The 2002 Durand Cup is the 114th season of the Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. All matches were played in the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. Mahindra United defeated Churchill Brothers 5–0 in the final, in only the third time that five goals were scored by the winning team in the final.[1]
This edition of the Durand Cup was scheduled to be played in the middle of the National Football League (NFL) season. Nine of the eleven teams participating in the NFL were seeded directly.[2]
Delhi's City Club and Tarun Sangha entered the pre-quarterfinal stage after wins in their respective qualifying group stage fixtures. However, they failed to make it past that stage with Border Security Force and Army XI progressing, joining ten other teams, all of which were seeded directly to the quarter-finals.[3]
Border Security Force and Army XI advanced to the quarter-finals following their wins over City Club and Indian National respectively in the final fixtures of their respective groups. Both recorded consecutive wins earning six points each and topped their groups. The Border Security Force were included in Group C of the quarter-final stage and Army XI in Group D.[4]
The quarter-finals were played in a round-robin where the competing 12 teams were divided into four groups (A to D).[3] The top team of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Mahindra United used a defensive strategy in their 3–0 semi-final win against Indian Telephone Industries by employing five defenders. It was made to counter the latter's strikersGeorge Ekeh and Mike Okoro, and Mohammad Salissu. Anthony Pereira was included as an additional defender in place of striker Raman Vijayan.[5] Churchill Brothers made their first final in the tournament's history after their win over East Bengal in the second semifinal. Ratan Singh scored for them in either half. The first came off the bar from Amin Sayed Mousavi's shot that Singh headed in before East Bengal equalised through midfielderChandan Das' goal. Bengal's introduction of I. M. Vijayan yielded very little due to his poor coordination with Brazilian striker Jose Carlos Da Silva. Singh's winner subsequently came in the 86th minute.[6]
It was only the second time in 25 years that no team from Kolkata had made the Durand Cup final. Mahindra United were favorites going into the final owing to fact that they were joint-toppers of the table of the then ongoing National Football League that season, and also their wins in the Durand Cup coming against tougher sides. In its preview of the match, The Hindu wrote, "A balanced side, which does not rely heavily on its two Nigerian strikers, Austin Okolo and Bala Usman, Mahindra has been served well by the winger, Jules Alberto, who has scored two goals, and Raman Vijayan." About Churchill Brothers, they wrote, "... the presence of Ghana's Yusif Yakubu and Amin Sayed Mousavi of Iran, has turned out to be its strength, though the lack of support from the others should be causing concern to coach T. K. Chathunni."[7]
In a one-sided contest, Mahindra United thrashed their opponents 5–0 in the final. Churchill Brothers were reduced to ten men after defender Osumanu Husseni was sent off for a handball offence inside the box. Jules Alberto converted the penalty, before Khalid Siddique scored the second goal with a strike from 20 yards. Three goals were added in a span of 15 minutes in the second half; Usman converting a rebound of the opposition goalkeeper Edward Ansah taking to the tally to five.[1]
91' (o.g.)
35'