Mohun Bagan broke the hearts of Bengaluru FC fans in the rain on Sunday night, capturing the I-League title before a raucous, if mostly hostile, crowd at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
In a dramatic denouement to the domestic football season, Bagan earned the draw it needed with a late goal, thus winning the championship after a gap of 13 years. The home team had led till the 86th minute, and would have defended its crown had it held on for the win.
With the official attendance a staggering 21,786, the stadium was soaked in an atmosphere of anticipation and fervid excitement even ahead of kick-off. Some 2,000 Mohun Bagan supporters had gathered in one corner, several hundreds of them having made the long journey from Kolkata. They were rewarded for their presence.
Kaushik Dutta, who had travelled from Mumbai with his wife and son, wept uncontrollably after the final whistle. “Mohun Bagan is our life. My grandfather supported this club, my father supported this club, and my son supports it. This is something greater than football,” he said. Bagan’s fans had endured a tense wait until the game’s final minutes for the goal, whereupon they erupted in celebration. “We hit the bar early on and that is considered a bad omen,” said Dutta. “But finally we have done it after 13 years.”
Although BFC’s evening ended in disappointment, its fans contributed to and revelled in the ambience. “This is an electric atmosphere,” said Prasad Kanade, a second year telecommunication engineering student from BMSCE.
“I was a regular here last season but this is my first match this time. There was a big campaign on social media. We encouraged all our friends to attend this match,” said Sulagna Ghosh, originally from Kolkata but an employee of IT firm Cognizant in the city. “I wish there were more Bagan supporters though,” she said.
Peter Pitier, a South Sudanese student at Teachers’ Academy, was astounded by the turnout. “This is wonderful,” he said. “I did not know football had such a big following in India.”
