A rivalry beyond the shores of UK - Screening of Manchester United - Liverpool at Kolkata

Screenings are often a way of assessing the impact of the Premier League across the globe.

Over the years, as the influence of Premier League has spread across the globe so have the club's varied fan bases. Clubs now undertake summer tours and winter tours to cater to this kind of fan base and have been well-rewarded.

Similarly, while on the shores of United Kingdom, as the nation prepared themselves for the North-West derby between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, the fans of the respective clubs in Kolkata were also on their way to the venue in full voice.

The venue for the screening was at Flames - Deshapriya Park, with the event being organized by the Bengal KOP - Liverpool Supporters Club, Kolkata – OLSC. Speaking to the Core Committee, this author discovered that this kind of screenings were not the first ones. From the rooftops of friends to venues across Kolkata, the Core Committee has been active since 2011.

The Build - Up

As the kick-off approached, the room seemed to be lacking numbers. Chatting with the host and the organizers who were in their own zone, one could feel the nerves jangling.

Organizing a screening requires as much a team effort as any team sport. The Organizers, Host and the members are just three of the categories, but behind the scenes, it is the coordinated efforts of many that are needed for a successful screening to happen.

Liverpool fan with

scarf

[Photo Credits - Shatadroo Chakraborty]

After a rendition of the "You Never Walk Alone", it was time to settle down for the game. And once the starting line-ups started being announced, there was a real feeling of camaraderie among the supporters. The supporters chose to greet every name with a cheer, with the largest cheers reserved for the likes of Roberto Firminho and of course, the flavour of the season, Mo Salah.

In the background, one of the Manchester United supporters and owner of the venue looked on with a smile on his face. Speaking to him, Bunty Singh, the Owner made a valid point for organizing screenings stating, "It creates awareness and such screenings are a way for enjoying the game with your friends and colleagues while at the same time having a good time"

First Half-Reactions

Having seen Liverpool go down to 2 goals before the half-hour mark, the fans seemed to have lost their voices. The Manchester United supporters were good-naturedly ribbing their Liverpool friends and how Rashford had terrorised the Liverpool defence.

Liverpool supporters watching and cheering on their team with intensity [Photo Credits - Shatadroo Chakraborty]

In fact, the best moment for Liverpool fans in the entire half was the moment when Kenny Dalglish was flashed across the screen. While it was a difficult half to watch, the fans were still positive about a possible come-back.

Speaking to Ritesh, a banker by profession and Subhayu Ghati, Liverpool fans over a decade now, they were pretty optimistic. The brothers have followed the club since 2005, when Ritesh the elder brother started following the clubs fortunes having been mesmerized by the famous come-back in Istanbul.

Subheyu has followed in his brother's and the siblings stated their main reason for supporting Liverpool was "Tradition and Loyalty" and cited Steven Gerrard as the inspiration for supporting the club.

On the other hand, Manchester United fans were more content with their team after some clinical finishing from Marcus Rashford and put the Red Devils 2-0 ahead. They instead chose to focus on a possible come-back and the need for United to nullify any such result.

Full-Time Reaction

Although disappointment hung in the air, the supporters were nevertheless enthusiastic about the remainder of the season. Instead, the supporters chose to focus on the European campaign and were confident about Liverpool finishing in the top four.

The Owner and Manchester United fan, Bunty Singh, though was grinning with joy and was diplomatic about the Red Devils chances in the UEFA Champion's League coming up this week as they face off in the home tie against Sevilla.

Owner Bunty Singh - A Manchester United fan, enjoys the game alongside fellow Reds Devils [Photo Credits - Shatadroo Chakraborty]

Speaking to the Core Committee, Club Secretary - Anikendu Ghosh was optimistic about Liverpool's progress and rather focused on the remaining 8 games. The Core Committee comprising of Swarnendu, Chandranath, Mehboobar, Purnobrata, Sagnik and Krishnendu instead felt that there was a lack of fluidity in the game and instead had kind words for Lovren.

The lack of a Plan B was another misgiving of the supporters and complimented Mourinho on focussing on the weaker links of the Liverpool defence and felt that the game was lost by Liverpool due to their lack of cohesion between the midfield and attack.

Takeaways

Apart from the novel experience of covering a screening, one felt a sense of brotherhood among the supporters watching the game. Football obviously has a huge fan following in Kolkata and such screenings are an evidence of how Premier League has penetrated markets.

Men Behind the Scenes, Core Committee - Bengal KOP - Liverpool Supporters Club, Kolkata – OLSC - Photo Credits - Shatadroo Chakraborty

The joy of celebrating a goal or some friendly banter bordering on satire and humour was something this author really enjoyed. The fact that both sets of supporters displayed humility by not resorting to offensive chants or jibes shows the potential for venues looking to organize matches.

All in all, sports is a way of bringing together people and with events such as IPL and the World Cup this calendar year, one hopes that such screenings become a joyous place to celebrate sport with both family and friends.