New Delhi: It’s the Super Cup and two Super Teams will vie for it – Salgaocar SC and Kingfisher East Bengal where the winner takes all – the prize of Rs. 10 lakh. The losers just stay in the audience and applaud.
The Super Cup is the perfect dress rehearsal for the kick-off of the I-League slated on October 22. On paper, the Goan Team, the current Federation Cup and the I-League Champions seem to enjoy an edge but life in the football field is a different proposition. This clash can easily become the defining moment for either of the teams to start the season on the high note which can go on to define the rest of the season for them.
Salgaocar are on a high at the moment. Only last month, they had routed East Bengal 3-1 in the Federation Cup final. But Coach Karim Bencherifa prefers to play it safe. “It’s true we defeated them in the I-League and the Fed Cup and the level of competition is very high between us,” Bencherifa said. “But there’s no place for complacency and we are not taking anything for granted as they are a very strong team.”
East Bengal’s strike force which comprise of Tolgay Ozby and Allan Gow stay a menace for most teams. But Bencherifa feels it best to concentrate on his team’s strength. “It’s our principle that wefocus on our strength rather than focusing on the strength of our rival team. We need to find out our weak links and plug the holes,” he maintained.
“Luckily, we don’t have any injury woes confronting us.”
East Bengal, who saw their Federation Cup dreams smashed by Salgaocar that too on their home turf will look to regain the momentum ahead of the I-League, something which Salgaocar will surely be wary of.
None can deny the presence of match-winners in the East Bengal side -- Robin Singh, Sanju Pradhan and the foreign recruits -- Australian Tolgay Ozby and Scottish Alan Gow are capable of settling the issue on their own. Despite Bencherifa dismissing them, Gow and Tolgay would stay East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan’s best bet.
The red-and-gold stay a bit jittery for the tie – after all they have travelled a lot in the last few days. Morgan hopes the boys recover in time for the Super Cup.
The kick-off is slated for 7pm.
ROLL OF HONOUR:
1996-97 (Margao): East Bengal 0 (4) beat JCT 0 (2) – in tie-breaker
1997-98 (Kolkata): Salgaocar Club 1 (Samir Abbas) beat Mohun Bagan 0
1998-99 (New Delhi): Salgaocar 1 (Alvito D’Cunha) beat Mohun Bagan 0
2002-03 (Kolkata): Mahindra United 1 (4) beat East Bengal 1 (3) – in tie-breaker
2004-05 (Kozikode): Sporting Clube de Goa 3 (Dudu Omagbemi (brace) & Chidi Edeh beat Dempo 0
2005-06 (Mumbai): East Bengal 2 (Endem, Alvito D’Cunha) beat Mahindra United 1 (Yusif Yakubu)
2006-07 (Gurgaon): Mohun Bagan 4 (Bhaichung Bhutia – hat-trick, Lalawmpuia) beat Dempo 0
2007-08 (Gurgaon): Dempo Club 1 (Chidi Edeh) beat East Bengal 0
2008-09 (Gurgaon): Mohun Bagan 2 (NS Manju, Jose Barreto) beat Churchill Brothers 1 (Deepak Mondal – self-goal)
2010-11 (Gurgaon): Dempo Club 3 (Ranti Martins – hat-trick) beat East Bengal 1 (Penn Orji)
HIGHLIGHTS:
* East Bengal, Salgaocar Club, Mohun Bagan and Dempo SC have each won the Cup twice.
* Mahindra United and Sporting Clube de Goa have won the Cup once each.
* Mohun Bagan recorded the highest victory margin when they beat Dempo SC 4-0 at Gurgaon in 2006-07.
* Federation Cup Winners have won the Cup five times while NFL/I League Champions have won it thrice and NFL Runners Up twice.
* Bhaichung Bhutia (Mohun Bagan) in 2006-07 and Ranti Martins (Dempo SC) in 2010-11, have scored hat-tricks in previous editions.
* Alvito D'Cunha (Salgaocar Club and East Bengal) and Chidi Edeh (Sporting Clube de Goa and Dempo SC) have scored for two different teams in the Cup.
By Upender Singh