#1 East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan FC
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No brownie points for guessing the biggest rivalry in Indian football. Probably the only rivalry in India which has the ferocity similar of a United-Liverpool, Madrid-Barca or Inter-Milan derby, the Kolkata derby is the most followed derby in the country, hands down.
In a derby in 1997, a total audience of 131,000 filled the Salt Lake Stadium! Such fan frenzy has never been recorded in Indian sporting history, let alone football.
The history of these two teams goes back more than 100 years in history and has intensified over the years. Most of the greats of Indian football have been part of either of the clubs at some point in their careers, some playing for both.
Mohun Bagan is about 3 decades older than East Bengal and has won 248 trophies in total, while East Bengal sits comfortably as India's second most successful club with 136 trophies. The two clubs can brag about being the ‘Top 2’ of Indian football, without a doubt.
On head-to-head basis, since the advent of I-League, East Bengal seems to be the better club. These two clubs have met 37 times in the I-League, East Bengal winning on 15 occasions, while Mohun Bagan winning 11 and drawing 11. Let statistics rest for now.
Kolkata runs on its football, and football runs on these two teams. The fan bases are divided. Ghotis, referred to Kolkata natives, are the supporters of Mohun Bagan and immigrants from Bangladesh, known as Bangals, are strongholds of East Bengal. There have been deaths, bombings, fires and even stampedes at this derby, which describes just a little about the intensity of these games.
Thus, the Kolkata derby has seen and felt et al. Every match – irrespective of the tournament – between these teams grabs headlines.
This derby is even touted to be one of Asia’s most talked-about and intense derbies.
