|
HOW GREEN WAS MY BAGAN - by Nilanjan Datta
|
Tumse Milke Dil Ka Jo Haal Kya Kahen... 'None in the 'House Full!' auditorium remembered Delhi's heat. The air was cool, seats cosy, and for the moment Sushmita Sen and Shahrukh Khan in Main Hoon Na seemed the two best things on the planet. Nothing else mattered. Not for all though. For, the majority stayed outside.
Two missed calls (not answered intentionally) were followed by an SMS. "Won 4-1, saved relegation. Ha, ha, ha." Even without the specifics, the message was loud and clear: National Football League whipping boys Mohun Bagan had managed to save relegation.
On the screen, nevertheless, Sushmita was still simply stunning. "Dhum Tara, Dhum Tara, Dhum Tara, Dhum Tara, Dhum Tara, Dhum Tara, Dhum-ma..." More calls followed. Agitated, wife sitting beside, snatched the phone and switched it off. She too was in the former Miss Universe's thrall. But it wasn't disturbance alone. She follows the game a bit and had read how Bagan officials had rudely switched their's off in the same manner. It was Baichung Bhutia at the other end, calling a year ago, expressing his desire to play for green-and-maroons. Only then the Bagan administration had the audacity not to respond Bhutia'scalls! How could you blame wife for her indignation?
The officials never called back. Nothing happened to them either. A disgusted Baichung switched colours and walked across the Kolkata Maidan to join East Bengal. Hearts broke, tears rolled (the officials shed not one). Not like in the movies, but for the 113-year old institution of Indian soccer - Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Already dusty and threatening to develop rust."I'm sure, we'll be fighting relegation next season also," the SMS sender, one who has grown up breathing the Maidan air, said after the initial euphoria had died down. "In such a polluted environment, even Maradona couldn't have delivered."
Speak to Balaram Chowdhury, who was in charge of the football team this season; or secretary Anjan Mitra who was ordered by the Court to leave club matters to 'Special Officers,' both claim unanimously: "They (the rival factions) didn't let me work. They let Barreto leave midway. They feel Mohun Bagan is their personal property." Notwithstanding, both do admit: "In East Bengal, officials stay united in footballing matters. Not in our club." Hilarious. Interestingly, both claim they want club elections at the earliest. And both maintain they want an end to the court cases and an updation of club accounts. For the record, Bagan's committee elections were last held in 1989 and there are over 40 pending cases registered against the club. But none has stayed away from interfering in team-meetings, influencing the coach or disturbing players.
These factional battles have been in existence since the Nineties. But some glorious performances on the field pushed all that to the background: 'Diamond Bagan' in 1997, three NFL crowns in five years and an individual - Jose Barreto, rose above all. Today, all are history. The two factions of the officials aren't.
Fighting an ego-battle, Mitra and his patrons, in 2002, deliberately broke the NFL champion squad because the opposition group refused to withdraw court cases. All this while, immune to the boardroom mess, the team had studiously performed on the field. Now, their rapid decline, could be pin-pointed to this moment of Mitra's petulance.
One of the major reasons for dissent was the supposed attaching of liquor company, UB Group's products with Mohun Bagan. While East Bengal had no problems being rechristened 'Kingfisher East Bengal,' 'McDowell Mohun Bagan,' couldn't be gulped down, the dissident group claimed. In the mother of all ironies, that very group, now in charge of the club, do so on an UB budget. The case hasn't been withdrawn either.
Amidst all this, two positive developments did happen. This season, all the players unanimously admitted to receiving their salaries, something novel in the last decade. Secondly, the launching of the Mohun Bagan credit card in collaboration with ICICI. This may not have an immediate bearing, but may improve club finances in the next couple of years.The earlier, the better for 'Mecca.' On Friday, the 'Mecca' wept inconsolably. One of her three sons, part of the one-time Big-three and carrier of awesome folklore, failed to make it. Mohammedan Sporting was relegated to the second division. Similar problems, worse management. Players weren't paid salaries, were threatened and Sultan Ahmed, the club secretary, found the Parliamentary elections more tempting than club affairs. With four coaches playing musical chairs, relegation was inevitable. What's more, the honesty of the players was also doubted. As in Sporting, officials questioned the commitment of Bagan's heart, and lungs: Jose Ramirez Barreto. An insult to the native from the nondescript south Brazilian town of Bage, whose favourite line was: "Salt Lake Stadium is my Marcana; Mohun Bagan my life." The Almighty is always good. Had Barreto stayed back, Bagan would surely have finished among the top-four. Chowdhury and Mitra would have continued their feuds, the historical club would have suffered more.
The day East Bengal played Indian Bank for the NFL crown, a banner fluttered on the Salt Lake Stadium terraces. It was the red-and-gold's SMS to Bagan: 'Why target our players? Instead, hire some of our officials.'
Solutions, sometimes, come in the simplest of words. There's no one present in Bagan, or Sporting, who can stand up and proclaim: Main Hoon Na.
|
|