, from the east to the west.
Subhankar Mondal
