German football team Bayern Munich have caused football mania in the Indian city of Calcutta, where they will become the first big European club to play in India. The team have arrived in the city to play a friendly match against local side Mohan Bagan at Calcutta’s Salt Lake Stadium. It’s believed that the historic match will attract 120,000 spectators. It is particularly special for Bayern Munich, as it will be the last for the legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who is retiring after 22 years with the team.

During their time in Calcutta, Bayern Munich will be engaging with the local community by running a coaching clinic, which was organised by Adidas, at the Calcutta Cricket and Football club. 48 promising youngsters were selected to participate in the clinic, where they were taught by the likes of Mark van Bommel, Andreas Ottl, Jose Ernesto Sosa and other top footballers. The top six players from the coaching clinic will be flown to the Bayern Football School in Germany to attend the FC Bayern Football Camp later in the year.

As the team spent so much time with the community, they didn’t have the opportunity to practice before the game. As Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld explained, “We have some social responsibilities, so that won’t allow us time for practice.” However, Mr Hitzfeld said that he believes the team have practiced enough, he said: “We have practiced enough in Bali and that I feel it is sufficient to keep us in right shape.”

Bayern Munich’s visit to Calcutta signifies the increasing popularity of football in a country that is known for its love of cricket. BBC reporters spoke to two young boys, Ramjit and Sanjoy, who will be in the crowd at Wednesday’s match. One believes that football is getting so popular in India that it could eventually rival the popularity of cricket, while the other is not so sure. Ramjit said: “If Bayern Munich can come down here why can football not compete with cricket? It is just a slow ongoing process. There are kids who like watching football, they prefer it to cricket as cricket is getting boring.” His friend Sanjoy wasn’t quite so sure, he said: “Every sport in this country is secondary to cricket.”

Located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. Calcutta has a population of almost 11 million, with an extended metropolitan population of over 14 million, making it the third largest urban agglomeration and the third largest city in India.Calcutta is well known for the poverty to be found on its streets, but seeing it for real can still come as a shock to visitors to the city. Its important that visitors do go there but they know before going what to expect. The tourist industry is a vital part of the economy.

It has stunning buildings, vibrant atmosphere, world class entertainment facilities and the kindness of people in the streets, bars and restaurants but you cannot turn a blind eye to the desperation which also exists in this city.In many ways Calcutta seems familiar the English street names, the architecture, the English language. At the same time the context is so foreign. The effect is very odd, sometimes even frightening to the Western visitor.Bengali culture is magnificent. Bengali is spoken by more people than is French or Japanese. It has a tropical climate.

Eden Gardens is the oldest cricket ground in India and is also considered one of the finest in the world. The history of the Indian Cricket is irrevocably bound up with that of Calcutta Cricket Club, which did the pioneering work in cricket not only in Calcutta but in the whole of the eastern region of India. The present Eden Gardens Cricket Club came in existence some time in the year 1864. It is not certain as to whom the land belonged to although some records show that it was the property of then Maharaja of Cooch Behar while some other records state that it belonged to the Auckland Family.

In November 1993, a five nation tournament was played in India to celebrate the CAB Diamond Jubilee, where day night one day international matches were played at this ground, thanks to the installation of four gigantic floodlights. It can now also legitimately boast of having one of the largest accommodation in the world for viewing the game.