5/5 Soumyadeep M. 1 year ago on Google • 196 reviews
This
statues
represents
one
of
the
most
iconic
moments
in
Indian
Football
History
...In
1909
and
1910,
among
only
a
few
other
native
clubs,
the
team
had
the
honor
to
play
in
the
IFA
Shield
for
its
consistent
performances
over
the
recent
years.
However,
they
would
struggle
to
match
the
regiment
teams
of
British
and
British
Indian
armies
in
the
first
two
years.In
1911,
Mohun
Bagan
formed
a
dominant
side
for
the
IFA
Shield,
which
included
Hiralal
Mukherjee,
Bhuti
Sukul,
Rev.
Sudhir
Chatterjee,
Monmohun
Mukherjee,
Rajen
Sengupta,
Nil
Madhav
Bhattacharya,
Kanu
Roy,
Habul
Sarkar,
Abhilash
Ghosh,
Bijoydas
Bhaduri
and
captained
by
Shibdas
Bhaduri.
They
battled
out
against
the
professionally
equipped
teams
of
St.
Xavier's
College,
Calcutta
Rangers
Club,
Rifle
Brigade
and
Middlesex
Regiment
to
reach
the
IFA
Shield
final
without
conceding
a
goal.
The
enthusiasm
for
the
final
was
such
that
people
came
from
other
districts
of
Bengal
as
well
as
from
neighboring
provinces
of
Bihar
and
Assam.
The
East
Indian
Railway
Company
ran
a
special
train
and
additional
steamer
services
were
pressed
into
service
to
ferry
spectators
to
Calcutta
from
the
mofussil
areas.
Tickets
for
the
match,
originally
priced
at
₹1
and
₹2,
were
sold
at
₹15
due
to
its
immense
demand
in
the
country.
After
trailing
by
a
goal
from
Sgt.
Jackson
of
East
Yorkshire
Regiment
team
within
the
first
15
minutes
of
the
50
minutes
of
match,
Shibdas
Bhaduri
soon
scored
an
equalizer
in
the
first
half
and
then
set
up
Abhilash
Ghosh
to
score
the
winner
with
just
two
minutes
remaining
of
the
match.The
club
became
the
first
native
team
to
lift
the
IFA
Shield,
that
too
in
front
of
an
estimated
crowd
of
80,000,
although
the
referee,
H.G.
Pooler,
estimated
approximately
20,000
to
be
the
number.
Reuters
in
its
cablegram
to
English
newspapers
mentioned:
"For
the
first
time
in
the
history
of
Indian
football
an
Indian
team,
the
Mohun
Bagan,
consisting
purely
of
Bengalees,
has
won
the
Indian
Football
Association
Shield
beating
crack
teams
of
English
regiments.
Though
about
80,000
spectators
were
present
on
the
ground,
but
most
of
them
could
not
see
the
match.
By
noticing
the
flying
of
kites,
they
were
following
the
actions
of
the
match.
And
when
they
came
to
know
about
the
win
of
their
team,
they
started
tearing
off
their
shirts,
waving
them,
tearing
their
hairs."The
mood
can
be
gauged
by
what
Achintya
Kumar
Sengupta
wrote
in
Kallol
Jug:
"Mohun
Bagan
is
not
a
football
team.
It
is
a
tortured
country,
rolling
in
the
dust,
which
has
just
started
to
raise
its
head."Mohun
Bagan
supporters
and
the
public
at
large
went
berserk,
even
supporters
of
Muslim
representative
clubs
like
Moslem
and
Mohammedan
went
to
the
streets
to
celebrate
and
the
Muslims
from
Dharmatala
joined
the
victory
procession
of
Hindus
near
the
Thanthania
Kalibari.
On
31
July
1911,
The
Englishman
wrote,
"What
the
Congress
failed
to
achieve,
Mohun
Bagan
has.
In
other
words
they
have
succeeded
in
degrading
the
English."
The
performance
was
appreciated
by
Manchester
Guardian
saying,
"The
team
comprising
of
the
Bengalis
won
the
IFA
Shield
by
defeating
three
top
military
teams.
80,000
Indians
will
remain
witness
to
this
event.
There
is
nothing
to
be
surprised
at.
The
team
that
is
physically
more
fit,
has
sharp
surveillance
and
intelligence,
wins.".
On
30
July
1911,
India
Mirror
reported,
"The
Japanese
victory
over
the
Russians
did
not
stir
the
East
half
as
much
as
did
the
match
between
Mohun
Bagan
and
East
York."After
the
match
ended,
a
Brahmin,
pointing
to
the
Union
Jack
fluttering
atop
Fort
William,
asked
Rev.
Chatterjee,
"When
will
that
come
down?"
and
according
to
the
popular
legend
it
was
predicted
that
the
flag
would
come
down
only
when
Mohun
Bagan
will
regain
the
shield,
which
would
later
come
true.
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