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.
LUDHIANA: 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 semi-final here.
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.
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 on Saturday.
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.
"Nobody gave us much of a chance of reaching the final so we were all the more motivated to prove them wrong," Mahindra goalkeeper Sandip Nandy said.
Pereira has won three Federation Cups as a player, including a triumph for Salgaocar over East Bengal in Kolkata in 1997, and would be looking forward to claim his second as Mahindra coach.
"This would certainly be a more satisfying win if it happens," Pereira said.
Both coaches gave ample proof of their tactical acumen as they guided their teams to the title clash.
In the semifinal, Bhattacharjee found his team down by an early goal and wasted little time in bringing on striker Dipendu Biswas in place of Debabrata Roy, a move which turned out to be a masterstroke.
Biswas scored one goal and set up two more as the defending champions lost 2-3.
East Bengal have had the tougher road to the finals as they got past Kolkata rivals Mohammedan Sporting before upsetting hosts JCT in the quarterfinals.
They 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.
Mahindra got past Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-0 in their opening match but had to wait till the penalty shootout in their last two rounds.
Against Sporting Clube-de-Goa and Dempo Sports Club, Pereira replaced Nandy with his shootout expert Subhashish Roy Chowdhury just before the tie-breaker and was rewarded each time as the substitute's tall frame and antics on the goal line unnerved rival penalty takers.
In the semifinal, Mahindra were sans their influential midfielder Steven Dias without whose penetrating runs and crosses, their attack lacked considerable bite.
However, Pereira frustrated National League champions Dempo in the midfield and took the game into a penalty shootout.
"There are no secrets in football. One only reaps rewards of hard work," he said.
Bhattacharjee admitted he would like to finish the match in open play itself and Pereira also said he would prefer to win the game in 90 minutes as they had a day less to recover.
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