Sanchita chatterjee : It was Shrawan month then! Bhaichung Bhutia wrote history in the red-yellow jersey in 1997. Edmund Lalrindika brought back that memory after 29 years. East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan 4-1 in the Durand Cup final (Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal Durand cup 2026) at Yuvabharati Krirangan on Sunday and became the champion. Edmund scored a hat-trick in the first half. The other goal for the red-yellows was by Bipin Singh. Mohun Bagan's only goal scorer is Manbir Singh. Bengali football fans remember July 13, 1997, when they hear the 4-1 scoreline in the history of the derby.
And I also remember Amal Dutta's Diamond System and PK Banerjee's Vocal Tonic. That day, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan faced each other in the Federation Cup semi-finals. East Bengal won 4-1 in front of a record number of spectators at the Yuva Bharati gallery. Nazimul Haque opened the scoring. Baichung scored the remaining three goals and became the eternal hero of the derby.
The 2026 Durand final also had almost the same scenario. This time, Bipin scored East Bengal's first goal. The red-yellows took the lead with his goal in the 10th minute. Edmund increased the gap within two minutes. In the 22nd minute, he scored his second goal, beating the Mohun Bagan defense and goalkeeper Vishal Keith. In the 33rd minute, Manbir scored a goal to make Mohun Bagan's comeback possible. But just before the break, Edmund ended that hope. In the 44th minute, he completed his hat-trick by scoring from a ball extended by Joy Gupta. The scoreline was 4-1 in the first half.
Despite having more possession of the ball in the second half, Mohun Bagan could not break East Bengal's defense. Even after bringing down Sahal Abdul Samad and Kian Nasiri, the gap could not be reduced. Instead, the red-yellows got more opportunities to score from counter-attacks.
In that 1997 match, Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutt's 'diamond' set-up was broken by PK Banerjee's Baichungra. After 29 years, Mohun Bagan looked helpless in front of Antonio Lopez Habas's tactics.
Two matches, same ground, same opponent, same 4-1 result and a hat-trick by an East Bengal footballer—history seems to have come full circle. Back then, the hero was 'Pahari Biche' Baichung. Now, Edmund has written a new tale of the derby.