Internet Desk: Can Nigerian Bello Rasaq prove to be the messiah for East Bengal in the crucial I League clash against Bengaluru FC on Sunday. It was the Nigerian’s header in the dying minutes of the match against the same opponents last year which gave arch rivals Mohun Bagan the coveted title. Bello, who has been donning the Red and Gold jersey since then will have a huge responsibility in the East Bengal defence , since a loss will definitely shatter the hopes of Kolkata giants.
Mohun Bagan’s hope of retaining the I-league title was shattered after a 3-3 stalemate with DSK Shivajians at the Barasat on Saturday. The defending champions who remained unbeaten till the 11th match of the I-league this season lost their way from 12th match losing 10 points in their last 4 outings. The Mariners, who had conceded only 7 goals in the first 11 matches, let in 9 goals in the last four.
The defending I League champions missed someone like Bello Rassaq in the defence who gave tremendous leadership at the back. Ironically, it was the Nigerian’s header in Bengaluru that gave Mohun Bagan its first I League title.
But lackadaisical approach from Bagan officials prompted Bello to sign in favor of East Bengal. It is now proving to be a huge blow as Luciano have failed to provide the leadership in defence. Coach Sanjoy Sen did not hide his frustration in front of the media about losing Bello.
The defence had been the most worrying factor for Mohun Bagan right from the start of the season. The officials brought two defenders for trial before the CFL. Brazilian Gustavo and Haitian Judelin Aveska both failed to impress the team management. Gustavo was released post CFL due to a poor performance and Aveska prior to the I-league. Brazilian Luciano Sabrosa was roped in just before the start of I-league. Question marks were raised over Luciano’s selection too as age was against him. The Brazilian did put up an impressive show at the start of the I League but also made crucial errors that led to his team’s downfall. Bagan coach Sanjay Sen at the post match conference after DSK match said,” There is no use of saying if I had Bello in the squad this season results would have been different. But yes, Bello was an important part of our squad last season in helping us win the I League.”
Mohun Bagan’s two times NFL winning coach Subrata Bhattacharya recently in an interview to xtratime.in said, “Luciano cannot be a replacement for Bello. If I was the coach for Bagan, I would not have let Bello because of his sheer experience in Indian football. Bello, according to me is a complete defender. On the other hand, Luciano has often invited danger in the defence due to his clearing which helped the opponent players grab the ball and score through a counter attack. Another important thing to remember is that, although Bello and Luciano are almost of the same ages, but they belong to different countries with very different conditions. Nigeria is almost the same as India considering the humidity and temperature while Brazil is different and for a defender like Luciano who is above 30, it’s not easy to adjust to Indian weather conditions easily.
Coming back to the Bengaluru FC-East Bengal tie on Sunday which is virtually considered to be the league decider it will be Bello again who will lead the Red and Gold defence in the absence of Arnab Mondal. The Indian international is serving a two match suspension from AIFF after being found guilty of passing racist comments against Cornell Glen in the last derby. French international Bernard Mendy is also doubtful for the match as he got injured recently. So, the onus will be on Bello to stand strong in the East Bengal defence. Although his performance was under scrutiny in the CFL, Bello came back strongly and proved his critics wrong by putting up consistent performance for East Bengal. Coach Biswajit Bhattacharya will be looking forward to Bello to lead the East Bengal defence against a star studded Bengaluru FC forward line with the likes of Sunil Chhetri, Kim-song-Yong and CK Vineeth . Can the Nigerian recreate the same magic like May 31, 2015? We will get the answers in few hours