Two wily football brains will match their wits against each other when East Bengal and Mahindra United face off in the final of the 29th Federation Cup here on Saturday.
Mahindra United coach Subrata Bhattacharjee and his East Bengal counterpart Derrick Pereira have made excellent use of the resources at their disposal and impressed with their tactical decisions throughout the competition.
The two teams were not among the favourites when the tournament started on September 4, but have defied the odds to come within one match of the title.
East Bengal will attempt to win their fifth Federation Cup, the first since July-August 1996, in their 12th final.
Their successes include two instances — 1978 and 1980 — when they shared the trophy with Mohun Bagan, their arch rivals whom they defeated in the semifinal. Mahindra, on the other hand, have won the trophy in 2002-03 and 2005-06 and have two losses in finals in 1991 and 1993 in their earlier avatar as Mahindra and Mahindra.
“Nobody else would have reached the final with the team that I have got,” Bhattacharjee, who distinguished himself as a player and coach with Mohun Bagan before moving to his present assignment this season, said.
‘Need to be cautious’
He had won seven Federation Cups as a player for Bagan and also guided that club to two National Football League titles. “We have to be cautious against Mahindra. We have come such a long way in this tournament and don’t want to be pipped at the post,” Bhattacharjee said.
East Bengal have not won a national level tournament for a long time and would hope they can end their title drought at the Guru Nanak Stadium.
Mahindra are also not the force they were two years ago when they won the National Football League as well as the Federation Cup. They have lost quality players such as defender Mahesh Gawli, ace midfielder and former India captain S Venkatesh and forward Abhishek Yadav which makes them a bit thinner on experience.
East Bengal will be boosted by the return of Brazilian Edmilson Marques, who has recovered from his injury, meaning Dipendu will return to the bench. Midfielder Mehrajuddin Wadoo is a slight injury worry for East Bengal and either Dipankar Roy or Abdul Samad can get an opportunity.
In the semifinal, Mahindra were sans their influential midfielder Steven Dias without whose penetrating runs and crosses, their attack lacked considerable bite. Even as Dias returns, the Mumbai outfit will be without defender N P Pradeep and midfielder K Ajayan as they have collected two yellow cards in the competition so far.