Cumilla reaching fever pitch ahead of grand final

For over a decade, numerous clashes between Mohammedan and Abahani, which once attracted thousands and brought out the best of a fierce rivalry, have been held almost silently in front of nearly deserted stands. But today's Federation Cup final between the country's most crowd-pulling outfits has suddenly turned up the heat in the country's football fraternity.

The final is scheduled to get underway at 3:15pm at Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla and will be the first time in 14 years that the Black and Whites and Sky Blues will meet in the Federation Cup final.

Although defending champions Abahani have managed to stay on the right track and keep their pride intact by winning domestic trophies, Mohammedan have been out of the scene since winning the Independence Cup in 2014.

The final has already drawn the attention of football fans, especially those who remember the golden days of the Mohammedan-Abahani rivalry, and football lovers from both camps are expected to head to Cumilla to enjoy the flavour of a Mohammedan-Abahani final.

While Abahani fans have been restricted from entering the club premises and watching training sessions due to construction work, Mohammedan supporters flocked to the club for the past few days to reminisce about those heady days.

"The news coming to us is that the stadium may not accommodate all the spectators because the silent supporters of Mohammedan have woken up and are interested to watch the match in Cumilla. Apart from the supporters, my friends who have not turned up to watch a Mohammedan-Abahani match in Dhaka since my retirement are all set to watch Mohammedan-Abahani match in Cumilla," said Mohammedan coach Alfaz Ahmed.

Abahani assistant coach Pranotosh Kumar Das said: "Apart from the Abahani supporters' group, Abahani fans from Old Dhaka, Narayanganj and Khulna are expected to head to Cumilla."

Given the huge enthusiasm among fans, the final is expected to be a mouth-watering affair. The two fierce rivals played out a 1-1 draw in Friday's Bangladesh Premier League meeting, which was a dress rehearsal for today's final.

"The match will be a 50-50 affair. Although Abahani are ahead of Mohammedan in every aspect, it is a tournament final so it will have a high tempo. And sometimes, formidable sides also fall apart. As there is a historic and fierce rivalry, it will impact the match irrespective of the strength of the squads," Alfaz added.

Abahani coach Mario Lemos said: "Mohammedan have become a better side after the inclusion of players like Emmanuel [Sunday] and the change of coach. They are a counter-attacking side that breaks very quickly. Last time we drew 1-1. So we have to be very organised and disciplined in the backline. But we want to dominate with possession and not allow them to attack. We respect Mohammedan and want to play balanced football."