Bagan favourites in Federation Cup final

A keen contest is on the cards as ten-time champions and hot favourites Mohun Bagan take on a vastly improved Dempo Sports Club, Goa, in the final of the Federation Cup football tournament in Madras on Thursday.

Considering form and reputation, the Calcutta giants look stronger on paper and are expected to walk away with the title for the 11th time in 14th appearance in the final.

But they should be wary of the Goa team, which showed enough gumption in their previous encounters, especially in the semi-finals.

Dempo came with lesser credentials, after losing the Second Division National Football League, but took a giant leap forward to restore lost glory by making it to the summit league with superb performances.

Their route to the final of this prestigious tournament started with a victory over Border Security Force in the first round. They then humbled fancied F C Kochin in the pre-quarters before defeating JCT Mills and Sporting Clube de Goa with inspired performances in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

The good news for Dempo is that their star Nigerian striker Alesh Shamaki, who missed the semi-finals following two yellow bookings, is back in the team. They also have livewire playmaker Mario Soares in midfield, who along with Clifford Miranda, Sukhdev Arwade and Jose Colaco form a deadly combination. Then there is the nippy Levy Coelho on the left flank, who has the speed to slice through rival defences. In defence, Samir Naik, Felip Gomes and Stanley Colaco have done reasonably well.

The way Dempo stormed into the final (after trailing 0-1), by slotting two goals in the space of 12 minutes in the second-half against Sporting Clube was enough proof of their fighting abilities.

Mohun Bagan have been the best team on view thus far. They began their title defence with a victory over Air India in the pre-quarters, before hammering Salgaocar, Goa, in the quarter-finals and a depleted Mahindra United in the semi-finals.

Compared to Dempo, their attack looks stronger and formidable, with two stalwarts -- Brazilian Jose Barreto Ramires and Nigerian Abdullateef Seriki -- virutally unstoppable. The venerable duo have both the skill and speed and form a lethal combination to torment the rival defence.

The presence of the experienced Basudeb Mondal and Debjit Ghosh in the middle, along with prolific scorer of the First Division National Football League R C Prakash and the speedy Renedy Singh and James Singh on the flanks adds more verve to the attack.

The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium has proved to be the happy hunting ground for Goan teams this year. Will it prove lucky for Dempo, which had lost to East Bengal in extra-time in their only other appearance in the final, in 1996?

The kick off is at 1800 hrs.

Complete Coverage: Federation Cup, 2001