| A fan-tastic time  Fans were in great voice at the Salt Lake Stadium (Source: Samir Jana/HT) The Salt Lake stadium is not the most accessible of venues. Last mile connectivity was alien to those who decided that football needed to move away from Eden Gardens. So, mini trucks ferrying people to and from the amphitheatre continues to be a feature at games. You don’t see people walking to the nearest train station that is 45 minutes by foot as much possibly because after nearly 40 years, the stadium has been put on the city’s metro map. But the route is partially open and not connected to the other lines. Parking in the stadium is not available to all which means lanes around the massive bowl is clogged with vehicles causing great inconvenience to those who live there. Vacant land nearby also becomes temporary parking lots mainly for two-wheelers, often for a price (after all, every crisis is also an opportunity). Buying food in the stands or from stalls is as difficult as goals for the India men’s team now and seats, especially in the lower tier, are rarely cleaned. 61,117 at Salt Lake stadium Yet, on a steamy Monday evening, 61,117 came to show Mohun Bagan Super Giant that the team was not alone in its bid for a first league shield in the Indian Super League. It made for a unique end to the league phase. Petr Kratky was impressed and said as much after Mumbai City FC failed to retain the title of being the best after 22 rounds. Through nearly 100 minutes of football, the stadium thrummed as the crowd tried making it as difficult for the visiting team as possible. Mumbai City FC players were booed, their corner-kicks jeered and every Mohun Bagan touch was met with a roar of approval. Salt Lake, the suburb not just the stadium, shook when Liston Colaco and Jason Cummings scored. It explained why Anirudh Thapa, Dimitri Petratos and Cummings spoke warmly about the turnout. Watch video here. Such turnouts are not unusual for the Kolkata derby or when India play but not for one team. Mohammedan Sporting drew 47,136 in May 2022 as they tried to win their first I-League – and nearly as many to celebrate when they finally did, this season – but the last time so many or more fans from one team filled up the stadium was when ATK hosted Mumbai City FC to kick-off ISL in 2014. East Bengal had got nearly 1 lakh in 1997 for the Federation Cup final but bucket seats have reduced capacity since. Mohun Bagan can be sure of a similar turnout when they host the semi-final home leg. If they make the final, finding a venue will be a no-brainer if attendance is to be a consideration.  Leverkusen fans storm the pitch (Source: AP) Celebrating a Leverkusen first Two days before that, the BayArena was swarmed by people who had waited all season for 120-year-old Bayer Leverkusen to win their first Bundesliga. Enthusiasm spilling on to the pitch could have led to an abandoned tie but it was not. Paris St-Germain fans in Barcelona reveled in their team’s comeback in the Champions League quarter-final and after winning on penalties, ignoring the noise at the Etihad, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr were hugged by travelling fans. Last week, Athletic Bilbao fans celebrated on the waterfront the club’s Copa del Rey victory which ended a 40-year wait for a trophy. See video here. “Although fans can contemplate the miracle more comfortably on TV (and this is so true for India), he prefers to make the pilgrimage to the spot where he can see his angels in the flesh doing battle with demons of the day… Rarely does a fan say, “My club plays today. He says, “we play today.” No one can sum it up like Eduardo Galeano so it is best to quote him from “Football in Sun and Shadow.” Bilbao, Barcelona, Rhineland, Manchester and Kolkata showed over the past week how deep the passion for football clubs run. It wasn’t unknown but that doesn’t make it any less gratifying. |
| IN OTHER NEWS AIFF Under-20 championship: Last Friday, All India Football Federation (AIFF) began its first under-20 national championship for men with 32 teams at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Sports Complex in Chattisgarh’s Narainpur. The final will be on May 22. “We felt the need to have the competition in under-20, to put the building blocks in place for our footballers’ gradual progression into senior competitions, and to create a pipeline for Asian Games U23 selection,” said AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. “The U20 group competition is very crucial in a player’s lifecycle to step into a professional career. With the U20 competition back in recognition, the youth structure slabs from sub-junior to Santosh Trophy get completed.”  Action in the under-20 national championship. (Source: AIFF) Ulsan Hyundai qualify for club worlds: South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai will take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their Asian Champions League semi-final against Yokohama F Marinos in Japan next week after Hong Myung-bo's hosts carved out a slender advantage on Wednesday, reports Reuters. Lee Dong-gyeong struck in the 19th minute against the Harry Kewell-coached J-League outfit, who are appearing in the semi-finals of the continental championship for the first time. The teams will meet again in Yokohama next Wednesday. The result means Ulsan have booked a spot at next year's Club World Cup as one of Asia's representatives due to their ranking points. Over £75m on agents: Chelsea have spent more than £75 million ($93 million) on agents' and intermediaries' fees during transfer deals, according to figures released by the Football Association, reports AFP. The data, which covered the 12 months to February 1, 2024, showed the total spend on agents by Premier League clubs was £409.59 million. It represented a sizeable increase from £318.2 million spent in the 2022-23 campaign. Chelsea headed the list after paying £75,140,524 on deals for players including Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer. Manchester City were the biggest spenders in the previous list and have now dropped to second place with a £60.63 million outlay on agents' fees. Manchester United spent £34.05 million on agents, while Liverpool paid £31.50 million and Arsenal's £24.76 million. Luton, promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs last year, paid the least at £2.02 million. Romario’s back, at 58: Retired Brazil striker Romario has registered as a player for America-RJ, the Rio de Janeiro state second division side the 58-year-old is now president of, and is set to make a return 15 years after he stopped playing, says Reuters. Romario, who retired in 2008 and became America's sporting director in 2009, played for Brazil in two World Cups, scoring five goals to guide them to victory in 1994. In 2009, he briefly came out of retirement to play 22 minutes for America, his late father's favourite team, in a match that crowned them champions of Rio de Janeiro's second division. Romario's son Romarinho also plays for America.  Romario is back at 58 (Source: X) Breather for Leicester: Leicester City cannot be deducted any points in the second-tier Championship if they are convicted of any violations of the Premier League's spending rules, the English Football League (EFL) has said, reports AFP. Leicester, who were relegated from the top flight last season, were referred to an independent commission by the Premier League last month for alleged violations of the league’s spending rules. The Championship's governing body EFL wrote to the Premier League saying they would apply any sanction on Leicester while they are still in the second tier, a move Leicester opposed. EFL said they later changed their position in a letter to the English FA's League Arbitration Panel (LAP). “EFL has confirmed to all parties that... it does not have the power under the Regulations as currently drafted,” the EFL said in a statement. Ronaldo could get $10m from Juve: Juventus have been ordered to pay Cristiano Ronaldo more than $10 million by an arbitration board following a salary dispute, reports AP. The dispute regarded a move by Juventus players to defer part of their salaries during the coronavirus pandemic. The €9.8 million ($10.5 million) that Juventus were ordered to pay Ronaldo is half the amount that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had been seeking from the Turin club in back wages. Juventus said in a statement late Wednesday that “with the support of its legal counsel” they are “reviewing the decision made by the arbitration board, reserving all assessments and initiatives to preserve its rights.” Ronaldo played for Juventus from 2018-21, helping the club to two Serie A titles.  Cristiano Ronaldo in his Juventus days (Source: Reuters) De Rossi to continue: Former player Daniele De Rossi will continue on as AS Roma's manager for the next season and the "foreseeable future", the Serie A club's owners said on Thursday, reports Reuters. De Rossi, who was appointed in January on a deal that ran until the end of the season, replaced Jose Mourinho and took over a side that was ninth in the league's standings. Under the former Italy international, Roma have climbed to fifth in the standings following a seven-game unbeaten run in the league. Hölzenbein dead: Bernd Hölzenbein, who was part of the 1974 West Germany squad and won the penalty in the final which Paul Breitner converted, died on Monday following illness, according to a Bundesliga report. He was 78. The striker made 420 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt, the fourth-highest ever for the club, and scored 160 goals in Bundesliga. YouTuber, Chelsea fan dead: Abhradeep Saha, who went by the name Angry Rantman on YouTube where he posted videos on his favourite club Chelsea, has died, his family said on Wednesday. He was 27 and developed complications following a major surgery. "With profound grief and sorrow, we hereby declare the sad and untimely demise of Abhradeep Saha AKA #AngryRantman today at 10:18 hrs IST. He touched the lives of millions with his Honesty, humour and unwavering spirit. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him (sic)," his family said in a post on Facebook. Known for reaction videos on sport and cinema, Saha's channel had 4.8 lakh subscribers.  Abhradeep Saha, better known by his moniker ‘Angry Rantman’ (Source: X) |
