Soccer Scene

Just like the other metropolitian cities Kolkata has many faces. People of Kolkata are crazy about sports and when it comes to football, Kolkata is the mecca which is infamous for its sheer enthusiasm of its people , passion, fan following and emotions that run deep and high exhibited in all forms of sport. A player can turn into a  villain or a hero in a moment’s notice. It is this sharply contrasting degree of emotion that makes Kolkata football unique. The crowd can exert pressure on a player as well as inspire him to do wonderful things. Another thing that typifies Kolkata football is the derby, the “Boro match”.

The frenzied excitement of the Indian club football scene with crowds that turn up in tsunamiseque proportions is a scene worth witnessing. Its only befitting that Asia's biggest stadium, the oval shaped Salt Lake Stadium, popularly referred to as the Yuva Bharathi Krirangan has a seating capacity for 1,20,000 spectators.

The Kolkata derby is contested between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal – two neighbouring yet viciously rivalled clubs. It doesn’t matter if the derby is a title decider or not. On a derby day, only the derby matters; everything else pales into oblivion. A club might finish 7th in the table, but a derby win will always give its fans bragging rights. The derby will generate a sizable crowd irrespective of its importance. Even on an  unofficial derby match sans star players a crowd of above 70,000 can be expected.

Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have contested in hundreds of derby matches. Some matches have been forgettable drab affairs. However, there are some matches which has become part of the folklore of Indian football. 

Ever since its inception, The Salt Lake Stadium has primarily ben hosting football matches. Some of India's renowned football clubs like Mohan Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting are all based in Kolkata. Important football matches both at the local and national level are regularly hosted at this awesome stadium.

The huge size of the Salt Lake stadium will overwhelm you, along with the state-of-the-art technology, seating arrangements, to the electronic scoreboard and lighting, the latest technological gadgets have been used making it one of the finest stadiums in Asia.

The ideal way to witness the magical appeal of this great stadium is when a football match involving two local Kolkata clubs are held. The entire Salt Lake stadium is filled choc-a-bloc with tens and thousands of spectators who go berserk right from the word go. They chant, clap, do the customary Mexican dance and if a goal is scored, the entire stadium witnesses a euphoria of sorts.

The Salt Lake stadium has not only been a citadel of sorts as far as Indian football is concerned but has also a pioneering role as far as promoting atheletic meets are concerned. Apart from the football ground, this magnificent stadium also has a synthetic athletic track surrounding the football ground. This is the only stadium in the whole of Eastern India which has the facility of synthetic athletic track.

The stars of Indian football like Baichung Bhutia, Vijayan and company have left their indelible mark on this stadium. Many a great matches have been played in this magnificent stadium which is forever etched in the memory of die hard football fans.

When Brazil won the last World Cup in 2002 the streets and bylanes of Kolkata resembled to the ones in Rio-de-Janeiro, replicate with the national flag of Brazil and the famous yellow jersey being displayed on every nook and corner of the city. Perhaps there was more celebrations and fanfare in Kolkata than in 'Rio' itself. 

The great footballers of yesteryear and today are regarded as demi-gods in this highly opinionated and football crazy city of India.Be it the 'para club' or the common man on the street, there is no dearth of knowledge about the 'Great game' and everyone has his opinions and predictions on the game. The craze for football in this city is beyond compare with other Indian cities. 

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