Big home support and statistics may favour East Bengal when it takes on the I-League champion Salgaocar SC in the final of the Federation Cup football here on Thursday.
East Bengal is only a match away from recording a Federation Cup hat-trick of titles which Mohun Bagan had done in the past.
Statistics remain heavily loaded in favour of the Kolkata team (East Bengal has won its seven times) but the final will be more about determining the tactical supremacy of two of the best coaches of the country — East Bengal's Trevor Morgan and Salgaocar's Karim Bencherifa.
Moroccan Bencherifa has won more trophies by coaching three giants of Indian football – Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan before getting the Salgaocar job — where as Morgan has managed only the East Bengal team.
Performance record
As far as performance is concerned, Salgaocar has better record than East Bengal. The Goan team appears the most compact outfit which can be gauged by the fact that it scored the highest number of goals (eight) among all the sides while conceding none since the quarterfinals.
East Bengal has been comparatively erratic as it managed to win by the slenderest of margins in its progress to the title round. The home side has scored six while conceding three goals and that sets it on a lower plane compared to the visitor.
“We have not been at our best in the tournament and will go to the final as underdog,” said Morgan after the team's last practice on Wednesday before the big match. “Whatever be the statistic my players have shown great determination and character in reaching the final,” the East Bengal coach said. But injuries to some of his players would be a bit of a concern, he added.
Mehtab Hussain, whom Morgan called the best midfielder of the country, was nursing a groin injury and would be a doubtful starter while the team's Scottish forward Alan Gow and defender Raju Gaekwad were also nursing minor injuries, said the coach.
East Bengal booked the second AFC Cup berth the moment it reached the final as its opponent, Salgaocar, had already ensured its qualification becoming the I-League champion. Morgan insisted that it would not dampen the team's motivation as he would like to “be there (in AFC Cup) as a champion and not a losing finalist.”
Bencherifa, who guided Mohun Bagan to its 13th title in 2008 before East Bengal started it winning run, would be eying a repeat of the 1997 final result which had Salgaocar beating East Bengal (2-1) at the same venue to clinch the title. Suspension of midfielder Mehrajuddin Wadoo and injury to Brazilian defender Luciano Sabrosa remained a cause for concern for the coach but he was more worried about the standard of refereeing in the tournament.
