Jose Molina distinguishes between European derbies and Kolkata Derby after East Bengal win

Jose Molina praised the footballing atmosphere in India.

Jose Molina experienced his first taste of the Kolkata derby as he was able to guide Mohun Bagan to a comfortable 2-0 win over East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday (19 October). It was a memorable outing for the Mariners, who rode on goals from Jamie Maclaren (41’) and Dimitri Petratos (89’) to get the big win.

For Jose Molina, this was his way of discovering just how passionate Indian Football fans can be and how heated & emotional the Kolkata derby is. With just over 59,000 fans flocking to the Salt Lake Stadium, the Spanish coach was rather amazed at the passion of the fans in this derby – having experienced a number of high-profile derbies in Spain.

During his playing career, Jose Molina experienced the intensity of the Madrid derby during his years as an Atletico Madrid player.

Even as a manager, he has been part of emotional derbies as the Villarreal boss. But the gaffer was able to differentiate all those derbies with the Mohun Bagan East Bengal clash as he believes the Kolkata derby is unique in its own right considering how the fans ‘divide’ the two sides of the Salt Lake Stadium.

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Jose Molina explained after the match, “The difference I saw is that in Spain, for example, when you see the Madrid derby (Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid), Sevilla-Real Betis or the El Clasico (Barcelona vs Real Madrid) – for example you play in the Santiago Bernabeu in the Madrid derby. That match is filled mostly with the majority of Real Madrid fans, with a section of Atletico fans in their away section.

“Here, it’s like a final like Europe where the fans are divided on different sides. It’s like the Copa Del Rey final, with half-and-half sections being filled with different fans. That’s amazing. In Spain, things are different as the league derbies see the supporters of the home club filling the stadium and a section for the away fans,” he added.

Jose Molina has fortunately been highly successful in derby matches so far during his time as Mohun Bagan’s head coach. After guiding them to a major 3-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting, this 2-0 victory over the Red & Gold Brigade have helped the Mariners move up to second place in the ISL table and maintain their charge for the ISL league Shield.

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