"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you, football is much more than that", this is a famous quote from Bill Shankly. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans just proved that right on Sunday as they dismissed rivalries to protest for something bigger than the sport.

In 2005, the whole world saw how football stopped a war when Didiger Drogba picked up the mic and said, 'Please lay down your weapons and hold elections." 19 years later, if it was not for stopping a war, it was indeed for justice that football united people.

The whole of Bengal and Kolkata were getting ready to raise their voice against the heinous offence that took place at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. The banners were ready, the tifos were made, and the rivals for a lifetime were set to be friends for a better cause. But, since the police could provide enough security, the Kolkata derby was cancelled and both teams were given a point. None of the teams, East Bengal or Mohun Bagan Super Giant seemed to complain about that as both qualified for the knockouts.

But, the fans were not happy with the qualification or the shared points. They wanted the match to happen to raise voices for justice.

"দুই গ্যালারির একই স্বর
জাস্টিস ফর আর. জি. কর"

The slogan was ready which meant both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Gallery raising their voice to get justice for R.G. Kar. Soon after the cancellation of the derby, the fan groups of both clubs decided to protest in front of the V.I.P gate of Vivekananda Yuba Bharat Krirangan. The news spread like an accurate pass from Bhaichung Bhutia or a Sunil Chhetri and soon, everyone knew they were up for something big.

West Bengal police had already imposed Section 163 of the BNSS (formerly Section 144 of the CrPC) near the stadium to stop the protestors from any large gathering. But, that did not stop East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and a bit of Mohammedan Sporting fans from raising their voices and gathering in a large number.

Read Also: Durand Cup 2024 quarter-final schedule and fixture: East Bengal to play in Shillong, Mohun Bagan in Jamshedpur 

It was around 4.45 pm IST, that the police started lathi-charge to scatter the crowd, leaving many of the protesters injured. A few were arrested by the police and many lost their shoes and belongings during the lathi charge. However, AIFF President and BJP member Kalyan Chaubey came to the rescue to first request the police to release a few of the detained protestors.

"Football is not involved in any politics:" Kalyan Chaubey

Chaubey was seen among the protesters and said: "The first derby match of the season between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan was scheduled to be held today and the number of police personnel that has been deployed here to stop this match and to arrest the supporters who had come to watch the match, if even half of them were deployed then this match would have taken place today."

"I believe that football is not involved in any politics, it is above all religion, caste. I am fully confident that if you organize the match here, there will be no ruckus, no unrest in the football ground, I am fully confident that all the people will support their teams peacefully but the match should not be shifted from here," Kalyan Chaubey added.

"This fight is not just for Bengal, but for the entire country:" Subhasish Bose

The protest kept on going with the sun setting on the West and with every minute, even on a rainy evening, the voices of "We Want Justice" kept on rising. Mohun Bagan captain and Indian men's national football team defender Subhasish Bose also joined the protesters alongside his wife.

"I've come here as a commoner. Justice is needed to ensure that this incident is never repeated. The culprits should receive proper punishment. We will continue our protests until justice is served," Bose said. 

"For the first time, fans of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Mohammedan Sporting have come together to fight for justice. I am grateful to everyone. This fight is not just for Bengal, but for the entire country.

"Together, we will fight so that no one dares to commit such a heinous act again. I'm a footballer, and the ground means everything to me. But if our mothers and sisters don't feel safe in our state or country, there is nothing more important than addressing that. We all have to come together and fight for their safety. We must protect them and show them respect. I'm here as a common person, without any political affiliation.

"The bigger cause is justice for RG Kar, and I will always stand for that," the defender added.

Later in the night, AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey intervened to bail out all the football fans who were detained by the police during the protest. 

Just left the Police HQ, Lalbazar , after securing bail for our football fans, and ensuring they are not subjected to any trauma of spending night at police station. pic.twitter.com/9dCpOQum6y

— Kalyan Chaubey (@kalyanchaubey) August 18, 2024

With arch-rivals uniting for a greater cause than football, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting fans again proved that sports unite people more than anything in this world.

East Bengal is one of Asia's biggest and most supported football clubs. In October 2020, the club was voted as the most popular football club in India on an AFC poll by its supporters.

The East Bengal Club was established on 1st August 1920 by Suresh Chandra Chaudhury along with some other dignitaries, and the club's first captain was Ramesh Chandra Sen.

The Kolkata-based club has created a lot of records and won so many trophies. The Football club was going through a tough phase as they hadn't won a major trophy since the 2013-14 season.

But, under the new Manager and coaching staff, the Red & Gold Brigade are playing good football. So, let's look at the trophies East Bengal has won in its footballing history.

East Bengal FC Trophies List

East Bengal played their first match in the 1920 Hercules Cup, which was a 7-a-side tournament that they won. They won their first-ever full tournament in 1921 and lifted the Khogendra Shield.

The Red and Gold brigade qualified for the Calcutta Football League 1st division in 1925. They won their first 1st title in 1942. Then the Kolkata-based club lifted their first IFA Shield in 1943. In 1945, East Bengal won their first double, claiming both the Calcutta Football League and the IFA Shield.

From 1949-51, East Bengal became the first team to make a hat-trick of wins in the IFA Shield. In 1972, East Bengal won the Calcutta Football League, IFA Shield, Durand Cup, and Rovers Cup in a single season, becoming the first team to do so.

In 1972, East Bengal also made a record of being the first and till date, only Indian team to win the Calcutta Football League without conceding a single goal, which they again repeated in 1991.

East Bengal won its first First Division league title in 1942 and has since won it a record 39 times. They have also won eight Federation Cups, three Super Cups, a record 29 IFA Shields, the Kuladakanta Shield, and MLA CUP, alongside 16 Durand Cup titles, making the club one of the most decorated in Indian football.

Khalid Jamil has been named as the new head coach of the Indian Men's Senior Football team, as AIFF chose him over Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic from the final list. With Jamil becoming the new boss of the Blue Tigers, we present you with the stats and history of his career as a football manager so far.

Read Also: Football facts: Five managers who have coached Club and country at the same time

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐁𝐎𝐒𝐒 🇮🇳

Khalid Jamil has been named the new head coach of the Indian Men's Senior Football team.

Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic were the other finalised names, but AIFF have gone for the Jamshedpur FC coach.#AIFF #IndianFootball #KhalidJamil pic.twitter.com/KrnxkQUB6F

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) August 1, 2025

Khalid Jamil stats as manager

Since retiring as a professional footballer, Jamil started his managerial career with Mumbai FC in 2009. Jamil went on to coach them for 7 years until he joined Aizawl FC in December 2016. It was with Aizawl FC where his career took a turn after leading them to a miraculous I-League title in the 2016/17 season.

After the I-League success, Khalid coached two Kolkata giants, first East Bengal in the 2017-18 season and then ATK Mohun Bagan (which is now Mohun Bagan Super Giant) in the next season.

Read Also: Every Indian Team Football Coach Since 1948

However, Khalid did not get that much success with those two Kolkata clubs, and he joined Northeast United FC as the academy head in 2019. From 2019-22, Jamil served as Assistant manager, caretaker manager and then head coach of NEUFC. After that, he spent one season with Bengaluru United.

Finally, in 2023, he arrived at Jamshedpur FC, where he showed his class as the head coach and uplifted a few young Indian talents as well. Last season under him, Jamshedpur FC reached the semi-finals of the Indian Super League as well, and Khalid became the first Indian coach to achieve that feat.

His experince and understanding of Indian football is supposed to be a ground-breaking factor for the upcoming few months of Indian football.

Data by transfermarkt. 

Indian football team winger Liston Colaco scored a stunning free-kick, including a brace, to help Mohun Bagan Super Giant kick off their Durand Cup 2025 journey with a 3-1 win over Mohammedan Sporting Club ar VYBK on Thursday.

Liston's Goalzo

Coincidentally, Liston had also scored a stunning free-kick goal during the practice game between Mohun Bagan senior and Mohun Bagan junior ahead of the season opener. Just in the 21st minute of the match, Liston himself earned a free-kick after being fouled by a trio of Mohammedan defenders at the edge of the box.

Liston took the charge into his hand, in fact, on his feet as he lined up to take the free-kick, the Cristiano-way. Liston took a deep breath and then decided to go over the wall of defenders to beat Subhajit Bhattacharjee in the goal and hit the back of the net.

Beautiful free Kick from Liston Colaco pic.twitter.com/nbi6XQNhSx

— Hari (@Harii33) July 31, 2025

Read Also: East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: Head to Head Stats [UPDATED]

What happened in the match?

After Liston's goal in the 23rd minute, Mohun Bagan faced a setback at the stroke of the half-time mark. Aupia Ralte received a red card for dissent after he was tackled by Mohammedan in the 43rd minute of the match.

Mohammedan took advantage of Mohun Bagan's one-man less defence as Ahsley Koli scored in the 50th minute to make everything level again. But Mohun Bagan, the champions of the Indian Super League, had tricks up their sleeves as Suhail Ahmed Bhat scored in the 63rd minute to restore their lead. Liston provided the assist for the Kashmiri striker.

In the dying minute of the match, Liston earned the penalty and turned it into a goal from the spot to make a near-perfect match for him and Mohun Bagan SG.

Mohammedan have now lost both of their Group B match of the Durand Cup 2025.

As far as local sporting rivalries go, few on this planet can compare to the one between East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan, commonly known as the Kolkata Derby. 

The two giants hailing from the same city, Kolkata, have been at each other's throats since East Bengal's inception a century and some change ago on August 1st, 1920, and their rivalry has scripted the most glorious chapter in the history of Indian football.

The two teams are not just two football entities but represent two sets of inhabitants of the state of Bengal, who simply cannot stand losing to the other side.  East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan evokes passion unlike any other sporting contest in the country. So ahead of the new season's Kolkata Derby, we take a brief look at the rich history of the rivalry.

Though the data is just an approximation, as of 27th July 2025, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 403 matches up till now, (including friendlies), where East Bengal have been triumphant 139 times, while Mohun Bagan 135 times. 129 matches have been drawn.

Read Also | Most Iconic Rivalries in European Football Leagues: History & Stats

East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: Head-to-Head

Since 2020-21, these two teams have played 10 times against each other in ISL, while Mohun Bagan Super Giants have won 9 matches, with only one draw between the two. Mohun Bagan Super Giant is a merger of Mohun Bagan AC and ATK FC.

Mohun Bagan's domination over East Bengal in ISL comes while the two teams enjoy fairly competitive records against each other in other tournaments. In 45 matches of the I-League, East Bengal have won 17 so far and Mohun Bagan 15, while 13 ended in a draw.

In 22 Federation Cup matches, East Bengal have won eight and Mohun Bagan six, while eight matches ended in a draw. In 12 Rovers Cup matches, both teams have won four each, while four matches ended in a draw.

In 163 Calcutta Football League matches, East Bengal won 56, Mohun Bagan 48 and 59 ended in a draw. East Bengal enjoy a massive record against their archrivals in the IFA Shield. Out of 41 matches, they have won 21, while Mohun Bagan has managed to win only seven of those.

East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan overall record

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Technical Committee has narrowed down the search for the next head coach of the Senior Men’s National Football Team to three candidates: Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine, and Stefan Tarkovic. The final appointment will rest with the Federation’s Executive Committee, which is expected to make its decision soon.

After Igor Stimac and Manolo Marquez's stints as the head coaches in the last few seasons, Indian football has not progressed at all. Although India managed to win the SAFF Championship 2023 under Igor, the Blue Tigers won only one match under Marquez's 8-match stint. India lost 3 games while drawing four times, in those 8 games and that made India slip to 133rd position in the FIFA World Rankings.

Read Also | How can Indian Women's Football team qualify for the 2027 FIFA World Cup?

The Shortlisted Candidates

Khalid Jamil

An accomplished Indian coach, Jamil is renowned for his work in domestic football, notably guiding Aizawl FC to their historic I-League title. His deep understanding of Indian football and ability to bring the best out of local talent make him a strong contender for the position. 

Khaild Jamil has the experince of managing teams like ATK Mohun Bagan, East Bengal FC, NorthEast United FC, Bengaluru United and Jamshedpur FC. Last season under him, Jamshedpur FC reached the semi-finals of Indian Super League as well.

As per Transfermarkt's data, Jamil has coached 219 games till now while winning 83 of them. Jamil drew 65 games while losing 71.

Read Also | Football facts: Five managers who have coached Club and country at the same time

Stephen Constantine

The Englishman is no stranger to Indian football. Constantine had two previous stints as India’s head coach from 2002 to 2005 and 2015 to 2019, during which he oversaw significant improvements in the team's performance, including qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

India went from 173 to 97 in the FIFA Rankings during his stint in 2015 to 2019.

Constantine just finished his stint as the head coach of the Pakistan Football team. He was seen last time in India in the 2022-23 season as the head coach of East Bengal FC. 

In the 52 matches he coached India in his two stints, Constantine won 25 of them, while losing 19 and drawing 8 times.

Read Also | Every Indian Team Football Coach Since 1948

Stefan Tarkovic

The experienced Slovak coach, best known for managing the Slovakia national team, brings a wealth of European experience and tactical know-how. His international pedigree could be influential in shaping a more competitive Indian squad.

Tarkovic just finished his stint as the head coach of Kyrgyzstan, where he won only 5 games, drew 4 and lost 9 games. However, in his managerial career, he won 32 out of 108 games, keeping a 1.18 points per game stat.