Mohun Bagan was the first Indian team and the first Asian team to have defeated a foreign team when they won the 1911 IFA Shield defeating East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1.We all have heard about Mohun Bagan defeating East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911 to lift the IFA Shield. But few know the whole story behind it.
In honour of this historic victory, the ” Manoshi ” magazine came up with a song on Mohun Bagan, which became a common tune in the lips of all Indians .

It was the last week of the month of July in the year 1911. It marked a mass up rival of the Indian natives against the British regime. Before this “National Association” & even Mohun Bagan had defeated some British teams to win local tournaments like the Trades Cup , but there were no major British teams in those tournaments. Thus winning the Shield was a matter of great privilege . It was the clarion call of a golden dream .Mohun Bagan had defeated heavy weight teams like St. Xavier’s (3-0), Rangers (2-1), Rifle Brigade(1-0) & Middlesex Regiment(1-1;3-0) to reach the final. At this stage all the Bengali youths were rejuvenated with undaunted spirits . The Bombay paper- “The Times of India Illustrated Weekly” reported that ” Thursday & Friday were the proudest day of the Bengalis life . That the barefooted Bagan boys were defeating the foreign teams was the only discussion in the trams, buses & among the office ‘Babus’ ” . On the other hand the Britishers were not at all amused at these events . On 4th August 1911, the ‘ Hitabadi ‘ magazine reported that ” on the evening after the semi-final was over , an Indian passenger asked his co British passenger the score of the match . In return he got a tight slap! ”
29th July .1911 . It was the Independence Day of Bengali Football .Thousands of people thronged from far away Patna ,Purnia ,Kishanganj,Assam & Dhaka to watch the match . On the day of the game at 11:00 am , the ” Calcutta Football Club” brought about 10 thousand people around the ground. Such intense was the atmosphere that the ” Bangiya Sahitya Parsad ” had to postpone their scheduled condolence meeting of Indranath Bandopadhyay.Estiamting a huge turnout the East Indian Railway arranged for special trains from Burdwan to Ranaghat. Special Steamers were arranged to bring people from Rayganj & Baranagar. All trams from Shyambajar & Chitpur were extremely crowded. Traffic jams were created near the High Court & Strand Road.
It was perhaps in 1911 that the first Illegal tickets (black tickets) were sold in Bengal. On the match day , a 2 rupee ticket soar to Rs.15 . Coolies were charging about 50 paise to 2 Rs. to run errands.(This was a huge money in those days). The ” Pioneer” reported that ” A boiled potato costed 1 paise & paan was 1 anna !! ” About 80 thousand to 100,000 people were there in the maidan to watch the game. One side was filled up with the Calcutta Babus & the other side by the Smith Company. The rest was like black sea waves showcasing the heads of the people. Everybody wanted only one thing. -The victory of Mohun Bagan. There was not an iota of space even on the treetops, telegraph posts & roof topped houses.The British civilians were quite vociferous too ! They had come prepared with effigies of Mohun Bagan & the Shield. “Reuters” reported that “the magnitude of the crowd was so large that the scorers & announcers couldn’t work. The scores were being broadcasted in the form of KITES in the sky !!!! ” The ” Empire ” magazine even setup a temporary Telephone Exchange on the spot !!!
On the morning of the match day, the Mohun Bagan players went to Kalighat temple to seek blessings of ‘KALI’- the goddess of Power. With Red Tilaks on their foreheads the Mohun Bagan players stepped in the pitch one by one . They were :

Hiralal Mukherjee; Bhuti Sukul, Sudhir Chatterjee, Manmohan Mukherjee, Rajen Sengupta, Nilmadhav Bhattacharya, Kanu Roy, Habul Sarkar, Abhilash Ghosh, Bijoydas Bhaduri, Shibdas Bhaduri (CAPTAIN).

  ( The Immortal XI )
The ground was hard and dry. A very pacy game commenced. The barefooted Bagan players matched their Britsh counterparts in every aspect of the game. Each long ball from the Regiment players received loud clapping from the English ladies , & simultaneously every counter attack of Mohun Bagan received thunderous applause from the crowd.
Suddenly Jackson of East Yorkshire regiment scored from a free kick. The English ladies started to burn the effigies of Mohun Bagan.Black KITES filled the maidan skies. East Yorkshire-1 . Mohun Bagan -0
Bagan started afresh with renewed zeal after the breather. Within 20 mins Capt. Sibdas Bhaduri restored parity. Amidst high voltage cheers from the crowd the Green’ Maroon KITES filled the skies !!
It was the 87th min. Abhilash Ghosh received a pass from the captain, & his powerful shot went straight into the goal !
Within a few seconds the whole of Kolkata was filled with thunderbolt like crackers. It started to rain in shirts, sticks ,shoes within the ground. The Englishmen made a hasty exit. Cries of ” Bande Mataram” & “Mohun Bagan ki Jay” ( Hail Mohun Bagan) filled the skies.
It is said that when the team was returning to the club with the Shield, a Brahmin pointed to the Union Jack atop the Fort William & asked – ” When will that come down ? ” Somebody replied that ” It will come down when Mohun Bagan will win the shield again.”
It may be a coincidence , but Bagan won their next shield in 1947 – the year of Indian Independence. !!!!
The players were taken on a public procession atop a Horse driven carriage. Both Hindus & Muslims came out with band parites.The procession reached Wellington Square after evening ! Ladies in the houses blew their conchs & lit their ‘diyas’ ( lamps) in honor of the brave lads.
After a full round of the city followed by innumerable fans , the procession came to a halt near the house of Club Supervisor-Sailen Basu.
The whole night of Kolkata was bathed in lights . Only Chowringee Square remained dark. It was the Sahib Para ( British Locality) of Kolkata.
The next day was almost celebrated a National Festival. Huge feasts were held in many places including the house of Sailen Bose.Jalsa( song & dance) & fetes filled the city. The famous drama – “Bhisma Vijay” was enacted in honor of the victorious team !!
In England – London Reuters , The Daily Mail , London Times. The Manchester Guardian , Singapore Free Press all acknowledged & congratulated Mohun Bagan. The Indian – Amrita Bazar Patrika christened the team as ” Immortal XI “. The Statesman & The Englishman did the same. The Empire reported – ” All honors to Mohun Bagan. Those XI players are not only a glory to themselves ,but the whole nation deserves the billing ”
The Aftermath:
Standard Cycle Company( 59 Harrison Road) started to give free posters of the Mohun Bagan team with their products. About 100,000 copies were sold ! Merrs. Hald & Chat (Halder & Chatterjee) reduced their wares by 50% for all Mohun Bagan members !! The Great National Theatre advertised the ‘Baji Rao’ play as : “Mohun Bagan wins the Shield, Bajirao is the victorious !
Achinta Kumar Sengupta in his ‘ Kollol Jug’ said ” Mohun Bagan is not a football team. It is a tortured country, rolling in the dust, which has just started to rise its head.”
1911 IFA Shield still stirs the memory of the football lovers. The National Pride was churned up in the wrap of a football game. The dusk after 1857 Sipoy Mutiny reappeared as the golden new dawn in 1911 .

A postage stamp had been published by Govt of India in 1989 remembering the 1911 Victory of Mohun Bagan Athletic club. It is to be noted that Indian Nationalism has got a boost after this win. Govt of India honoured the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club and it’s immortal eleven for the fight for an oppressed country. This is the only postage stamp in India that has been published for a Club. It is that moment when Mohun Bagan has been announced as the National Club of India.

Mohun Bagan 2 – 2 New York Cosmos

Mohun Bagan’s illustrious history is a veritable cornucopia of unforgettable memories. Amidst this treasure-trove of golden moments, a cynosure of attraction is the famous Mohun Bagan vs Cosmos match, which featured Pele, arguably the greatest player the game has ever produced. Mohun Bagan is the only Indian club to have the rare and historic distinction of playing against the legendary Pele, that too on home soil. Apart from Pele, great players like Cinnalia ,Miffin, Alberto, Roth ,Keith Eddie and Tonyfield also graced the occasion. This article takes you down the meandering lanes of history to the year 1977 and relives the euphoria surrounding Pele’s visit to Calcutta.

PROLOGUE
This memorable event in the history of Indian football was the result of the vision and indomitable zeal of Mr. Dhiren Dey.it was his long cherished dream to present Pele before the Indian spectators. Initial attempts on his part were scuppered by the Cosmos club authorities demand of a whooping 4 crore rupees for playing a match in India. Determined not to give up Mr Dey directly contacted Pele and urged him to don his jersey on Indian soil–a land where his name spelt magic and millions of people were crazy simply to catch a glimpse of him in action. This emotional appeal struck an responsive chord in Pele’s heart and he took upon himself the responsibility of convincing the club officials. After some dilly-dallying the Cosmos officials finally decided to send their star-studded team to play against Mohun Bagan.

The Air India aircraft carrying the Cosmos football team landed at the Dum Dum airport on 22nd.September,1977 at 11.15 p.m. A mammoth crowd ,the like of which Calcutta has never seen, gathered at the airport to accord a grand welcome to Pele.Conch shells and trumpets were blown as legions of football lovers gathered on either side of the route through which Pele was driven to his hotel(The Grand Hotel).A huge ocean of humanity congregated in front of the Grand Hotel and they went delirious with joy as Pele alighted from his vehicle. The mass hysteria that Pele’s visit generated remains unparalleled till date in Calcutta’s history. The warmth and love that people showered on Pele moved him deeply, and he remarked “What an amazing crowd!”.

It rained heavily on the 23rd. and it was widely feared that rain might play spoil-sport. Speculation was rife among sceptics that Pele might not play on the soggy Eden Gardens pitch. However, a great human being that he was Pele declared that nothing apart from an absolute meteorological calamity could prevent him from taking the field. The vibes surrounding his visit had carved a niche in Pele’s heart and he was determined not to let rain dampen the spirit.

THE MATCH
The 80,000 strong capacity crowd giving a thunderous ovation as the Cosmos and Mohun Bagan players took the field. The defining chant of “Pele Pele Pele” rent the air, as the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the match. Fortunately the rain had held up but the ground was still slashy. Both teams started on a cautious note with occasional forays into the rival territory. One such move saw the Cosmos team opening the score. Cosmos drew first blood in the 17th. minute. A brilliant through ball from Pele split the Mohun Bagan defence and an overlapping Alberto tucked the ball into the net. However Mohun Bagan evened the score in the very next minute .Habib initiated a brilliant move, dribbling past a couple of Cosmos players and passed the ball to Akbar. Akbar evaded a diving tackle from Morais and gave the ball to Shyam Thapa whose brilliant punch found the net. The stadium erupted with delirious joy .P.K Banerjee ,the Mohun Bagan coach had deployed Goutam Sarkar as Pele’s marker. The match witnessed a mesmerizing duel between the two. On one occasion, Pele evaded Goutam Sarkar with an impeccable chest-trap and dribbled his way into the Mohun Bagan box. A desperate Shivaji Banerjee jumped full stretch to snatch the ball from Pele’s feet .In a rare gesture of true sportsmanship Pele jumped over the Mohun Bagan goalie into the Mohun Bagan net keeping Shivaji’s countenance intact in the process. This noble gesture drew a warm round of applause from the audience. In the 23rd. minute Akbar took a powerful 30 yard stinging long-ranger. The ball ricocheted off a diving Yesin, the Cosmos goalkeeper and landed before Habib who romped home with a powerful strike. Mohun Bagan shot ahead 2-1 much to the joy of the home crowd. In the dying moments of the first half Cosmos mounted pressure on the Mohun Bagan territory and nearly scored on two occasions. First, Pele took an enthralling 30 yard free-kick that curled viciously past the Mohun Bagan wall and brushed against the cross-piece. The trajectory of the ball left the audience spell-bound with amazement. On another occasion, Sivaji Banerjee pulled off a stupendous save to deny Cannilia who took a blinding shot at goal from close range. Thanks to Shivaji Banerjee, who guarded the Mohun Bagan citadel like a man possessed, Mohun Bagan led by the odd goal in three at half-time. Mohun Bagan made five substitutions in the second half and played a more defensive game. The game did not reach the same lofty heights that the first half witnessed. Pele took another brilliant free-kick in the second half. He gently chipped the ball over the Mohun Bagan wall to Cannilia who passed to Field. However Field failed to score from close range. In the 70th. minute Mohun Bagan conceded a penalty when a Sudhir Karmakar sliding tackle found the referee pointing to the dreaded spot. Cannilia made it 2-2 and the match ended at that score .The crowd walked back home replete with memories of a historic and momentous event in Indian football. The Mohun Bagan players played their hearts out against a formidable opponent comprising of legendary greats of the game and earned the kudos of one and all. The next day the Ananda Bazar Patrika, described Goutam Sarkar as “India’s very own Beckenbaur”.(Incidentally Beckenbaur was scheduled to play against Mohun Bagan but an ankle injury in the previous game prevented him from doing so.)

EPILOGUE
Mohun Bagan threw a banquet in the evening at Grand hotel in honour of the Cosmos players. On behalf of Mohun Bagan Chuni Goswami presented Pele with a glittering diamond ring. Pele praised the Mohun Bagan players effusively and commented that the hosts could have led 4-1 at half-time had they not bungled chances.He particularly showered praise on Goutam Sarkar,Subrata Bhattacharyya,Pradip Chowdhury,Habib,Bidesh Bose and Shivaji Banerjee.During the party,Pele gave an affectionate pat on Goutam Sarkar’s back and said: “You No.14 did not allow me to move”. On 25th.September,Pele bid adieu to Calcutta but left behind a treasure-trove of fond memories to cherish a life-time. This match marked the end of Pele’s contract with Cosmos. It was the penultimate match of Pele’s illustrious career. He played his last farewell match at New Jersey on 1st. October. Years later, during the 1990 World Cup Shyam Sunder Ghosh, a reporter of The Statesman asked Pele about his memories of the match. Pele reminisced: “I still remember Calcutta and also some memorable occasions, particularly goalkeeper Shivaji Banerjee who dived to save a goal on my feet which I could have scored. This incident was the best in Eden Gardens. “This match will always stand out as on of the brightest feathers in Mohun Bagan’s cap during its long and glorious history.

Composed by Joydeep Bhattacharya – Nov 2004