The match became the stuff of dreams and folklore, and the 11 Bagan players that played in that match were immortalized.
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When one talks about some of the great clubs in football, names like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and others come to mind. Not often does one spare a thought for the clubs of Asia, let alone India. What many people do not know is that India is also home to a club that belongs in the same category. Not because of its titles, but because of the club’s history and how deep-rooted it is in the culture of the city it is from. This club is the great Mohun Bagan. Originating from India’s hub of football, Kolkata, Mohun Bagan is the oldest club in the country, and one of the greatest in world football. Along with East Bengal, Mohun Bagan is part of the Kolkata derby, which is historically the biggest football match in all of Asia. The one moment that made Bagan what they are today came over 100 years ago, on July 29, 1911.
India was under British rule at the time, and in the early 1900s, the Indian freedom movement was well underway. There was a strong sense of patriotism among locals, and a desire to kick the foreigners out of the country. Mohun Bagan was a fledgling club back then. They were not embedded into the Bengali culture just yet. At the time, they did not have much money to spare, so the players played barefoot. They also did not have the facilities to be as good as the British sides that played in India.
At the time, the Indian Football Association (IFA) shield was the greatest prize in Indian football. The problem was that it was only won by British sides. East Yorkshire Regiment was one of the sides that was a serial winner of the competition and it seemed unlikely that they would lose the crown anytime soon. Little did they know that a small Indian club at the time would be the one to break their hold on the title.
Bagan, at the time, was captained by legendary Indian footballer Shibdas Bhaduri. It was considered a miracle that they even made it to the final of such a difficult competition, especially with such limited facilities and equipment. Bagan had beaten quite a few sides to get to the final. These included the likes of St. Xavier’s, Rangers, Rifle Brigade, and Middlesex. Supporters all over the country, and especially in Bengal had started to become fans at this point.
During those times, there was no rivalry among Bengali supporters. Bagan was the only club they had and they supported it with everything they had. The squad that played the final had eight ‘bangals’ (those who migrated from Bangladesh to Bengal), which is the community East Bengal represents today. Thus, Mohun Bagan was the one club for Bengalis everywhere.
There was one problem, however. The final was against the defending champions, and the club that had a stranglehold over the IFA shield, East Yorkshire Regiment. The match was played in Kolkata, at the Maidan ground near the center of the city. By no standards was it a small tournament. Newspapers in England, like the Daily Mail, London Times, and Manchester Guardian covered it in detail.
A sea of supporters across Bengal and India flocked to the ground, hoping to witness a historic moment. As the players made their way onto the pitch, the local crowd cheered for the home side, and vehemently booed the English one. As was expected, East Yorkshire Regiment took an early lead. They were the dominant side in the game and looked set to retain the shield. What they did not see coming was Mohun Bagan playing to their full potential.
Skipper Shibdas Bhaduri got the Mariners level, and suddenly, there was belief. Fans cheered their lungs out as the skipper wheeled away in celebration. The score was level, and there was a chance, a very good chance. Things calmed down a bit on the pitch after the equalizer went in. Neither team wanted to make a mistake, and things were pretty tense for the fans. With only four minutes of regulation time to play, Bhaduri played a slick ball to Abhilash Ghosh, who slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to hand Bagan the lead.
The Maidan ground immediately erupted with a sense of jubilation. Shortly afterward, the referee blew the final whistle. Mohun Bagan had done it. They became the first-ever all-Indian team to win the IFA shield. That victory was not just a footballing win. It was a win against the British rule in India. Bengal mobilized for the freedom movement after that game like nobody had ever expected. It is quite fitting that a Bengali club became the first to break the British stranglehold on an Indian football title as Bengal was the place from where the freedom movement started, way back in 1857. It is also the state where the East India Company defeated the forces of the Nawab of Bengal in 1757, at the Battle of Plassey, which began the British rule in India.
The match became the stuff of dreams and folklore, and the 11 players that played in that match were immortalized. That team is known as ‘Amor Egaro’ which directly translates to ‘Immortal Eleven’ from Bengali. It was this match that cemented Bagan’s place not just in Indian football, but in world football. They were termed the national club of India by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and to this day, they remain one of the greatest clubs in the world.
The Immortal Eleven: Shibdas Bhaduri (Captain), Abhilash Ghosh, Bhuti Sukul, Bijaydas Bhaduri, Hiralal Mukherjee (GK), Manmohan Mukherjee, Rajendra Sengupta, Sudhir Chatterjee, Srishchandra ‘Habul’ Sarkar, Jatindranath ‘Kanu’ Roy, Nilmadhab Bhattacharya.
