Former Argentina forward Javier Saviola drew the first blood, and starred through the game, as the Barcelona Legends defeated the Mohun Bagan legends 6-0 at the Saltlake Stadium Kolkata.

The team also had Edmilson and Juliano Belletti, both World Cup winners in 2002, Simao and Sabrosa and Jari Litmanen  .Saviola got the 25,000 odd spectators going with a goal in the first seven minutes.
They sang, dance and cheered, were raucous in applauding every good move. The Kolkata crowd proved yet again the city’s proverbial love for football, because Kolkata’s very own Mohan Bagan team is the oldest football team of Asia.
A fifteen year old boy came with his elder sister. “I have been watching European Leagues since I was a child. I think I will get some of my heroes from this match,” said the teenager.
From younger to older frantically clicked selfies, broke into jugs every now and then, and shouted constantly to encourage the players. They seemed to be relishing every moment – big or small on the ground – be the starting formalities of kids forming a circle at the centre with the tournament logo
The city witnessed flair of tiki-taka as former players like Jari Litmanen, Javier Saviola and Edmilson showing their skills in the ‘City of Joy.’
The green and maroon brigade also fielded former ex-players like Syed Rahim Nabi, Habibur Rahman Mondal and Sandip Nandy.
Mohun Bagan legends made a couple of positive moves in the opening minutes with Ashim Biswas at the peak of things but failed to convert. Following which, the Spanish team dominated the game throughout the first half. Barcelona Legends opened the scoring in the 7th minute via a precise strike from Argentine great Javier Saviola. An equally brilliant assist from Jofre fell perfectly for the forward who made no mistake but to slot the ball inside the target.
Meanwhile, Syed Rahim Nabi, Shashti Duley tried hard to make a mark in the encounter but never came close to scoring.
Bagan’s shot-stopper Kalyan Choubey made an acrobatic save in the 57th minute to deny Barcelona Legends the fourth goal. Finnish legend Litmanen made it 4-0 in the 63rd minute after the visitors played a string of passes among themselves, Kalyan could have blocked it, but somehow the ball rolled on inside the net. Mohun Bagan made several changes but never managed to pierce the Barcelona defence.
The European team piled on Bagan’s agony by scoring the fifth goal by a header to seal the deal. Belletti made a perfect assist to set up Jofre for the sixth and final goal of the evening. Barcelona Legends played much better football than their opponents and deserved the win!
Rolling back the years, Saviola, who shared a World Cup campaign with Lionel Messi in 2006, rifled home a magnificent side volley to open the floodgates for Barcelona.
A popular figure during his playing days for Barcelona between 2001-2007, the crowd started chanting Saviola’s name after the goal.
There were also chants of ‘Barca Barca’ reverberating around the stadium which wore a festive look less than a month to the Durga Puja festival.
Saviola showed glimpses of his renowned pace and dribbling skills after the goal before the 2004 Copa America finalist was substituted shortly after the half hour mark.
In the 29th minute though, the catalan legends doubled their advantage much to the delight of the spectators, who for a day thronged the stands not to root for the home side but cherish the skill of the feted away outfit.
Roger Garcia, who donned the Barcelona jersey between 1995-1999 featuring in 78 games for them, scored from the edge of the box with a deft left-footer which nestled into the far corner of the net.
In the 43rd minute, Pedro López Martínez Landi made it 3-0 for the Spanish side with a panenka kick from the penalty spot.
Mohan Bagan Goal Keepper Kalyan Chaubey pulled off a good save in the second half before Saviola took to the greens once again in the 60th minute.
Three minutes later, Jari Litmanen joined the party by converting from close range.
In the last ten minutes of the game, Litmanen (87th) and former Indian Super League sides ATK and Jofre Mateu (90+2) added to the tally.
For Mohun Bagan, a club ten years older than Barcelona, former India Captain Alok Das led the side which also had the likes of Basudeb Mondal, Syed Rahim Nabi, Hemanta Dora, Ashim Biswas, Dipendu Biswas, Habibur Rehman, Kalyan Choubey among others.
The Barcelona team was coached by Albert ‘Chapi’ Ferrer, who played under Johan Cruyff and won Champion League in 1992.
Under Ferrer, the legends team has won five of their eight matches including a 2-2 draw against Manchester United legends. Their last game was in Romania in June.
 
There were also Bollywood and local Bengali numbers that enthralled the crowd at the break who were seen dancing and waving at the former players, paying little heed to the flashing scoreline.
On the field, it was former Argentina forward Javier Saviola who drew the first blood on the same field where his 2006 World Cup teammate and city heartthrob Lionel Messi dazzled in a friendly fixture against Venezuela seven years ago.
At the end of the game, shutterbugs mobbed the Barcelona stars as they went around the stadium to acknowledge the crowd with a wave. As the giant floodlights dimmed with the Barcelona former stars bid an emotional goodbye to the football-loving crowd of Kolkata.
The match was  organised by Kolkata-based Football Next Foundation.
 
> Pratyusha Mukherjee,Cacutta