Mohun Bagan A.C.
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| Full name | Mohun Bagan Athletic Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Mariners | ||
| Founded | 15 August 1889 as Mohun Bagan Sporting Club | ||
| Ground |
Salt Lake Stadium Mohun Bagan Ground Barasat Stadium | ||
| Capacity |
68,000 22,000 22,000 | ||
| President | Swapan Sadhan Bose | ||
| Head coach | Sanjoy Sen | ||
| League | I-League | ||
| 2015–16 | 2nd | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Mohun Bagan Athletic Club (English pronunciation: /mohon begən/) (Bengali : মোহন বাগান) is a professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The club was established in 1889 by Bhupendra Nath Bose and is the oldest existing football club in India.[1] The club plays in the I-League, the top-flight domestic league of Indian football. One of the most decorated clubs in Indian football, Mohun Bagan were awarded the distinction of being the National Club of India by former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi as well as by the All India Football Federation in 1989. This was during the club's centenary celebration and in commemoration of the club's famous victory over East Yorkshire Regiment during the 1911 IFA Shield Final, which made them the first Indian club to defeat a British club to lift the prestigious title.[2]
Mohun Bagan have won the top-tier football league in India four times, including the National Football League three times and the I-League once. They are the most successful team in the history of the Federation Cup having won the championship thirteen times.[3] The club has also won several other accolades, including the Durand Cup (16 times), IFA Shield (22 times), and the Calcutta Football League (29 times).[1] Till 2015 Mohun Bagan has won 246 trophies, which is highest by any Indian club.[4]
The club contests the Kolkata Derby with long-time rivals East Bengal.[5] The first match between the two teams were played on 8 August 1921 which ended in a goalless draw with Mohun Bagan winning the replayed match which got played on 10th Aug 1921 by 3–0.[6]
History
Mohun Bagan was established in 1889 and the team won its first trophy in 1904,[7] when they won Coochbehar Cup.[8] In 1905 Mohun Bagan reached the final of Gladstone Cup which was held in Chinsurah in which they defeated the reigning IFA Shield winners Dalhousie 6-1.
In 1911 Mohun Bagan created history by becoming the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield after defeating East Yorkshire Regiment 2–1 on July 29. Most Mohun Bagan players played barefeet while East Yorkshire Regiment played with proper footballing equipment.[9][10]
Mohun Bagan played their first match in first division of Calcutta Football League on 15 May 1915 against Calcutta Club.[11] In 1939 Mohun Bagan won their first ever Calcutta Football League title. Mohun Bagan got an incredible success during 1933 to 1939 wherein they won 29 trophies. During that phase out of 23 derbies, they beat East Bengal 12 times (including 1 walk over win), 10 drawn matches and lost only 1 derby. It was surely a golden period of a Mohun Bagan Club.
In 1947 Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield after independence.[12] In 1954 the Green & Maroons became the first club to clinch the double crown of Calcutta after winning the IFA Shield and Calcutta Football League. In 1977 Mohun Bagan became the first ever Indian football club to win the triple crown (IFA Shield, Durand Cup and Rovers Cup) in the same year.[12]
In 1977 Mohun Bagan played a friendly match against the famous North American Soccer League club New York Cosmos which featured Pelé.[13] The match, which took place at Eden Gardens, had a match attendance of 80,000 and ended in a 2-2 draw.
In 1978 IFA Shield Final match, Mohun Bagan faced FC Ararat Yerevan of Soviet Union. The match ended 2-2 and both the clubs were declared winners. Thus, the club became the first Indian team, post-independence, to win IFA Shield while competing with a non-Asian side.
In 1981 Mohun Bagan won their first standalone Federation Cup title after beating Mohammedan 2–0.[14]
In 1998 Mohun Bagan won the treble by winning the IFA Shield, Federation Cup and the National Football League for the first time.[15] In 2007 Mohun Bagan won their first Indian Super Cup by defeating Dempo S.C. by a score of 4-0.[16] Then one year later in 2008 Mohun Bagan players got the opportunity to play against German international, Oliver Kahn in his official testimonial for FC Bayern Munich.[16] Along with Kahn, stars like Ze Roberto were present in the Bayern team.[16] The match was played on 27 May 2008 at Salt Lake Stadium.
On 31 May 2015, they claimed their first I-League title (in addition to their previous 3 National Football League titles) after a 1-1 draw with Bengaluru FC, in the league's final match. Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to qualify to the second round of AFC Champions League qualifiers by defeating Singapore club Tampines Rovers on 27 January 2016.[17] Mohun Bagan recorded the biggest margin of victory by an Indian club in an AFC Cup away match by defeating South China AA 4-0 in Hong Kong on 9 March 2016.[18]Mohunbagan was declared the National Club of India in 1989.
Colours and Crests
Colours
The colours of Mohun Bagan have traditionally been green and maroon. In recent times though the club has used a more white dominant away kit for use in away matches.
        Home[19]
|
    Away[20]
|
The current home and away jersey of Mohun Bagan
Crests
The current crest of the club is circular in shape and consists of a sailing country boat painted in green and maroon colours. The boat, perhaps signifies the club's place of establishment; northern Kolkata, on the banks of the Ganges. In fact the city was the capital and prime trade center of British India and the main mode of transportation was through the waterways. The initial crest of the club however consisted of the picture of a royal bengal tiger amidst a dense jungle.[21]
Stadiums
Salt Lake Stadium: Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan
The Salt Lake Stadium (also known as the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal. The stadium is the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world and the largest in India. It is currently used for football matches mainly. The stadium was built in 1984 with a three tier gallery and had a capacity of over 120,000 spectators.[22] This stadium recorded the highest ever attendance of 131,000 in a Kolkata Derby match on the 13 July 1997.
The stadium includes a unique running track, electronic scoreboard, natural turf, floodlighting arrangement, air conditioned VIP rest room and Conference Hall along with Medical Room & Doping Control Room.[23] Other features of the stadium are boxes for TV along with several platforms for TV cameras, press boxes, air conditioned player's changing rooms.
The Salt Lake Stadium hosts the home games of Mohun Bagan in I-League and is a AFC accredited stadium and is hence suitable for hosting Mohun Bagan's matches in AFC competitions.
Mohun Bagan Ground
The Mohun Bagan Ground is another stadium in Kolkata, India. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Mohun Bagan in Calcutta Football League matches. The stadium holds 22,000 people. The stadium is currently undergoing modernisation with new bucket seats and other players and supporter friendly amenities being developed. This is the only club stadium in Kolkata which has flood lights in place to facilitate evening kickoffs.[24]
Barasat Stadium: Vidyasagar Krirangan
Mohun Bagan also plays a few of its matches in this stadium if the other two stadiums are not ready for match.
Supporters
Mohun Bagan have historically enjoyed the privilege of possessing the biggest fan base in India and one of the biggest, globally. The fans known as Mariners have the distinction of the highest attendance in I league matches. There are several fan clubs dedicated to Mohun Bagan in different parts of India.
As per official statistics, Mohun Bagan had the highest average attendance in 2013-14 season. AIFF reported an average home crowd of 17,068,[25] In the 2014-15 I-League season, their vocal support in away matches in Pune, Mumbai as well as Bangalore was a phenomenon previously unseen in Indian football. The Economic Times, a leading Indian newspaper, reported that the club had an average attendance of over 35,000 in their home matches, possibly an I-League record. Over 21,000 attended the league decider between Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC in Bangalore, of this ".. over 8,000 were away fans, travelling from as far as Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune to watch the game," noted Sunando Dhar, chief executive officer of the I-League in the same article.[26] Their royally grand reception, when by some estimates, over 200,000 fans gathered to greet the I League 2014-15 clinching squad (on their way back to Kolkata from Bengaluru) has been dubbed as "legendary" "unparalleled" and "surreal" by the Press as well as football historians.[27]
Mohun Bagan fans have also provided financial help to the club during times of struggles. In early 2000s, a Mohun Bagan fan mortgaged his house to raise funds for signing Brazilian superstar Jose Ramirez Barreto[28] while in 2013 another fan donated his entire monthly salary to the club.[29]
Celebrity Mohun Bagan fans include Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Kazi Nazrul Islam,[30] Premendra Mitra, Hemendra Kumar Ray,[31] K.C.Nag, Manna Dey,[32] Jyoti Basu,[33] R. D. Burman,[34] Sourav Ganguly,[35] Amitabh Bachchan,[36] Satyajit Ray, Uttam Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty,[37] Shakti Chattopadhyay, Srijit Mukherji, Babul Supriyo, Bimal Kar.[38]
Rivalries
Kolkata Derby
Kolkata Derby is the football match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal F.C.. The two clubs currently meet at least 3 times a year, twice in I-League and once in the CFL. Apart from these two leagues the clubs may face each other in competitions like Federation Cup, IFA Shield, Durand Cup etc. The rivalry between the two teams started from 1921 and features in the FIFA's classic derby list.[39] The first derby got played in the knock out round of Coochbehar cup on 8 August 1921 which ended in a goalless draw. In the replayed match, which got played on 10 August 1921 Mohun Bagan outplayed East Bengal 3–0 courtesy goals scored by Rabi Ganguly, Paltu Dasgupta and A.Ghosh. The current matches witness large stadium attendance and rivalry between patrons. Till 2nd April 2016, 345 derbies got played, out of which Mohun Bagan won 107 matches, drawn 113 matches and lost 125 matches. Mohun Bagan has several milestones in this derby like scoring the fastest goal (24 July 1976, a 17-second goal from Md Akbar), 3 hat tricks (Amiyo Deb, Asit Ganguly and Chiddi), winning 2 consecutive derbies in 2 consecutive days (7 and 8 August 1935), losing only 1 derby in 7 years (1933 to 1939). Big margin victory recorded in this derby for Mohun Bagan are in Darbhanga Shield 4–1 (5 September 1934, Amiyo Deb scored all the 4 goals), Raja Memorial Shield 4–0 (6 August 1936, Asit Ganguly scored a hattrick), and I-league 5-3 (25 October 2009, Chiddi scored 4 goals). Over and above this there are innumerable occasions wherein Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal by clear 3 goals margin. Mohun Bagan also had a keen rivalry with Mohammedan SC till 2000s but the importance of this match has fizzled out in past one and half decades.
Current players
First-team Squad
| Squad No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||
| 1 | Arnab Das Sharma |  |
GK | 10 June 1988 | |
| 22 | Vinay Singh | |
GK | 16 October 1977 | |
| 24 | Debjit Majumder | |
GK | 6 March 1988 | |
| 31 | Shilton Pal  |
|
GK | 20 December 1987 | |
| Defenders | |||||
| 2 | Luciano Sabrosa |  |
DF | 25 July 1979 | |
| 3 | Raju Gaikwad | |
DF | 25 August 1990 | |
| 4 | Kingshuk Debnath | |
DF | 8 May 1985 | |
| 5 | Dhanachandra Singh | |
DF | 4 March 1987 | |
| 12 | Pritam Kotal | |
DF | 9 August 1993 | |
| 14 | Sarthak Golui | |
DF | 3 November 1997 | |
| 21 | Sanjay Balmuchu | |
DF | 5 January 1992 | |
| 26 | Shouvik Ghosh | |
DF | 5 November 1992 | |
| 28 | Abhishek Das (loaned from Chennaiyin) |
|
DF | 5 November 1993 | |
| 33 | Prabir Das | |
DF | 20 December 1993 | |
| 39 | Suman Hazra | |
DF | — | |
| Midfielders | |||||
| 6 | Bikramjit Singh | |
MF | 15 October 1992 | |
| 8 | Lalkamal Bhowmick | |
MF | 2 January 1987 | |
| 9 | Kean Lewis | |
MF | 19 September 1992 | |
| 10 | Katsumi Yusa  |
 |
MF | 2 August 1988 | |
| 11 | Pronay Halder | |
MF | 25 February 1993 | |
| 16 | Sony Norde |  |
MF | 27 July 1989 | |
| 17 | Ram Malik | |
MF | 10 March 1991 | |
| 20 | Brandon Fernandes (loaned from Mumbai City) |
|
MF | 20 September 1994 | |
| 23 | Souvik Chakraborty | |
MF | 12 July 1991 | |
| 25 | Tirthankar Sarkar | |
MF | 1 July 1993 | |
| 27 | Adarsh Tamang | |
MF | 5 July 1995 | |
| 30 | Pankaj Moula | |
MF | 20 December 1992 | |
| 32 | Robinson Singh Khumukcham | |
MF | — | |
| 34 | Manish Bhargav | |
MF | 24 February 1994 | |
| 42 | Lenny Rodrigues | |
MF | 10 May 1987 | |
| Forwards | |||||
| 7 | Jeje Lalpekhlua |
|
FW | 7 January 1991 | |
| 13 | Cornell Glen |  |
FW | 21 October 1980 | |
| 15 | Balwant Singh | |
FW | 15 December 1986 | |
| 40 | Subhash Singh (loaned from Mumbai City) |
|
FW | 2 February 1990 | |
| 35 | Azharuddin Mallick | |
FW | — | |
Last updated: 9 January 2016
Source: mohunbaganac.com
Current technical staff
Current coach of Mohun Bagan AC
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chief Coach | Sanjoy Sen |
| Assistant Coach | Sankarlal Chakraborty |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Arpan Dey |
| Physical Trainer | Djair Miranda Garcia |
| Physiotherapist | Abhinandan Chatterjee |
| Club Doctor | Dr. Protim Ray |
| Team Manager | Satyajit Chatterjee |
Last updated: 21 July 2015
Source: mohunbaganac.com
Current management
| Office | Name |
|---|---|
| Hon. President | Swapan Sadhan Bose |
| Hon. Secretary | Anjan Mitra |
| Hon. Asst. General Secretary | Srinjoy Bose |
| Hon. Treasurer | Madan Dutta |
| Hon. Finance Secretary | Debasish Dutta |
| Football Secretary | Satyajit Chatterjee |
| Cricket Secretary | Samrat Bhowmick |
| Hockey Secretary | Kashinath Das |
| Tennis Secretary | Uttam Kumar Saha |
| Ground Secretary | Swapan Banerjee |
Last updated: 24 June 2015
Source: mohunbaganac.com
Honours
Till 2015 Mohun Bagan has won 246 trophies, which is highest by any Indian Club. The following lists the AIFF run National titles that Mohun Bagan have won.
National
- National Football League (until 2006–07 season)
- Winners (13): 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008
- Runners-up (5): 1997, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2010
- Winners (2): 2007, 2009
- Runners-up (2): 1998, 1999
International
- Group Stage (2): 1987, 1988-89
- Preliminary Rounds (4): 1994-95, 1995, 1999-2000, 2016
- Preliminary Qualifiers (1): 2002-03
Last updated: 31 May 2015
Source: mohunbaganac.com
References
- 1 2 Kapadia, Novy (7 June 2015). "Mohun Bagan: Blaze of Glory". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ↑ Bandyopadhyay, Kaushik (30 March 2011). "IFA Shield Final - 100 Years Ago When Immortal Eleven Created History". kolkatafootball.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ↑ "13 times Federation Cup Champions McDowell's Mohun Bagan". mohunbaganac.com. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ Mohun Bagan A.C. > TROPHY COUNT - 246 AND COUNTING......
- ↑ Choudhury, Angikaar (8 September 2015). "The East Bengal-Mohun Bagan derby: The rivalry that divides Kolkata". scroll.in. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ "The first ever derby ended in a draw; Mohun Bagan won the replay game 3-0". mohunbaganac.com. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ↑ "Mohun Bagan History - Century of Celebration". www.mohunbaganac.com. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "FIRST STEP TOWARDS SUCCESS : 1904–1910". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ↑ "India - List of IFA Shield Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ↑ "CREATION OF HISTORY : MOHUN BAGAN THE CHAMPION OF 1911 IFA SHIELD". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ↑ "SILVER AND GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION : 1912–1946". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- 1 2 "NATION WIDE SUCCESS AND DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS : 1947–1960". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ↑ "MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES AND HISTORICAL MATCH AGAINST PELE : 1965–1977". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ↑ "India - List of Federation Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ↑ "GOLDEN ERA OF THE CLUB AND CENTENARY YEAR CELEBRATION : 1978–1999". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- 1 2 3 "THE NEW MILLENIUM AND THE BRAZILIAN MAGIC : 2000–2009". Sabuj Maroon Swapno. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/Mohun-Bagan-create-history-beat-Tampines-Rovers-in-AFC-Champions-League-qualifiers/articleshow/50746911.cms
- ↑ http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-mohun-bagan-thrash-south-china-4-0-in-afc-cup-2187378
- ↑ "Mohun Bagan begin 2016 I-League campaign with win". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Mohun Bagan thrash South China in AFC Cup away game". mohunbaganac.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Manchester United and Mohun Bagan sailing the same boat". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Salt Lake Stadium is the second largest in the world". funonthenet.in. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ↑ "Salt Lake Stadium features". wbsports.in. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ↑ "Newly installed floodlights inaugurated at the Mohun Bagan Ground". Mohun Bagan AC. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ↑ "Attendance figures of Airtel I-League 2013-14". AIFF. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Average rating for the I-League rises 6% in 2015 compared with the last edition". Economic Times. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Mohun Bagan greeted to a grand reception by the Supporters". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Indian Football: Jose Barreto and Mohun Bagan, end of an era". Thehardtackle.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "No 1 Mariner-Lieutenant Colonel Avishek Mukherjee, who contributed his one month salary". MohunBaganAC.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "The bhadralok goes to war". Telegraph India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ http://www.anandabazar.com/supplementary/patrika/hemendra-kumar-roy-was-a-football-lover-and-die-heart-fan-of-mohun-bagan-1.278986#
- ↑ Choudhury, Subhadeep (24 October 2014). "Manna Dey, the golden voice, goes silent at 94". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "Jyoti Basu: A die hard Mohun Bagan supporter". Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "And then there is silence...". Panchamonline.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "As a young boy it was all about watching football: Sourav". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "I have always been a Mohun Bagan supporter says Amitabh Bacchan". Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ "I am the chosen one". Telegraph India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ↑ ""Mohiruha 2" (A write-up on two football officials: Jyotish Guha and Dhiren Dey)". Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ↑ "India's all-consuming rivalry". FIFA.com. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
External links
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