Opposition

There are many soccer clubs in Calcutta. Calcutta is in fact crazy
about the game. It's the game of the less fortunate in this city. The
rich and relaxed play cricket and golf. In many families where the
income is abysmally low the son is encouraged to take up soccer. Some
of the great names of Calcutta football have emerged from faceless,
nameless localities. But it was not like this always. In the fifties
and sixties when there was no television and very little entertainment
soccer ruled the minds of people. It was still the game of the masses.
Yet, it was considered prestigious to take up soccer as a profession.
This was the era of the big clubs. Each group formed its own soccer
club. The club that shone the brightest was the red and gold outfit,
East Bengal. Most of its supporters were poor and regarded
unfashionable. It was this ragtag club that won honour after honour,
trophy after trophy. Every time East Bengal won, shrimps were cooked in
the households of its supporters.
Times have changed. The standard of soccer in Calcutta is now
ludicrous. Most of the players are either from Africa or Brazil. The
faithful support-base of East Bengal is however intact. It is the only
club in the country which has won an international tournament. The team
has recently qualified for the finals of the Federation Cup. This
competition is held among the best clubs of the country. Each club
tries it's hardest and the standard of the game is as high it can
possibly be in India. To claim the trophy this time East Bengal must
beat Tea Garden XI. The match is to be played in Camelia Stadium in
Darjeeling. The stadium has been built only recently and no one knows
what its like. It is not possible to fly to Darjeeling directly from
Calcutta. The East Bengal team took the morning flight to Tiger Grove
which is an army base.
The hosts had informed East Bengal authorities that a bus would take
the players to Darjeeling from Tiger Grove. It took a while for the
players to collect the luggage. After waiting four long hours for the
bus or anything else to show up the team manager decided to hire a
vehicle. There were twenty-four people in their group. No buses were in
sight. Five jeeps were hired in the end. The fifth jeep carried the
luggage. As soon as the jeeps entered Darjeeling city they were stopped
by some well-dressed people. The manager of East Bengal, Mr Bomik was
already quite tense. He got down and was about to speak when a tall man
shook his hand. He said, "I am Mr Dutt from Tea Garden XI. We welcome
East Bengal to Darjeeling." Others joined Mr Dutt in greeting Mr Bomik
and the team members. They were led into a beautiful bus and driven to
Hotel Teatime where they were going to stay. After the players had
checked into their rooms they remembered their luggage. The match was
scheduled for afternoon the next day. They needed their equipment to
stretch, to practise and they needed clean clothes. However the jeep
carrying the suitcases was nowhere in sight. Mr Bomik was forced to buy
clothes for his team.
The luggage arrived only three hours before the match. The driver
related a long story about an accident and being detained by the
police. Of course no one was willing to believe him. As the players
began dressing for the game Mr Bomik unleashed his famed vocal tonic.
He claimed very often that it was his tonic that won matches for his
team. A luxuryliner-like bus soon arrived to take the team to the
stadium.
Camelia Stadium is beautiful. Both the soil and the grass are imported.
This was the first game to be played at this multipurpose stadium and
the stands were really packed. Play commenced at exactly three pm. The
crowd kept on cheering lustily for the home team. It seemed that Tea
Garden XI were a little too careful about their tackling. Each time
their boys collided with East Bengal players they would stop short of
apologizing. The strength of the hosts was really their defence. Rarely
did East Bengal's main hope Bhotia gain entry into the opponent's half.
In fact he was marked constantly by two tall men from the Tea Garden
XI. The Nigerian forward from East Bengal called Okoro and the
Brazilian, Junior did make smart moves once in a while near the
opposition penalty box. But the ball was always cleared to safety. The
hosts themselves made no effort to score goals in the first half. It
was as if they were playing merely to defend. The referee then declared
the half-time break. The East Bengal boys were shocked to find that no
refreshments were available to them. Then, the second half commenced.
Before the visitors could bat an eyelid the hosts were awarded three
penalties one by one. All three were converted into goals. All the
pressure was now on East Bengal. But Bhotia and his boys did not give
up. Bhotia initiated an attack from the left flank. Okoro and Junior
joined in. Playing in small passes they reached the penalty box. Then,
Bhotia gently put the ball into the net. Two more goals were scored in
similar fashion-one by Okoro, the other by Junior. The scores were
level. The hosts were now desperate. Their midfielder Dindin took a
shot at the goal. The ball was intercepted by Junior who started
running across the field. By the time he stopped he was inside the
host's penalty box. Dora, the East Bengal goalkeeper had quietly left
his charge and was standing close to Junior. Junior passed the ball to
him and Dora used his left foot to score the goal. The referee blew the
final whistle with the score reading 4-3. East Bengal had won the
Federation Cup.