Kolkata keeps its footballing royalty in a private museum of memory. Pele arrived with the New York Cosmos in 1977 and found a Mohun Bagan side stubborn enough to hold them to a 2-2 draw at Eden Gardens.
Diego Maradona came twice and was received less like a visiting footballer than a returning monarch. Lionel Messi played his first match as Argentina captain at the Salt Lake Stadium in 2011. Each visit passed from event into folklore.
