Category: Down the memory lane

Shibaji Banerjee No More

With heavy heart, mohunbaganclub.com condoles the demise of stalwart Shibaji Banerjee, ex player, and Technical Committee member. Shibaji-da was present in the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium to watch Bagan play DSK Shivajians, and was seen accepting fans’ requests for group photos.

There is no need of introduction of Shibaji Banerjee, the goalkeeper was the icon and idol for boys of Calcutta of 70s and 80s, who would love to become a goalkeepers just like him.

The ex Bagan player was one of the key members of the technical.committee that helped Bagan to come back to the track of victories and performances in recent past.

He not only stopped Pele from scoring a goal, he won 34 trophies for Bagan, and dis not concede a single goal against East Bengal from 1977-1981. He played for 11 yeara for Bagan and was the undisputed number one goalie for the club.

Mohun Bagan wins Federation Cup

Mohun Bagan wins Federation Cup for the record 14th time. Mohun Bagan beat Aizawl FC 5-0 in the Federation Cup final. All 5 goals were scored in the second half.
Scorers – Sony, Dhanachandra, Jeje(2), Bikramjit

Jeje was adjudged Man of the match.

Pic courtesy – Mohunbagan Gorbo

Fan speaks: Saikat Bose

Well its been 5 days and I am still in trance. Every second, every blink of eye, I go back to the rainy night in Bangalore when kanteerava stadium witnessed history. It has been a long year and a even longer painstaking journey of 5 years that mariners (Mohun Bagan fans) have going through. The National Club of India without a trophy worth mentioning was not what would history ideally scripted but then that was the fact. My humble eyes had witnessed many a battles that 11 warriors clad on green and maroon had fought in the green battlefield but none of them was as historic as important as the one fought on the night of 31st May 2015. Its going to be a long post, so grab your beer and ride along.

30th morning I took the flight to Bangalore from Mumbai wearing the colors in which I was born and in which I pray I am draped for my final journey. It was fascinating as when I landed in Bangalore, I knew that in majority of the  flights landing in Bangalore that day or the next day, there will be a mariner traveling, carrying the dreams and hopes of millions back home. I was joined in the airport by Snehashis Bhattacharya Mayukh Roy and Suman Ganguly. Just after us Kaushik Dutta da and his family had landed from Mumbai and Rajshankar Ghosh da had landed from Delhi. As we touched down on the soil of silicon city, suddenly, I realized the weight of expectations and dreams that we were carrying. We knew whichever way the dice rolled, it would be etched in our memories and penned down in history for ever.

Post checking in our hotel, we went yo the stadium to watch our team practice. We were welcomed there by our brothers from Mariners at Bangalore and many others from Kolkata. There were hugh cardboard cuttings of boat and prawns that the Bangalore mariners had bought and it was like a festive atmosphere prior to the match. The mood was very well captured by the Bengali mainstream media who too had come in full force to be a part of history. We were tensed but somewhere up there the little birdie was singing our tune. Later in the evening we had a small pre match party wherein the Mumbai Pune Mariners were joined by Somak Mohunbagani Ghosh da and Surojit da for a tension relieving elixir session.

Cut to match day and I woke up at 4 am. Simply couldn’t sleep. Checked the social media updates and realized that I am not alone. 90% of mariners in social media were sleep bereft and the tension of the match had soaked in completely. Again went to the battlefield in morning more to relive tension than anything else and ended up giving some media bytes. Well before I forget and move ahead, the morning earlier while collecting match tickets gave a piece of mind to a East Bengal supporter, no better feeling than that

Cut to match day prime time action, dark dense clouds had covered Bangalore skyline and it had started drizzling at around 4 pm when we left our hotel for the stadium. All of us were clad in green and maroon with each carrying some or the other items that that considered the lucky charm. By the time we reached stadium it was nearly pouring. The west end was were the supporters of both the sides had gathered and the ultras were clearly differentiated by the colors of the mother club. While one end was clustered by the blues, the other end was painted green and maroon. The match was still a good 2 hours away but the frenzy was building up. The vocal fight was on between the fans and I am sure the city’s decibel records were broken quite a few times during the course of those few hours. The chants of ‘Amra Karaa’ was equally replied by bfc chants of ‘who are we’ and it was like two armies preparing for the last battle.

Once the team bus came in, supporters of both the teams made their way into the stadium. And from there on it was a fight between East Lower B and North Stand where most of the 2000 strong mariners had anchored their sail against West Block A which was painted blue by the bfc fans. One quick comparison between the two set of fans and their supporting pattern. While mariners where in with their traditional long flags and the epic amra Kara chants, bfc supporters were more of waving large hand flags and singing songs types. The difference between historic tradition and the the impact of European soccer was clearly evident. What must be highlighted is the initiatives of mariners @ Bangalore to give green and maroon scarves to each supporter and the green and maroon plastic board to create a Hugh mosaic pattern. All of it was a resounding success as was the first attempt by 1000+ fans to sing ‘amader Surya maroon’ together.

I won’t go much into the technicals details of the match because I was so tensed that I barely watched  25% of the match live. But the one thing everyone will vouch for is the fact that the atmosphere was electrifying throughout the match well complimenting the heavy showers and thunderbolts which also got sketched in history. The list goal and post match celebration cannot be described in words and it will be injustice to the moment if I attempt to pen it down.

The dreams of billions were fulfilled .. I saw kids dancing in rain, I saw elders weeping like a toddler, I saw Holi being played with two colours, I saw people shrieking with joy, I saw people clinging on the flags and crests and dancing like this was their last celebration, I saw club officials dancing with us, I saw players coming and saluting the spirit of fans, I saw Mohun Bagan my mother club lifting the I League 2015, I saw 125 year old boat, raising its head once again over the turbulent waters, fluttering it’d green and maroon sail and vociferously telling its billion sailors, the sail has been hoisted again, let us ride over all the waved and row together towards a new dawn. Proud to be a sailor, proud of my green and maroon colors. I will be with you till my last breathe and will witness many more journeys and victories together. Joy Mohun Bagan.

Fan Speaks : Saptak Ghosh

I have been watching Mohun Bagan play since the last 15 years. It is my dad who instilled the passion , emotion and love for the mother club. As a matter of fact , I witnessed many memorable moments and success of the club , albeit the last 5 years was like a barren land. This year’s victory will be special to me because of many things. First ,football experts and critics never thought that this Mohun Bbagan team could create history and after 5 years of trophylessness it was right to think so after a disappointing show at the federation cup once again. Thousands of supporters thronged to the airport with colors , crackers , flags to make the celebration worth remember . Some were crying , still couldn’t believe what had happened and some danced their way to the club ground . It was such an outstanding and unforgettable moment for all Bagan fans who found utter happiness , satisfaction and swelled in immense pride. It was a great homecoming for the gallants. Thanks team Mohun Bagan.

 

Saptak Ghosh

Fan Speaks : Poem of Abhijit Ray

বিজয় সূর্য উঠেছে আকাশে
সরিয়ে রাতের কালোকে
সব উচ্ছ্বাস ঝলমল করে
সবুজ মেরুন আলোকে

আনন্দে নাচে ময়দান আর
ভিক্টোরিয়ার পরী
স্বর্ণলঙ্কা জয় করে তীরে
ভিড়েছে সোনার তরী

প্রতিপক্ষরা যদিও ছুঁড়েছে
গোলাগুলি,জেট,মিগ
সবুজ মেরুন বোমারু ব্রিগেড
এনে দিল আই লিগ

অকাল হোলিতে চারিদিকে দেখি
সবুজ মেরুন ছেয়ে
ইতিহাস বুঝি কথা বলে ওঠে
শতক সরণী বেয়ে

The Cup is there in the town

Whether it is Arunangshu Banerjee,Somtirtha Singha Choudhury
Debarghya Ghosh, Mukul Das from Bangalore, Souvik Goswami from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , Snehashis Bhattacharya or  Kaushik Dutta from Mumbai , Subhasis Chatterjee from Bally or Mrinmoy Dey from Agarpara, Somak  Ghosh from Kolkata, or any other Mohun Bagan supporter, the big night arrived on 31st May 2015. The wait is over.

 

Glimpses of the big event from Bangalore to Kolkata (as shared in Facebook / Whatsapp pic courtesy all named above)

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Mohun Bagan win iLeague

With a 1-1 draw against Bengaluru FC, Mohun Bagan win iLeague 2014-15.

Bello Razzaq is the man who helped win the iLeague 2014-15.

Congratulations to the players, team support staff, coaching staff, officials & all supporters across the globe. A big thanks to all those who kept faith on Mohun Bagan including the ex-players, ex-coaches from Bengal & Goa , supporters of rival clubs & more.

Mohun Bagan Day celebrated

 

 

 

mbday_30

29th July 2014, Kolkata:

Mohun Bagan Day was celebrated in the club tent today. however, this day was a bit different from the 29th July of last few years. No major celebration was there, but the morale was quite high.

The President was present and met the veteran Mohun Bagan players. The committee members were there as well. Veteran coach Amal Dutta was present in the club ground. There were actors from Tollywood who participated in a friendly game with the journalists. Before the same, colts and veterans participated in two separate football matches.

 

THE HISTORICAL TRIUMPH OF 1911 IFA SHIELD

1911 copy

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 :

1911team
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 .

postage-stamp

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.