The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match") is the football match in Kolkata, between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.[6] 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 19 October 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.[7]

Quick Facts Other names, Location ...
Kolkata Derby
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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 meetingEast Bengal 0–2 Mohun Bagan
19 October 2024
(Indian Super League)
Next meetingMohun Bagan v
East Bengal

11 January 2025
(Indian Super League)
BroadcastersSports18 (Indian Super League)
Stadiums
Statistics
Meetings totalTotal: 400
Competitive: 374[3]
Top scorerBhaichung Bhutia (19)
All-time seriesTotal:
East Bengal: 137
Mohun Bagan: 134
Drawn: 129
Competitive:
East Bengal: 132
Mohun Bagan: 123
Drawn: 119
Largest victoryEast Bengal 5–0
Mohun Bagan
30 September 1975
(IFA Shield Final)[4]
Largest goal scoringMohun Bagan 5–3
East Bengal
25 October 2009
(I-League)[5]
Longest win streakMohun Bagan (8)
(2019-2023)
Location of the two teams in Kolkata, as well as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, the shared home ground of the two clubs.
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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, or Super Cup.

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).[8][9] The celebrations of a derby win is traditionally marked with dishes prepared from either ilish or golda chingri, depending on which team wins.[10] 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.[11][12][13]

Origins

Mohun Bagan is one of the oldest existing club of India having been established in 1889 in the city, then known under its anglicized name, Calcutta and till date one of the two most successful clubs in India, the other being East Bengal. The significant British influence in what was, until 1911, the nation's capital, ensured the game flourished, drawing players from other regions, and it is against this backdrop in which today's rivalry took root.[14]

In 1920, the Jora Bagan club took field against Mohun Bagan who chose play without their star halfback Sailesh Bose, much to the chagrin of club vice-president Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri.[15] Such was the industrialist's displeasure, he decided to form a new club and East Bengal was born. As Chaudhuri and his co-founders hailed from eastern part of Bengal, essentially now modern-day Bangladesh, the club became an identity for the people who migrated from that region during the partition of Bengal. This resulted in the clubs being backed by two different socioeconomic groups, although this has largely changed over period of time. The first ever clash happened on 8 August 1921 in Cooch Behar Cup semifinal which ended in a goalless draw. Mohun Bagan would win the following replayed match on 10 August 1921 by defeating East Bengal 3–0, courtesy to the goals from Rabi Ganguly, Poltu Dasgupta and Abhilash Ghosh. But the first official meeting is considered to be the CFL match-up held on 28 May 1925 at the Calcutta Football Ground (now Mohun Bagan Ground) where East Bengal won 1–0 with the help of a solitary goal from Nepal Chakraborty.[16][17][18][19]

Due to a lack of proper maintenance and restoration of data, after many pieces of research, the overall matches including competitive, walkovers and friendly matches data have been retrieved as far as possible. Though the data is just an approximation, as of 19 October 2024, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 400 matches up till now, where East Bengal have been triumphant 137 times while Mohun Bagan 134 times, which also includes walkover wins.

Colours

Traditional

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The earliest kit worn by the Mohun Bagan
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The earliest kit worn by the East Bengal

Current

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Mohun Bagan
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East Bengal

Brief history of the Derby

1921 onwards

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News report, by The Statesman, of first official Kolkata Derby, that took place on 28 May 1925.
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News report, by The Statesman, of second Kolkata Derby, that took place on 10 August 1921, which was the replayed semi-final of Cooch Behar Cup after it went into a goalless draw the first time.

The first match between the sides was played on 8 August 1921 in the Coochbehar Cup, and the semifinal match ended in a 0–0 draw. Mohun Bagan won the replayed semifinal 3–0 on 10 August 1921 which was the first-ever win in the derby.[20] Rabi Ganguly scored the first-ever derby goal in that match, and the other two goals were scored by Poltu Dasgupta and Abhilash Ghosh.

The first official match between the sides was played on 28 May 1925 in CFL, where East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 1–0 with the help of a solitary goal from Nepal Chakraborty. Mohun Bagan holds the record of scoring the fastest goal in a derby (24 July 1976, a 17-second goal from Md Akbar of Mohun Bagan). They have the record of winning two consecutive derbies on two successive days (7 and 8 August 1935) and had the unique distinction of losing only one derby in 7 years (1933 to 1939).[21] During this phase, they won 29 trophies. Out of 23 derbies they won 12, drew 10 and lost only 1 against their arch-rivals. It was a golden period in the history of the club.

A few notable victories include the Darbhanga Shield match on 5 September 1934, when Mohun Bagan won 4–1 (Amiya Deb scored all four goals). Another memorable instance where they scored four goals against was in Raja Memorial Shield final played on 6 August 1937 at the common ground of both the clubs (Eden Gardens Stadium), where Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 4–0 and Asit Ganguly scored three goals in that match.

The 1960s proved a golden period for Mohun Bagan and it concluded in perfect fashion for the Mariners. Having already won the league, Mohun Bagan then did the double, defeating their rivals on their own ground in the IFA Shield final. The 3–1 victory credited to the then revolutionary 4–2–4 formation employed by innovative coach Amal Dutta.[22][23]

The wheel eventually turned, and the 1970s was East Bengal's decade.[24] The Red and Gold Brigade remained undefeated in the Derbies for 1932 days.[a] In fact, they lost only one derby (that too outside Kolkata) in six years (1970 to 1975) which culminated in a 5–0 IFA Shield win over their great rivals. The Red and Golds won with a record 5–0 scoreline and, with it, a record of five consecutive Shield victories. Such was the ignominy surrounding the heavy defeat that several Mohun Bagan players spent the night holed up on a boat in the Ganges trying to escape the wrath of shell-shocked supporters.[25] Umakanto Palodhi, an ardent Mohun Bagan fan, committed suicide. He wrote in his suicide note that in his next life he will born as a Mohun Bagan footballer and will take revenge of that 0–5 defeat.[26]

On 16 August 1980, 16 football fans died due to stampede and riot inside the Eden Gardens stadium, Kolkata on the occasion of a Kolkata Derby match in the Calcutta Football League.[27][28] It is now remembered as Football Lover's Day.

The most memorable derby on many accounts took place in 1997 at the semi-final of the Federation Cup, when a remarkable crowd of 1,31,781[29] – a record attendance for any sport in India – filled a heaving Salt Lake Stadium. India's most recognizable footballer, Baichung Bhutia, took centre stage, scoring a hat-trick as East Bengal triumphed 4–1.[30]

On 25 October 2009, Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 5–3 with Chidi Edeh scoring a hat-trick for Bagan (4 goals) in an I-League encounter.[31][32]

On 6 September 2015, another memorable derby took place when East Bengal FC equaled the record for the highest margin of victory in a Calcutta Football League Derby as they triumphed 4–0 against Mohun Bagan. South Korean forward Do Dong-hyun scored a free-kick brace while Mohammed Rafique and Rahul Bheke scored the other two as the Red and Gold brigade matched their own record which they set back on 23 May 1936, when they defeated the Green and Maroons by the similar 4–0 scoreline with goals from Laxminarayan, K. Prasad, Murgesh and Majid.[33][34]

On 29 January 2022, in an ISL derby Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 3–1 scores with a hat-trick from Kiyan Nassiri, son of former East Bengal player Jamshid Nassiri, and became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the derby.[35] East Bengal lost six consecutive derbies since 2019.

On 25 February 2023, Mohun Bagan made the record of winning back to back eight consecutive derbies— one in the Durand Cup, one in the I-League and six in the ISL (From 19 January 2020).

First official derby

More information East Bengal, 1–0 ...
East Bengal10Mohun Bagan
Nepal Chakravarty Report
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Calcutta Ground (now Mohun Bagan Ground), Calcutta
Referee: C. R. Clayton
More information Captain, Mona Dutta ...

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India
Purna
India
Prafulla
India
Santosh
India
Nani
India
Bijay
India
Haran
India
Surya
India
Hemanga
India
Nepal
India
Mana
India
Mona
GK India Purna Das
DF India Prafulla Chatterjee
DF India Santosh Ganguly
MF India Bijay Hari Sen
MF India Haran Saha
MF India Nani Gosai
ST India Surya Chakravarty
ST India Hemanga Bose
ST India Mona Dutta
ST India Nepal Chakravarty
ST India Mana Mallick
Captain Mona Dutta

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India
Nripen
India
Gostho
India
R.Das
India
Sudhangshu
India
Tarak
India
Balai
India
M. Ghosh
India
Rabi
India
Umapati
India
Poltu
India
Khetra
GK India Nripen Bhaduri
DF India Gostha Pal
DF India R.Das
MF India Tarak Sur
MF India Balai Chatterjee
MF India Sudhangshu Bose
ST India M. Ghosh
ST India Rabi Ganguly
ST India Poltu Das Gupta
ST India Umapati Kumar
ST India Khetra Bose
Captain Gostha Pal
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Statistics

Trophy counts

Major Honours (International, National and State)

This following table includes only those titles recognised and organised by the AFC, AIFF and IFA :[36][37]

Recent results of Kolkata Derby

The records of the meetings between the sides since 2009 have been listed below.

More information Date, Home Team ...
Date Home Team Result Away Team Stadium Competition
11 January 2025Mohun BaganTBDEast BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
19 October 2024East Bengal0–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
2 September 2024Mohun Bagan1–1; 3–2 (p)East BengalK. D. Singh Babu StadiumExhibition match
18 August 2024Mohun Bagan[b]East BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganDurand Cup
13 July 2024Mohun Bagan1–2East BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganCFL
10 March 2024East Bengal1–3Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
3 February 2024Mohun Bagan2–2East BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
19 January 2024Mohun Bagan1–3East BengalKalinga StadiumSuper Cup
30 November 2023East Bengal3–0[c]Mohun BaganBankimanjali StadiumCFL
3 September 2023East Bengal0–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganDurand Cup
12 August 2023Mohun Bagan0–1East BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganDurand Cup
25 February 2023East Bengal0–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
29 October 2022Mohun Bagan2–0East BengalVivekananda Yuva Bharati KriranganISL
28 August 2022East Bengal0–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganDurand Cup
29 January 2022Mohun Bagan3–1East BengalFatorda StadiumISL
27 November 2021East Bengal0–3Mohun BaganTilak MaidanISL
19 February 2021Mohun Bagan3–1East BengalFatorda StadiumISL
27 November 2020East Bengal0–2Mohun BaganTilak MaidanISL
15 March 2020East Bengal[d]Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
19 January 2020Mohun Bagan2–1East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
1 September 2019Mohun Bagan0–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
27 January 2019Mohun Bagan0–2East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
16 December 2018East Bengal3–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
2 September 2018East Bengal2–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
21 January 2018East Bengal0–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
3 December 2017Mohun Bagan1–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
24 September 2017East Bengal2–2Mohun BaganKanchenjunga StadiumCFL
14 May 2017Mohun Bagan2–0East BengalBarabati StadiumFederation Cup
9 April 2017Mohun Bagan2–1East BengalKanchenjunga StadiumI-League
12 February 2017East Bengal0–0Mohun BaganKanchenjunga StadiumI-League
7 September 2016East Bengal3–0[e]Mohun BaganKalyani StadiumCFL
2 April 2016East Bengal2–1Mohun BaganKanchenjunga StadiumI-League
23 January 2016Mohun Bagan1–1East BengalKanchenjunga StadiumI-League
6 September 2015East Bengal4–0Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
28 March 2015Mohun Bagan1–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
17 February 2015East Bengal1–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
31 August 2014East Bengal3–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
1 March 2014East Bengal1–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
11 January 2014East Bengal0–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
24 November 2013East Bengal1–0Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
23 May 2013East Bengal3–2Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
17 March 2013East Bengal1–1; 4–2 (p)Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganIFA Shield
9 February 2013Mohun Bagan0–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
9 December 2012East Bengal3–0[f]Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
4 February 2012East Bengal1–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
7 January 2012Mohun Bagan2–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
20 November 2011Mohun Bagan1–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
9 April 2011East Bengal2–1Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
6 February 2011Mohun Bagan1–1East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
26 November 2010Mohun Bagan0–2East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
14 November 2010Mohun Bagan3–3; 2–3 (p)East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganMDS Platinum Jubilee Cup
2 October 2010East Bengal1–0Mohun BaganBarabati StadiumFederation Cup
16 May 2010Mohun Bagan2–1East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
24 April 2010Mohun Bagan0–0East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganCFL
31 December 2009East Bengal2–0Mohun BaganNehru StadiumFederation Cup
25 October 2009Mohun Bagan5–3East BengalVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
22 February 2009East Bengal3–0Mohun BaganVivekananda Yuba Bharati KriranganI-League
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Last updated: 2 September 2024
Source: soccerway.com

    • Since 2009, 53 matches have been played between the teams (including exhibition matches) where:
    1. Mohun Bagan won: 21 (including exhibition match from 2024.)
    2. East Bengal won: 20 (including walkovers from 2016 and 2023 CFL and 2012 I-League.)
    3. 12 matches ended as draws.
    • Highest scorer in a single match — Chidi Edeh (Mohun Bagan), scored 4 goals in 2009.

    Head-to-head ranking in National Football League/I-League and Indian Super League

    1996–97 to 2024–25

    More information R/S ...
    R/S National Football League I-League Indian Super League
    1[g] 2[h] 3[i] 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
    1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
    2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
    3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
    4 4 4 4 4 4
    5 5 5 5 5
    6 6 6 6
    7 7 7
    8 8 8 8
    9 9 9 9 9 9
    10 10
    11 11
    12
    13
    14
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    Note: Red & Gold refers to East Bengal, while Green & White refers to Mohun Bagan.

    See also

    Notes

    1. East Bengal FC lost to Mohun Bagan, first time since their 3–1 defeat in the IFA Shield Final on 20 September 1969, after 1932 days, on 5 January 1975, in the Durand Cup Semi Final at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi by 1–0.
    2. The match was cancelled due to security reasons.[38]
    3. Match was turned into a walkover win for East Bengal after Bagan decided not to field a team, and hence East Bengal was awarded 3 goals and walkover victory.[39][40]
    4. Match was cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 in India.
    5. Match was turned into a walkover win for East Bengal after Bagan decided not to field a team for this game as they claimed their team should've got some time to practice on the pitch which they weren't allowed to, and hence East Bengal was awarded 3 goals and walkover victory.
    6. Match was turned into a walkover win for East Bengal after Bagan decided to forfeit the match at half time.
    7. Mohun Bagan did not qualify in the first season, but was given entry in the next season by then AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dashmunshi.
    8. Only Championship Stage matches taken into account.
    9. Only Championship Stage matches taken into account.

    References

    Further reading

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