Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Sourav called Debabrata Sarkar as soon as East Bengal won Durand. East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan to become the Durand Cup champion for the 17th time. And former captain of the Indian cricket team Sourav Ganguly congratulated East Bengal for this historic victory.
He called Debabrata Sarkar, the head of the East Bengal club, directly. What did Sourav say? When Debabrata Sarkar was talking to the journalists after the match, his phone rang right then. Debabrata Sarkar said that Sourav Ganguly had called. The red-yellow head received the phone in front of the camera and engaged in an excited conversation. When Sourav congratulated him on the phone, Debabrata Sarkar said with a smile, Thank you Sourav... Thank you. No, no, how can your coach be bad? So how can I hire him? I have been keeping an eye on this coach for a long time.
Nituda seemed to give an answer to the various criticisms made about the coach in the past through a phone conversation with Sourav. He further added that the team has turned around after a long drought of not winning the Durand Trophy, and having personalities like Sourav by its side has strengthened the club's fight even more. After this, the question was, did East Bengal hire Antonio Lopez Habas as coach on Sourav's advice? Of course, that answer was not forthcoming.
'The answer has to be given on the field'
After finishing the phone conversation, in response to the journalists' questions, he said that East Bengal always believes in performance on the field. Instead of shouting outside, the real answer has to be given on the field. Even after losing the first match, he assured his colleagues that the red and yellow team would win the trophy by winning the final.
Edmund's comeback and message for the future
He also opened up about the hero Edmund Lalrindika, who scored a hat-trick in the derby. Debabrata Sarkar recalled how Edmund was brought to the club from Bengaluru and how he was trusted even during the difficult times of injury.
This phone call from Sourav and Durand's victory - all of this added another dimension to the golden return of the red and yellow to Yuva Bharati after a long wait. Debabrata Sarkar said that special incentives and awards will also be announced for the team and footballers in due course.