Ganguly surprised by Valderrama's sudden stopover at Eden Gardens

Colombian great Carlos Valderrama, a FIFA Legend for the U-17 World Cup, surprised Ganguly by suddenly stopping over at the Eden Gardens while returning from the adjoining Mohun Bagan, midway through a three-day visit to the football-crazy city.

The veteran Sourav Ganguly was occupied with a promotional shoot at the Eden and was perhaps not aware of the Colombian's presence along with his wife, Elvira. Valderrama had to wait briefly for Ganguly to finish the shoot.

The duo had a small talk and spoke about cricket. Valderrama donned a Mohun Bagan jersey and was quite excited while giving a thumbs-up to the crowd.

“He has heard a few things about cricket so we took him to Eden Gardens to meet Ganguly. It was just a perfect meeting of the two legends of different sports. Yes, they spoke about cricket,” an official involved with the trip said to PTI.

Further, the 56-year-old displayed his sleek skills and enthralled the crowd at the Mohun Bagan tent with a spot kick, which was beyond the reach of goalkeeper Shilton Paul. Also, he juggled the ball with his left and right foot. 

He was presented Mohun Bagan’s popular jersey number 10, which Sony Norde will be sporting this season.

The FIFA Legend arrived at Edens after participating in a legends exhibition football match in Mumbai, that marked the 30 days’ countdown to the U-17 World Cup. Before concluding his trip, Valderrama will attend a football workshop at a school.