Mohun Bagan AC
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Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. The club is most notable for its victory over
East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
in the 1911
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
final. This victory made Mohun Bagan the first all-Indian side to win a championship over a British side and was a major moment during India's push for
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. Although Mohun Bagan is a
multi-sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
, the primary sport since its foundation had been
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. They have won the top-flight football league a record five times – the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
three times, and the
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
twice. They were the most successful team of India in the history of the
Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...
, having won the championship a record 14 times. The club had also won several other trophies, including the
Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...
(16 times),
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
(22 times),
Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...
(14 times), and the
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
(30 times). The club won various minor and major trophies throughout its history. The club contested the
Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...
with long-time local rivals
East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
with the first derby match played on 8 August 1921. The club also shared a rivalry with another local club, Mohammedan SC. On 2014 Niranjan Kakati was felicitated by the club for highest cleansheet record. Mohun Bagan was inducted into the
Club of Pioneers The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country. The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football Association football, mor ...
, a network of the oldest existing football clubs around the world, on 29 July 2019 as the club celebrated its 130th year in existence. Mohun Bagan was inducted into the
Club of Pioneers The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country. The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football Association football, mor ...
, a network of the oldest existing football clubs around the world, on 29 July 2019 as the club celebrated its 130th year in existence. Since 2020,
ATK Mohun Bagan FC ATK Mohun Bagan FC () is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club, which was formed as a merger between the football section of m ...
succeeded the football operations of Mohun Bagan after Kolkata Games and Sports Private Limited, the company that owned
ATK FC ATK (formerly Atlético de Kolkata) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football and were the league champions during the inaugural ...
, took an 80% stake in Mohun Bagan. ATK FC as a football club dissolved on 1 June 2020 and ATK Mohun Bagan FC continues playing with the existing registration of Mohun Bagan with
AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...
and
IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...
.


History


Formation and early years (1880s)

The foundation of Mohun Bagan AC stretches back into the 1880s when the neighborhood youth of presently known Fariapukur Lane in
Shyambazar Shyambazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Bagbazar, the citadel of the Bengali ari ...
had set out in search for an ideal place to establish a football club, and came across a marble palace, ''Mohun Bagan Villa'', owned by the family of a leading
jute trade The jute trade is centered mainly around India, India's West Bengal and Assam, and Bangladesh. The major producing country of jute is India and biggest exporter being Bangladesh, due to their natural fertile soil. Production of jute by India and ...
r, Kirti Chandra Mitra. On 15 August 1889, after a meeting of three famous aristocratic
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
families of
North Kolkata North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighbourhood. Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Belgachia, ...
– the Mitra family, the Basu family, and the Sen family, and other distinguished personalities, presided over by Bhupendra Nath Basu himself, ''Mohun Bagan Sporting Club'' was formed. Bhupendra Nath Basu became the first president of the newly founded club and Jyotindra Nath Basu was the first secretary of it. During the initial years, the meager ground inside the palace was used by the club for hosting matches, including their first match that was played against the team of
Eden Hindu Hostel Eden Hindu Hostel ( bn, ইডেন হিন্দু হোস্টেল), established in 1886, was primarily built for Hindu students of Presidency University, Kolkata, India. The hostel is now open for students of all religions. It is now m ...
students, and lost 1–0. The initial players to play for the club were Girin Basu, Pramatha Nath Chattopadhyay, Sachin Bandhyopadhyay, Ram Goswami, Sarat Mitra, Hem Nath Sen, Nalin Basu, Upen Ghosh, Manindra Nath Basu, Manomoham Pandey, Probhas Mitra, and the captain Manilal Sen. Priyanath Mitra, the successor of Kirti Mitra, had the club's iconic Green-Maroon jerseys stitched by a renowned European tailoring shop, Messrs Rankin at Old Couse House Street. The club management hugely emphasized providing memberships to the youth and maintained a strict code of conduct with an avowed objective of producing excellent sportsmen and imbuing them with impeccable moral and social values. At the first-anniversary assembly, the Presidency College students and members of the club invited their professor,
F. J. Rowe Frederick James Rowe (c. 1844 – 5 January 1909) was a Professor of English Literature and sometime Principal at the Presidency College in Calcutta, India. He edited and wrote introductions for numerous collections of the works of Alfred Lord Ten ...
, to attend. Rowe pointed out the inappropriate naming of the club and suggested replacing ''"Sporting"'' with ''"Athletic"'' since the club didn't indulge in sporting activities, like
angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniqu ...
or
rifle shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms suc ...
. Thus, the members agreed and renamed the club as ''Mohun Bagan Athletic Club''. The second-anniversary assembly was presided by Sir Thomas Holland, who later became a member of the Executive Council of
Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...
. In 1891, with the help of the
Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
Durga Charan Laha of
Shyampukur Shyampukur is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. As a neighbourhood, it covers a small area but its importance is primarily because of the police station. Etymology Shyampukur, like its n ...
, the club ground was relocated within his residential estate, now known as Laha Colony. The club ground was later relocated to Shyam Square in
Bagbazar Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citadel o ...
, with the help of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, '' ...
chairman, Henry Lee. The first tournament that the club participated in was the 1893 Coochbehar Cup, where the team suffered to perform against the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
teams and the clubs like
Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
, National, Town Club, Kumurtuli, Fort William's Arsenal and the famed Sovabazar, which was founded by the ''Father of Indian football''
Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary (Bengali: নগেন্দ্র প্রসাদ সর্বাধিকারী) was an Indian football personality, known as the "Father of Indian Football" for his role in founding the first Indian footbal ...
himself. In 1900, Mohun Bagan became the partner of Presidency College and shared their ground at
Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...
, where they would continue to play for 15 years.


Administrative and tactical overhaul under Subedar-major Sailen Basu (1900s)

The early exits from major tournaments suffered in the 1900s evoked ridicule from its local rivals, including Sovabazar. Soon after the appointment of
Subedar-major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...
Sailen Basu as the secretary, the club adopted European playing methods and players underwent rigorous physical training and followed austere fitness regime similar to what Subedar-major Basu had experienced during his service in the army. The club also began recruiting players from other clubs, especially from National, where footballers played in boots rather than barefoot. Rev. Sudhir Chatterjee was one of the notable recruitment from National, who was also the only player in the club to play in boots at that time. As a result of such incredible changes made, the club achieved its first success by winning the 1904 Coochbehar Cup. The following year Mohun Bagan won the Coochbehar Cup once again and reached the Gladstone Cup final, held in
Chinsurah Hugli-Chuchura or Hooghly-Chinsurah is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the bank of Hooghly River, 35 km north of Kolkata. It is located in the district of Hooghly and is home t ...
, where they defeated the reigning
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
champions Dalhousie 6–1, with Shibdas Bhaduri scoring four goals. Maharaja Rajendra Bhup Bahadur of
Coochbehar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in the ...
, impressed by the team, would become a chief patron of the club. In 1906, Mohun Bagan also won the Minto Fort tournament by defeating one of the major
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
clubs in India,
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. But they missed the chance of participating for the 1906 IFA Shield because P.K. Biswas, who had played for National but also played for Mohun Bagan in the same year, which was considered illegal by the
Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was form ...
, the then ''de facto'' governing body of Indian football. Therefore Mohun Bagan was disqualified. Apart from team building, Subedar-major Basu had a remarkable contribution in arranging a new club tent and ground after the demolition of Mohun Bagan Villa in 1891. The club did not have a permanent club tent and had an increasing number of club members through a minimal membership fee of 8
annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...
, half for students. During this period, a major meeting was held among the club officials, including Jyotindra Nath Basu, Subedar-major Sailen Basu, Dwijendra Nath Basu, Sir Bhupendra Nath Mitra and Dr. Girish Ghosh. The meeting was regarding the construction of a club tent at Maidan, which was financially not feasible. A few days later, a club tent within Mohun Bagan's premises in Maidan was constructed and is still in use. To date, there is no evidence of this in the financial records of the club, and the donors remain unknown. Mohun Bagan also won the Trades Cup four consecutive times between 1906 and 1909, which was the second most prestigious tournament in India after IFA Shield. Mohun Bagan won Coochbehar Cup in 1907 and 1908, and then both the Laxmibilas Cup and the Gladstone Cup in 1909 and 1910.


The historic year of 1911

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 A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
teams of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
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 The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...
to reach the IFA Shield final without conceding a goal. The enthusiasm for the final on 29 July 1911 (which is now known as "Mohun Bagan Day") was such that people came from other
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
s of
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
as well as from neighboring provinces of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. The
East Indian Railway Company The East Indian Railway Company, operating as the East Indian Railway (reporting mark EIR), introduced railways to East India and North India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, South Indian Railway, Bombay, Barod ...
ran a special train and additional steamer services were pressed into service to ferry spectators to
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
from the ''mofussil'' areas. Tickets for the match, originally priced at and , were sold at due to its immense demand in the country. After trailing by a goal from
Sgt. Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
Jackson of
East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
team within the first 15 minutes of the 50 minutes of the 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 Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
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. 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 Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
representative clubs like Moslem and Mohammedan went to the streets to celebrate and the Muslims from
Dharmatala Dharmatala (archaic spelling Dhurrumtollah) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Dharmatala Street has been renamed after Vladimir Lenin, Lenin as Lenin Sa ...
joined the victory procession of
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
near the
Thanthania Kalibari Kalibari is a Kali temple on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The deity in the temple is known as Siddheshwari. On the occasion of Kali Puja, devotees gather at the temple for worship. History The Thanthania Kalibari was founde ...
. 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
saying, ''"The team the Bengalis won the IFA Shield by defeating three top military teams. 80,000 Indians will remain witnesses 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 Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
, pointing to the
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
fluttering atop Fort William, asked Rev. Chatterjee, ''"When will that come down?"'' and according to popular legend, it was predicted that the flag would come down only when Mohun Bagan regained the shield, which would later come true.


Nation-wide exposure of the club (1912–30)

After a comparatively disappointing year in 1912, Shibdas Bhaduri handed the captaincy to Habul Sarkar the following year, but they failed to win any trophy that year. The same year Gostha Pal joined the club as a defender at the young age of 16 and continued to play for 22 years, also leading the team from 1921 to 1926, soon became known as the ''"Chinese Wall".'' In 1914, Mohun Bagan for the first time played in
CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
2nd Division and finished third with only the top non-military team be promoted to CFL 1st Division but after a team from the 1st Division withdrew, Mohun Bagan got promoted. Mohun Bagan played their first match on 15 May 1915 against Calcutta, which was drawn. Meanwhile, Subedar-major Sailen Basu had to leave for his commitments in the military service for the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Dwijendra Nath Basu, nephew of Bhupendra Nath Basu and brother of Subedar-major Basu, replaced him as the club's secretary. Mohun Bagan finished fourth in their league debut, while a junior team of the club made the semi-finals of the Trades Cup and Coochbehar Cup. The next year, Mohun Bagan reached the second position in the league and the following year, narrowly lost the IFA Shield final to
Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...
. On 8 August 1921, the club played its first match against
East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
in the Coochbehar Cup semi-final, which ended in a goalless draw, but Mohun Bagn went on to beat them in the replay by 1–0 and gave rise to the
Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...
. In 1922, Mohun Bagan played exhibition matches of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and football against a team of Indians from South Africa. The following year, Mohun Bagan was invited to
Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...
in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, where they lost to
Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...
by 4–1. After 35 years of long association of Bhupendra Nath Basu with Mohun Bagan came to an end with his demise in 1924. After his death, Sir Rajendranath Mukherjee became the club's new president. The next year, Mohun Bagan became the first civilian Indian team to be invited to the oldest football tournament in Asia,
Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...
, where they lost to
Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...
in the semi-finals. That year Mohun Bagan also failed to win the league and finished second. During this period, the club attended as well as hosted numerous charity matches all over the country for fundraising as the earnings from memberships weren't enough to run the club over a long period. On 28 May 1925, the club played its first official Derby against East Bengal and lost by 1–0. That year club played a charity match against
Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...
in 1927 to raise relief funds for the floods in
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. In 1929, due to a clash during the match of Mohun Bagan and Dalhousie, all the native teams withdrew their names from the IFA registration. Later, it was negotiated on the condition that there would be equal number of European and Indian clubs in the association.


Significant contributions to the national team (1931–47)

Renowned
Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
Shailendra Nath Banerjee became the secretary of the club with the turn of the decade. In 1931 the club acquired the services of highly skilled players like, Karuna 'Habla' Bhattacharya and Syed Abdus Samad. In 1933, Gostho Pal got selected as the captain of IFA XI representing
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for an away match against
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, but the following year, due to injury, his defence partner Dr. Sanmatha Dutta led the tour to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
for a series of matches. 1935 saw a great change in Mohun Bagan’s tradition of playing with bare-feet when on the behest of Abdul Hamid, a renowned player who joined from
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
, the club decided to use boots for the first time. In 1937, Mohun Bagan for the first time faced off against a foreign team – an English amateur club
Islington Corinthians The Islington Corinthians Football Club is a defunct English association football club. History Islington Corinthians was founded in 1932 by Tom Smith, to raise money for local charities. The club was part of the London Professional Mid Week ...
, who were on a world tour; but narrowly lost by 1–0. In 1938 the tradition of Mohun Bagan players leading IFA teams continued with Karuna Bhattacharya captaining a side to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, where he also scored against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
as well as
Football Queensland Football Queensland is recognised by both the State and Federal Governments and Football Australia as the governing body for association football and futsal in Queensland, Australia. Tracing its history back to the establishment of the Ang ...
team during the tour. Mohun Bagan also broke a 29-year-old barren run in Trades Cup, in 1938. In second half 1930s both
Umapati Kumar Umapati Kumar was a former footballer who played mostly as an inside forward. As a footballer, he represented India in international football, and Mohun Bagan AC in the Calcutta Football League. Personal life Umapati Kumar was born on 8 Februar ...
and Gostha Pal had retired, but the squad got competent reinforcements – Anil Dey in half back position and Satyen 'Mana' Guin in attack, who a right winger was nicknamed ''"Racing Deer"'' for his speed along the flanks. Captained by Bimal Mukherjee, son of Manmohan Mukherjee, and a host of quality players, Mohun Bagan broke their long wait for a major trophy in 1939 when they won their first ever Calcutta Football League title. Significantly, Mohun Bagan also celebrated its
golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
the same year, which was marked with celebrations across the city, match organized featuring renowned former players and medals and jerseys were distributed to the players. From 1933 to 1939 the club won 29 trophies, also out of 23 Derbies, they beat East Bengal 12 times, including 1 walkover win, drew 10 matches and lost only once to their arch-rival. In 1941, the secretaryship was given to another famed barrister, B.C. Ghosh replaced Sailen Banerjee, who was elected as the club's vice-president. In 1942, for the first time, an
insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known as ...
was implemented for the medical aid of the injured players during matches, and a medical board composed of reputed doctors was formed to oversee the medical issues. A trusty board was also formed on the initiative of a
Solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
B.K.Ghosh and Barrister S.K.Gupta for the monetary support of the club. In 1943 and 1944, Mohun Bagan won CFL in succession. In 1944, B.C. Ghosh became the club's vice-president, and Dr. S.K. Gupta took charge of the general secretary's office. Meanwhile, a junior football team was formed under the guidance of a former Mohun Bagan player, Balaidas Chattopadhyay, and also made efforts to introduce sports like
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
among the youth. In 1945, former vice-president and first captain of Mohun Bagan Manilal Sen expired. The same year, George Curtis, who was an
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
player stationed in India as a part of
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, took charge of the team as a coach for a brief stint. In 1947, Mohun Bagan got invitation to Madurai Cup but was beaten by Hyderabad Police in the final. This year the team once again participated in Rover’s Cup. Still, the tournament was called off due to the collapse of the Cooperage Ground during the quarter-final match against 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. This year Mohun Bagan won its second IFA Shield on 15 November by defeating its arch-rival East Bengal, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the club winning its second Shield only in the year of
India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
, and becoming the first club to win the Shield in post-independent India.


Struggle with consistency (1948–1950s)

In the first year after the independence, the club handed the captaincy for two years to
Talimeren Ao Talimeren Ao (28 January 1918 – 13 September 1998) was an Indian footballer and physician from Nagaland. He is best known as the captain of the India national football team in their first ever match after independence. One of the most famous ...
, who had been a part of the club since 1943 after leaving Maharana Club in
Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
. Ao went on to lead the national team in
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and along with him
Mahabir Prasad Mahaveer Prasad ( hi, महावीर प्रसाद) (11 November 1939 – 28 November 2010) was an Indian politician. He stood for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the Indian National Congress ticket and until his death was a Member of ...
and
Sailen Manna Sailendra Nath Manna ( bn, শৈলেন মান্না; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly p ...
. The club's secretary, Balai Das Chattopadhyay too had to leave for London as the team's head coach and trainer, therefore Gostho Pal took charge of his duties in club temporarily. Anil Dey was selected for the team as well but stayed behind. Dhanadaranjan' Bokai' Sen carried out the captain's duties in the absence of Ao. In the same year, the
Kingdom of Afghanistan The Kingdom of Afghanistan ( ps, , Dǝ Afġānistān wākmanān; prs, پادشاهی افغانستان, Pādešāhī-ye Afġānistān) was a constitutional monarchy in Central Asia established in 1926 as a successor state to the Emirate of Af ...
invited Mohun Bagan on the occasion of their
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
celebrations. Still, the club couldn't attend because of its preplanned agenda. That year, Mohun Bagan successfully defended the IFA Shield against
Bhawanipore Bhowanipore (also Bhowanipur; bn, ভবানীপুর) is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district of West Bengal, India. History In 1717, the East India Company obtained the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their s ...
in the final. After the Olympics, Ao played for the club until 1953 and retired to pursue a career in medicine after completing MBBS. His excellence on-field caught the eyes of many foreign clubs, including Arsenal, who offered a one-year contract to Ao, but he famously refused to carry on with his studies. The year 1949 was the club's
diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
. On this occasion, a vivid procession was organized on 11 December, from the club's birthplace, Balaram Ghosh Street. On the occasion West Bengal’s Chief Minister Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy commented, ''"I am proud and delighted that, fortunately, I have witnessed the IFA Shield tournament of 1911. During the freedom struggle, Mohun Bagan’s existence inspired the youth. In the sports world of Bengal, Mohun Bagan has still maintained its excellence. Even after 60 years, Mohun Bagan has kept its youth unaffected. I pray that on our beloved Motherland, Mohun Bagan’s sporting spirit may survive forever,"'' and attended the ceremonies and exhibitions hosted by the club. Mohun Bagan also invited
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
club Helsingborgs to play three friendlies, along with many other exhibition matches of
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
and football.
Runu Guha Thakurta Runu Guha Thakurta was a former Indian association football player. He was part of the squad that played at the 1952 Summer Olympics against Yugoslavia, but he did not play in the match. He played for both the Calcutta Football League side Geo ...
, a renowned forward, was acquired by the club that year. In 1950, India had received a direct qualification to the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, with Manna being the captain of the team, but
All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...
refused to play, failing to realize its importance. Despite acquiring the services of some of the famed players, the club failed to dominate in major tournaments, where they were regularly outshined by the Pancha Pandavas led East Bengal and
Syed Abdul Rahim Syed Abdul Rahim (17 August 1909 – 11 June 1963), popularly known as Rahim Saab, was an Indian football coach and manager of the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963, and a former player. He is regarded as the architect of ...
's
Hyderabad City Police Hyderabad City Police is the local law enforcement agency for the city of Hyderabad, Telangana and is headed by the Commissioner of Police. The city police traces its origins to 1847 under Hyderabad State. History 1847–1948 The Nizam of Hyde ...
team. S Manna, T Aao, Abhay Ghosh, and R Guhathakurta got their call for the national team to play the
Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
, and Manna led the team to the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
. In
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
three Mohun Bagan players including Manna as the captain and
Mohammad Abdus Sattar Mohammad Abdus Sattar (1925 – 23 April 2011) was an Indian association football, footballer. He was also known as Madar Abdus Sattar. Career Club career Abdus Sattar started his career with the Bangalore Muslim Club, before joining the Moham ...
, who joined the club from Mohammedan in 1950. Mohun Bagan won the CFL in 1951 after a wait of seven years, the IFA Shield in 1952, and its first Durand Cup in 1953 by 4–0 against
National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...
team. During the prize distribution of Durand Cup, the
President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
Dr. Rajendra Prasad said, ''"Mohun Bagan was my favorite team from my childhood. I was a regular visitor of all Mohun Bagan matches when I was a student at Kolkata. Sometimes, when I didn’t have money to buy the ticket, I could not stop myself. I watched the match from the outside. I was always aware of the up-to-date news of the club."'' That year Samar 'Badru' Banerjee joined the team and formed an important attacking duo with Md. Sattar. During Manna's spell as the captain, he was named among the top 10 captains around the world by
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
in 1953, becoming the first Asian to have the honor. In 1954 Mohun Bagan became the first club ever to clinch the
double crown Double crown can refer to: * the Pschent combined crown of Ancient Egypt; * a British coin worth ten shillings or two crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A ...
of
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
— CFL and IFA Shield, courtesy to Badru's solitary goal against the formidable side of Hyderabad City Police. That year Mohun Bagan beat the
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
club
Grazer Grazer may refer to: *grazer, an animal that grazes *Grazer, a native or inhabitant of Graz *GRAZER, the shoegaze band GRAZER Astronomy * Earth Grazer, Earth-grazing fireball that enters the Earth's atmosphere and leaves again * Mercury grazer, ...
by 2–1 and beat the visiting
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
by 3–0. That year Subimal 'Chuni' Goswami joined the senior team from the club's youth ranks. Mohun Bagan defended the CFL title successfully till 1956 and won the IFA Shield and its first Rover's Cup in 1956. In December 1954, Mohun Bagan lost a match against
AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
, featuring
Kurt Hamrin Kurt Roland "Kurre" Hamrin (; born 19 November 1934) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career in his home country with AIK, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Fiorentina, with w ...
, by 3–1 and in March 1955, played against the visiting
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
featuring
Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the h ...
and lost by 3–0. The following year Mohun Bagan also played against
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
but lost by 2–0. The following year Mohun Bagan, as a representative from India, toured
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and Malaya, which was organized solely by the assistant secretary of the club Dhiren Dey.
Mariappa Kempaiah Mariappa Kempaiah (4 March 1932 – 2 July 2008) was an Indian professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for the India national football team, India national team at two Olympic Games. Known for his "fit ...
, a versatile footballer playing in the offense as well as defense, joined Mohun Bagan in 1957. For the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Badru captained the national team. While Krishnachandra 'Kesto' Pal was included in the main squad, Chuni, S Chatterjee, and Sushil Guha were selected as reserved players . The following years were mostly unsuccessful as the club failed to win several major trophies, but during this time, Mohun Bagan obtained the services of a tough and tackling defender Jarnail Singh Dhillon from Rajasthan Club. The arrival of Thazhatheri Abdul Rahman at the back partnering Singh with Sanath Sett in goal, enhanced the team. With an immediate impact, Mohun Bagan won CFL and Durand Cup in 1959.


The Golden era (1960s)

Mohun Bagan in 1960, captured CFL, IFA Shield, and Durand Cup, losing just once in 42 matches played in these three tournaments. Based on their dominative performance, They were invited to a number of matches in
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
travelling to
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
,
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, Sultanate of Zanzibar, Zanzibar and Tanganyika Territory, Tanganyika. During the tour, out of nineteen matches 15 were won, 3 were drawn and only 1 was lost. Mohun Bagan won the Shield consecutively in 1961 and 1962. Under Dhiren Dey, a strict regime was reinstated in the club and under the coaching of Arun Sinha, scrapped the archaic Formation (association football)#Pyramid (2–3–5), 2–3–5 formation and began using 3-defenders system. Sinha was primarily responsible for properly grooming the likes of Chuni and Singh. On the recommendations of Chuni and Kempiah, Isaiyah Arumayinayigam had joined the team before the tour and proved his talents during the tour, earning the nickname ''"Baby Taxi"''. On 27 April 1962 Gostho Pal received the Padma Shri, becoming the first footballer to do so. The club won its tenth CFL title and IFA Shield that year. Chuni was selected to lead the national team in 1962 Asian Games and won the Football at the 1962 Asian Games, gold medal, with Jarnail Singh playing a pivotal part in the campaign. Ashok Chatterjee, a well-built forward, was another vital addition to the team in 1962. In 1963, Mohun Bagan won CFL again and added Durand Cup to their cabinet after a 2–0 victory against Hyderabad City Police FC, Andhra Pradesh Police. A new club tent was inaugurated this year by the Chief of the Army Staff (India), Chief of Army Staff Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri and the List of chief ministers of West Bengal, Chief Minister of West Bengal Prafulla Chandra Sen. 1964 saw Mohun Bagan celebrate its platinum jubilee with a year-long celebration involving numerous sporting events. Popular Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Hungarian club FC Tatabánya, Tatabánya was invited to play a series of friendly matches. An exhibition cricket match was arranged between India national cricket team, India and Commonwealth XI cricket team in India in 1964–65, Commonwealth XI, featuring names like Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Vijay Manjrekar, Farokh Engineer, M. L. Jaisimha, Salim Durani, Garfield Sobers, Colin Cowdrey, Mushtaq Mohammad and Lance Gibbs. An exhibition hockey match between India and Calcutta XI and tennis matches featuring the likes of Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaidip Mukerjea, Bob Hewitt and Martin Mulligan were arranged as well. A team of East Germany, East German athletes was invited to take part in the Sport of athletics, athletic meet along with an Indian team. Off-the-field numerous processions and shows were organized to celebrate this occasion, and several high-profile personalities attended the festivities. Fittingly, the club enjoyed massive success in cricket by winning CAB Cricket League, in hockey by winning Aga Khan Gold Cup, in football by winning the IFA Shield, the CFL, and the Durand Cup by defeating East Bengal. Chandreshwar Prasad, a tough and uncompromising defender skilled in the air, joined Mohun Bagan in 1965. Punjab Kannan and Sukalyan Ghosh Dastidar, famous for their long-range shots, joined the club in 1967 and 1969, respectively. In 1967 and 1968, Mohun Bagan won just two trophies, the Shield and Rover's Cup, respectively. Chuni retired from football in 1968 after spending his whole career at Mohun Bagan; thus, the golden era slowly ended. In 1969 a young and eccentric coach named Amal Dutta joined, who was also the first professional coach in India, and introduced the concept of overlapping Defender (association football)#Full-back, full-backs in Formation (association football)#4–2–4, 4–2–4 to Indian football, for which Bhabani Roy was the primary candidate. With the new strategy in place, Mohun Bagan played scintillating football and captured CFL and IFA Shield with a 3–1 victory against East Bengal in the Shield final.


Decline and revival under P. K. Banerjee (1970s)

Mohun Bagan struggled to assert dominance in the first half of the 1970s and failed to match their arch-rivals regarding team building. Although they won Rover's Cup from 1970 to 1972, they fared poorly in other major tournaments. Mohun Bagan failed to beat East Bengal even once between 1969 and 1974 and lost to their arch-rivals in Durand Cup and IFA Shield finals multiple times. The lowest point of their decline came in 1975 IFA Shield Final, 1975 IFA Shield final when Mohun Bagan lost 5–0 to East Bengal, the biggest margin of defeat in the derby till then. The ignominy surrounding the heavy defeat was that several Mohun Bagan players spent the night holed up on a boat in the Ganges as the supporters laid siege to the club tent. Umakanto Palodhi, an ardent Mohun Bagan fan, committed suicide. He wrote in his suicide note that he will be born as a Mohun Bagan footballer in the next life and will take revenge for that 0–5 defeat. In May 1972, Mohun Bagan toured to newly independent Bangladesh to play exhibition matches, where they defeated Mohammedan SC (Dhaka), Dhaka Mohammedan in their first match, but lost to Shadhin Bangla football team later. Mohun Bagan did recruit a number of young players in 1974 and 1975 so as to steer the team back to success. Subrata Bhattacharya, an indomitable defender, Prasun Banerjee, a dictating midfielder, and Narayanswami Ulaganathan, a swift winger, joined in 1974 at a young age. In 1975, Compton Dutta, an impeccable right-back, and Dilip Palit, a combative full-back, joined the team. In 1976 the wheel had finally turned as Mohun Bagan assembled their best team in years under the helm of Chandra Madhab Roy. Along with the strong core group that joined in 1974 and 1975, the club added a host of players from their two local rivals, including Mohammed Habib (footballer), Mohammed Habib, his brother Mohammed Akbar and Subhash Bhowmick. Habib was an extremely tactful attacker, Akbar was a prolific striker, and Bhowmik was one of the finest wingers. Young winger Bidesh Ranjan Bose, Bidesh Bose also donned the Green-Maroon jersey for the first time and would soon make his mark with his darting runs along the touchline. Pradeep Chowdhury arrived at the club to partner with Subrata in the defense. Mohun Bagan’s most important investment was in the coaching post, where Prasun's brother, P. K. Banerjee, P.K. Banerjee was employed after his immensely successful spell at East Bengal. Under him, 1976 turned into one of the best years in the club’s history when Mohun Bagan won their first CFL and IFA Shield titles since 1969 and added Rover's Cup to their success. In 1976, a hattrick of Bordoloi Trophy was completed along with a victory in Darjeeling Gold Cup. Most significantly, Mohun Bagan ended a seven-year wait to win the Derby in 1976 with a 17 seconds header from Akbar, assisted by Ulanganathan. Along with Shyam Thapa, other iconic names like Sudhir Karmakar and Gautam Sarkar, who were affectionately called ''"Indian Beckenbaur"'' for his snatching abilities in the midfield, also joined Mohun Bagan in the following year. Shibaji Banerjee played his first senior game for the club in 1977 after being a part of the youth teams. With one of the best squads in its history, Mohun Bagan suffered a shocking defeat of 1997 Indian Federation Cup Final, 1–0 against Indian Telephone Industries Limited, ITI team in the 1997 Indian Federation Cup, inaugural
Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...
, which became the most prestigious title in the country, and also lost the first Derby of that year. But they successfully captured Bordoloi Trophy by thrashing Mohammedan with 4–0 and also became the first club to win the "triple crown" – the IFA Shield, the Durand Cup, and the Rover's Cup, in that year and as per club traditions, they invited East Bengal for dinner. On 24 September 1977, through the efforts of Dhiren Dey Mohun Bagan played a friendly match against the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), American club New York Cosmos (1971–1985), New York Cosmos which featured Brazil national football team, Brazilian World Cup winners like Pelé and Carlos Alberto Torres, and Serie A icon Giorgio Chinaglia. The game, which took place at Eden Gardens, had a match attendance of 80,000 along with the Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu. NY Cosmos had took a lead through Alberto but it was soon equalized by Thapa. Surprisingly, Mohun Bagan took the lead through Habib but late in the game, Chinaglia’s goal kept the final scoreline at 2–2. One of the remarkable instances in the game was Shibaji's brilliant save to deny a Pelé free-kick. After the further additions of Manas Bhattacharya and Shyamal Banerjee, Mohun Bagan continued their dominant run in 1978, consisting of a CFL win with record 78 goals in 22 matches and a Federation Cup joint-win with East Bengal. In the IFA Shield final, Mohun Bagan was up against the Soviet Top League, Soviet club FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat Yereven featuring Arkady Andreasyan and Khoren Oganesian. P.K. Banerjee lined up in a defensive 5–2–3 formation, but the visitors still took an early lead. As the visitors struggled with the wet climatic conditions, Banerjee changed to a more attacking Formation (association football)#4–2–4, 4–2–4 formation by bringing on winger Bidesh Bose. Bose instantly changed the game as Mohun Bagan raced to a 2–1 lead with the goals from Habib and Manas, but a late goal from Oganesian prevented a famous win for Mohun Bagan, and both the clubs were declared winners. Thus, the club became the first Indian team, post-independence, to win the IFA Shield while competing against a non-Asian side in the final. The following year, Mohun Bagan squad saw the arrival of Xavier Pius who became popular for his individual flair. Mohun Bagan had a cent percent success record winning all four trophies they participated in, including CFL, Durand Cup, and IFA Shield.


The National Club of India (1980s)

The dominance in Durand Cup and Federation Cup was continued in 1980, meanwhile CFL and IFA Shield was called off after a tragic incident that took place during the Derby on 16 August where sixteen people died in a riot among the supporters inside Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. In 1981 Mohun Bagan won their first standalone Federation Cup after beating Mohammedan by 2–0, and added IFA Shield and Rover's Cup to the collection as well. The club made some impactful signings like Krishanu Dey, Krishnendu Roy and Sudip Chatterjee (footballer), Sudip 'Tulu' Chatterjee. 1983 was a comparatively unsuccessful year. After six golden years, the club only managed to win CFL, with Manas Bhattacharya being the league's top scorer. As a result, a host of new players were recruited in 1984, and the most notable names being Prasanta Banerjee, Babu Mani and Tanumoy Basu, who replaced Shibaji in the goal, and that led to major successes, including Durand Cup and CFL. Later, Sisir Ghosh was brought in, and he made a successful attacking duo with Mani. Mohun Bagan established a statue honoring Gostho Pal at Maidan. In 1986 players like Satyajit Chatterjee, Aloke Mukherjee and Amit Bhadra made to the squad, and the year ended with CFL, third consecutive Durand Cup, and Federation Cup after a four-year wait, and qualifying for 1987 Asian Club Championship for the first time. Mohun Bagan won twice in the group stage of ACC with 12 goals, half of which were scored by Sisir. However, finishing second in the group failed to progress to the semi-final group. They qualified for ACC once again for the 1988–89 Asian Club Championship, 1988–89 season by winning the 1987 Federation Cup and displayed outstanding performance in the group stage, including a 6–0 defeat of PFF National Challenge Cup, Pakistani team Crescent Textiles Mill with a hat-trick from Sisir. Still, in the semi-final group, they lost every game and finished at the bottom. At the domestic level, the club failed to win any major tournament except Rover's Cup. Mohun Bagan celebrated their 100th anniversary in 1989 with a grand torch rally starting from Basu Bati in
North Kolkata North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighbourhood. Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Belgachia, ...
and covered several important places in Mohun Bagan's history before reaching the Mohun Bagan Ground. The List of prime ministers of India, Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi arrived for the celebrations and during his speech, he referred to Mohun Bagan as ''"The National Club of India"''. Fittingly, Mohun Bagan won CFL and IFA Shield by defeating Tata Football Academy in the final by 1–0. Mohun Bagan became the first club to be honored by a postage stamp from the Government of India on this historical year.


Commercialisation and incoming of foreigners (1990–2000)

The centenary celebrations continued till 1990 when Mohun Bagan played against an assembled team that featured Cameroon national football team, Cameroonian World Cupper Roger Milla. It was a disappointing year with only the CFL title in the bag, and upon that, the club lost its president Dhiren Dey, who had devoted his life to commanding the club for around five decades. Subrata Bhattacharya retired after 17 years in the team, with 52 trophies won and the accolade of the first Indian defender to score 50 career goals. After the exit of some long-serving officials from the management, a new generation of officials was elected, with prominent figures like Swapan Sadhan Bose, Anjan Mitra, Balaram Chowdhury, and Biru Chatterjee. One of the most significant changes made by the new board was a change in Mohun Bagan’s constitution which had prevented foreigners to join the club to maintain the tag of the ''National Club of India''. The club also began to accept sponsorships for the next eight years from major institutions like Steel Authority of India, SAIL, Emami, PepsiCo, and Tata Consumer Products, Tata Tea. The club invested significantly to bring back Krishanu Dey and Babu Mani, along with other major signings like Bikash Panji and especially I. M. Vijayan, who was being approached by every major club in the country. In 1991 Mohun Bagan made their first-ever foreign recruitment, which was a Nigerian striker Chima Okorie from East Bengal, and later the second foreign signing was another Nigerian striker Bernard Operanozie, who would play as a defender. With the arrival of Syed Nayeemuddin on the bench, Mohun Bagan defended their Rover's Cup and won another Federation Cup in 1992. The following year Oparanozie got the captain's responsibilities after Bhadra got out with injury, and being the club's first foreign captain, he led the team to win Federation Cup again. Mohun Bagan also famously won over Croatian First Football League, Croatian club NK Varaždin (1931–2015), Varteks that year in the group stage of DCM Trophy. 1994 was a decorative year with four trophies, including Federation Cup for the third consecutive time, Durand Cup after an eight-year wait, and the CFL. While in 1993–94 Asian Club Championship, Mohun Bagan easily thumped Club Valencia (Maldives), Club Valencia and Ratnam SC, Ratnam in the preliminary stage, but after a 4–0 away loss to Thai Farmers Bank F.C., Thai Farmers' Bank in the 1st leg of the second round, Mohun Bagan was ejected out of the tournament for refusing to play the 2nd leg in Malaysia. India was amid 1994 plague in India, plague outbreak. Mohun Bagan failed to win any major trophy for the following two years. In December 1996,
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
began as the top-tier league in the country, and Mohun Bagan finished at the bottom in the group stage with just one win and was relegated in the next season, which was later revoked by the organizers. The club appointed their former coach, Amal Dutta and under him, Mohun Bagan began to play in an innovative Formation (association football)#3–4–3, 3–4–3 "Diamond System," which was bolstered by the likes of Abdul Khaliq and Okerie in the front, Mohun Bagan played very offensively, which was rare in Indian football. The glamorous success achieved by Amal Dutta and P.K. Banerjee, who was now coaching East Bengal, had given birth to a significant coaching rivalry between them during the 80s, which reached its peak at the 1997 Indian Federation Cup, 1997 Federation Cup semi-final. It was one of the most anticipated matches in Indian football history, pitting two fierce rivalries – Mohun Bagan and Amal Dutta against East Bengal and P.K. Banerjee – at one stage. With a record 131,000 attendance at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Mohun Bagan’s defensive frailties were exposed by Bhaichung Bhutia, who scored a hattrick in a 4–1 victory for East Bengal. Despite the loss, fans lauded Mohun Bagan's impressive style of play under Dutta's Diamond System. Regardless, the club steered back to win the 1997–98 National Football League (India), 1997–98 National Football League with ten matches unbeaten run and only two losses in the league, under the mentorship of T. K. Chathunni after Dutta left midway due to internal strife with the club officials. Players like Okorie, Dipendu Biswas, Reazul Mustafa and Sri Lankan winger Roshan Pereira played pivotal roles in the team. Mohun Bagan’s performance in January 1998 earned them the AFC title of ''"Diadora Team of Asia"'' for that month, and went on to win the Federation Cup as well. In 1998, United Spirits, a subsidiary of Vijay Mallya owned United Breweries Group, entered into a partnership with Mohun Bagan by buying a 50% stake in the club's football division and formed a joint-venture entity named ''United Mohun Bagan Private Limited''. For the first time the club was transformed into a Corporation, corporate establishment from a society status, and the name of the club's football division was thus changed to ''McDowell's Mohun Bagan FC''. That season saw them defeat Uzbekistan Super League, Uzbek giant Pakhtakor Tashkent FK, Pakhtakor Tashkent in the IFA Shield group stage, and eventually win the Shield. Mohun Bagan signed a host of foreigners for the 1999–2000 National Football League (India), 1999–00 National Football League. Renowned internationals like Uzbekistan national football team, Uzbek striker Igor Shkvyrin, Nigeria national football team, Nigerian forward Stephen Abarowei, Thailand national football team, Thai full-back Dusit Chalermsan and Kenya national football team, Kenyan defender Sammy Omollo, Samuel "Pamzo" Omollo, and Brazilian José Barreto (Brazilian footballer), José Ramirez Barreto joined the club. The Indian contingent in the club was kept almost intact from the last season with the addition of the striker R. C. Prakash, R.C. Prakash and full-back Dulal Biswas, Mohun Bagan comfortably won the league along with Durand Cup and Rover's Cup with former club player Subrata Bhattacharya at the helm. But at the continental stage, got eliminated with an 8–0 defeat against Júbilo Iwata in the second round of the 1999–2000 Asian Club Championship, 1999–00 Asian Club Championship.


Heightened foreign influence (2000–2010)

In the 2001–02 National Football League (India), 2001–02 season, Mohun Bagan's bid to win back-to-back league titles was shattered when they finished second by just a point behind East Bengal. However, Barreto finished as the league's top scorer. Mohun Bagan captured the 2001 Indian Federation Cup, 2001 Federation Cup due to the heroics of goalkeeper Bibhas Ghosh and Barreto, who was awarded the tournament's best player. Mohun Bagan also triumphed in the Bordoloi Trophy after thrashing Thai League 2, Thai club Rajpracha F.C., Rajpracha 4–0 in the final. Mohun Bagan’s squad was joined by another Nigerian, Abdulatif Seriki replacing Omollo. On the final matchday, in a must-win situation against the title contender – Churchill Brothers FC Goa, Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan clinched their third league title with a 73rd-minute header by the Nigerian defender Abdul Wastu Saliu assisted by Basudeb Mandal's corner kick. Under Subrata Bhattacharya, Mohun Bagan became the first club to win Federation Cup and NFL in a season. One of the more significant developments saw Mohun Bagan flag off the first residential football academy by any top-flight Indian club, set up in Durgapur with the assistance of SAIL. In 2002 and 2003, the club plunged into uncertain times owing to internal administrative problems and problems with their investors. Internal strife among club officials caused a failure in retaining most of their players from the league-winning squad, including the departure of Subrata in 2003. Problems with sponsors reached such a critical stage that United Breweries threatened to sue the club at one point. Bhaichung Bhutia, who had joined the club in 2002, missed out on most of the season to injuries, producing a negligible impact on the team. As a result, Mohun Bagan’s on-field form slumped remarkably, with the club winning just one major trophy in the form of the IFA Shield in these two years. To make matters worse, in 2004, Mohun Bagan's most influential foreigner – Barreto, also left the club and Mohun Bagan finished 7th and 9th in 2002–03 National Football League (India), 2002–03 and 2003–04 National Football League (India), 2003–04 seasons respectively. The barren period of major trophies also continued next season, as they finished 8th in the league and runner-up in Federation Cup. In 2004, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to launch a credit card in association with ICICI Bank. FIFA formed an elite task force the same year and Mohun Bagan was one of only eleven clubs selected globally along with names like Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate, FC Barcelona, Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. With internal problems slowly subsiding, Mohun Bagan assembled a strong side in 2006 that included Barreto and Bhaichung's return, along with a combative Brazilian midfielder Douglas Silva (footballer, born 1974), Douglas Silva. The team was further bolstered with top Indian players like Sangram Mukherjee, Deepak Mondal as well as youngsters like Lalawmpuia Pachuau, Lalkamal Bhowmick and Sushil Kumar Singh. With the sudden resignation of coach Biswajit Bhattacharya, the Brazilian physio of the team, Robson Mattos was hastily promoted as the team's coach. Bhutia and Sangram's collective heroics led them to their 12th Federation Cup. While the 2006–07 National Football League (India), 2006–07 league season didn't go well with as many as three foreign coaches taking part during the campaign in the form of Robson Mattos and former players – Chima Okorie and Bernard Oparanozie. List of presidents of FIFA, FIFA president Sepp Blatter came to Kolkata and attended Mohun Bagan's won 2-1 Derby win on 15 April 2007. On Mohun Bagan Day, the club became the first in India to launch an official mascot which was a tiger named ''"Baggu"''. In 2007 Mohun Bagan sealed their first-ever Indian Super Cup (1997–2011), Indian Super Cup with a 4–0 victory over the league champions Dempo SC, Dempo, with Bhutia scoring a hattrick. In 2007–08 I-League, 2007–08 season, where NFL got rebranded as
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
, Brazilian coach Carlos Roberto Pereira took the reins of the team but failed to win any significant accolade. The following season, Mohun Bagan appointed Morocco, Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa, who led the team to a record 10-match winning run in the league and a Federation Cup victory. Still, poor performance in his second league resulted in him being sacked midway through the 2009–10 I-League, 2009–10 season and putting Satyajit Chatterjee as the interim coach. The only highlight of his second season campaign was the 5–3 Derby victory on 25 October 2009. In 2008, Mohun Bagan players got the opportunity to play against Germany national football team, German icon Oliver Kahn in his official testimonial match for Bayern Munich, which also featured Brazilian star Zé Roberto. The match was played on 27 May 2008 at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan and finished with Bayern Munich comfortably winning by 3–0. The same year Argentina national football team, Argentine World Cup winner Diego Maradona paid a visit to the club tent during a tour to India.


Strive for success and ultimate takeover by ATK (2010–20)


Ranking

Mohun Bagan emerged as third ranked Indian team, and 611 universally, in the international rankings of clubs during the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010), issued by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics in 2011. The club though struggled for supremacy in the first five years of the new decade, and the seasons were marked by poor team recruitment, which lacked balance and overpaying for players. The management focused only on recruiting big names while ignoring essential areas of the team which needed bolstering. Some of the foreign stars recruited during this period were Odafa Onyeka Okolie from Churchill Brothers, with a record salary of 1.4 crores per year in 2011, Muritala Ali from Mahindra United FC, Mahindra United and Tolgay Özbey from East Bengal. These players failed to replicate their form shown at their former clubs and as a result Mohun Bagan teams which were often built around them also suffered. After an illustrious career at Mohun Bagan, Barreto finally made his exit in 2012. A crowd of 30,000 turned up at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on 6 May 2012 as Barreto played his last match for the club against Pune FC, Pune, where he scored his final goal for the team. The Brazilian ended his career at the club as the first foreigner to score over 200 goals in India for a club with his final tally reading 228 goals in 371 matches. The club endured a phase of five years without a major trophy between 2010 and 2015, the longest such phase since the nation's independence. On 29 December 2012, Mohun Bagan was barred from competing in I-League for two years following a decision taken by the league's core committee. The suspension came because Mohun Bagan had refused to take the field in the second half of the match against East Bengal F.C., East Bengal on 9 December 2012, citing crowd violence and an unsuitable atmosphere for the continuation of the match. All their results in the 2012-13 I-League, 2012-13 season were declared null and void and all their remaining fixtures were cancelled. However on 15 January 2013, Mohun Bagan appealed against the decision and were reinstated, but a hefty amount was fined, their officials were suspended from all the AIFF meetings for a year and, the team would start with 0 points and would play out only the remaining 16 fixtures in the league. This did not affect their win-loss and goal difference record in the table. This led the team in a dire relegation fight but were successful to avoided it. In the following season, the team performed disastrously and finished 8th in the table, scarcely avoiding relegation. A constant incoming and outgoing of coaches saw established names like Subrata Bhattacharya, Subhash Bhowmick and Karim Bencherifa, along with younger coaches like Stanley Rozario and Santosh Kashyap failing to end the precarious state of the team. Mohun Bagan started the 2014–15 season with Subhash Bhowmick on the bench. However, poor performance in CFL and Bhowmick’s lack of mandatory AFC Pro license saw Sanjoy Sen taking over the reins before Federation Cup. Mohun Bagan’s Cup campaign didn't go well, and they crashed out of the tournament after a 4–1 loss against Salgaocar FC, Salgaocar. Before I-League started, Sen made numerous tactical changes and played in a Formation (association football)#4–2–3–1, 4–2–3–1 formation. The trident of foreigners – Katsumi Yusa, Pierre Boya and Sony Norde was backed by energetic ball-winners like Sehnaj Singh and led by Balwant Singh (footballer), Balwant Singh in front. The defense was reinforced by veteran Bello Razaq and Pritam Kotal, while the goal was guarded by young Debjit Majumder. The final league match was against the title contender, Bengaluru FC, Bengaluru at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, with just one point advantage. In the 86th minute, a corner kick from Norde was headed in Razaq to equalize the score-line to 1–1, thereby winning their first major trophy in five seasons and the first league title in eleven years. Mohun Bagan had reached their Anniversary, quasquicentennial year of existence in 2014, therefore club organized a huge rally in North Kolkata chiefly to celebrate the anniversary on 1 June 2015. The celebration was capped off with their league victory achieved the previous month. The victory parade saw around 200,000 supporters, by some estimates, lined up along the streets, with prominent former club associates like P.K. Banerjee, Manas Bhattacharya, Bidesh Bose, Compton Dutta, Shibaji Banerjee, and Satyajit Chatterjee involved with the celebrations. FIFA president Sepp Blatter also congratulated Mohun Bagan in a special letter. At the continental stage, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to win a match in AFC Champions League and qualify for the second preliminary round of 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, ACL qualifying play-offs, when they defeated Singapore Premier League, Singaporen club Tampines Rovers by 3–1. Mohun Bagan also recorded the biggest margin of victory by an Indian club in an AFC Cup away match when they defeated Hong Kong Premier League, Hongkongese based club South China AA, South China by 4–0. In that edition, the team also reached the round of 16 but got eliminated by Tampines Rovers. After a breakaway from United Breweries in 2015, Mohun Bagan was once again re-established as a society. Still, in 2017 ''Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) '' was registered as a legal entity on 31 July 2017. The new legal entity created was exclusively for all football activities of the Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. On 28 September 2018 in the ''Clash of Legends'' (a match between the teams of retired former players of the respective clubs), Mohun Bagan ''Legends'' hosted Barcelona ''Legends'' at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, that was attended by a crowd of 45,000, along with one of the directors of Barcelona Pau Vilanova and the List of mayors of Kolkata, mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee. The fixture concluded with a heavy defeat for the hosts by a score-line of 6–0. The following three seasons since the title win, Mohun Bagan continued their strong contest for trophies, but succeeding to win only the 2015–16 Indian Federation Cup, 2016 Federation Cup, though foreigners like Yusa and Norde continued to make their presence felt with strong performances, along with single season signings like Darryl Duffy and Cornell Glen. Among the Indians, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Pritam Kotal, and Prabir Das produced some of their best performances for the team. In 2018, the team managed to reach the semi-final of the 2018 Indian Super Cup, inaugural Super Cup (India), Super Cup that replaced Federation Cup as the country's top knock-out tournament. The following 2018–19 I-League, season was considerably poor under the new coach Khalid Jamil, as the team finished 5th on the table. The club also pulled out of Super Cup along with the other participating I-League clubs in protest against the unfair schedule favoring the Indian Super League clubs. Therefore the season concluded with no national trophies in three consecutive seasons. The management appointed Kibu Vicuña for the next season, and he gave the leadership duties to Dhanachandra Singh and Gurjinder Kumar. He promoted several players like Subha Ghosh, Sheikh Sahil, Sk. Sahil and Kiyan Nassiri from the youth ranks to the first team and assembled a squad with a blend of youth and experience. Vicuña brought a brand of football to India, which was very similar to that commonly seen in Spain. He believed in playing a possession-based game and incorporated build-up from the back, for which he used Baba Diawara at the front and supported by Joseba Beitia with Nongdamba Naorem and V. P. Suhair, V.P. Suhair running down the flanks. The midfield was dictated by Fran González (footballer, born 1989), Fran González while the defense was held by the strong pair of Daneil Cyrus and Fran Morante. With record 14 matches unbeaten run, Mohun Bagan sealed their second I-League title and fifth national league title on their 16th matchday with a 1–0 win over Aizawl FC, Aizawl at the Kalyani Stadium. With four matches still to be played, 2019–20 I-League, 2019–20 season was terminated by the AIFF due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, the organizers of ISL, as well as the club management, made efforts to include Mohun Bagan along with East Bengal in the league, and to which the football brand of the club was merged with the ownership corporation of ATK (football club), ATK led by Dr. Sanjiv Goenka in January 2020, that allowed Mohun Bagan to play in the ISL, which was promoted as the top-tier league, along with I-League, in 2017–18. On 16 January 2020, RPSG Group, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Sourav Ganguly and Utsav Parekh, jointly bought an 80% share of Mohun Bagan's football division and the branding and footballing rights of Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Pvt. Ltd., was transferred to the new merged company, who would field a football team under the name of ''ATK Mohun Bagan FC, ATK Mohun Bagan''. The new corporate entity was launched on 10 July after a month of delay due to the pandemic and participated under the IFA registration of Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Pvt. Ltd.


Crest

The club's current crest is circular and consists of a sailing country boat painted in green and maroon colors. The boat perhaps signifies the club's place of establishment; northern
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, on the banks of the Ganges. The city was the capital during the later 19th century and a prime trade center of British Raj, British India, and the primary 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, probably indicating the famous mangrove forests of Bengal, the Sundarbans. The club crest is used for all sporting activities other than the football division of the club. However, since gaining professional status at the start of the National Football League era in Football in India, Indian Football, the crest of the football division of the club has changed ''mutatis mutandis'' from time to time due to change of stakeholders, all the while keeping the Green and Maroon sailboat a constant.


Stadiums


Mohun Bagan Ground

The Mohun Bagan Ground is a football stadium located in the Maidan (Kolkata), maidan region of central
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, just opposite the Eden Gardens. The stadium is operated by Mohun Bagan who currently use the stadium as a training ground, although in 2017–18 Mohun Bagan A.C. season, 2017 the ground had been used for a few of their
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
matches as well. The office and club tent is adjacent to the stadium. This ground is mainly used for
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
matches. The stadium has galleries on three sides and a rampart on the fourth side. The north side, a contemporary gallery of the stadium, having bucket seats installed, is for the members. In 1977 Mohun Bagan became the first club in
Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...
to have floodlights installed in their stadium. The floodlights operated till the mid-1990s, after which they were renovated and inaugurated on 25 February 2016 with an
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
match between Mohun Bagan U19s and DSK Shivajians F.C., DSK-Liverpool Academy.


Supporters

The fans, known as ''Mariners,'' have the reputation of being very loyal and respectful of the club, whom they often consider to be a mother-like figure in their lives. They have had the distinction of the highest attendance during the club's tenure in
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
. There are several fan clubs dedicated to Mohun Bagan in different parts of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Mohun Bagan had the highest average attendance with an average home crowd of 17,068 in the 2013–14 season, as per the
AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...
reports. In the 2014-15 I-League season, their vocal support in away matches in Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru was arguably unseen in Indian football until then. In 2015 an all-female supporters' group called ''Lady Mariners,'' was established. The group became India's first all-female football supporter's club. Around 2016, ultras of Mariners, called ''Mariners' Base Camp'', was formed with its various wings spread all around
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, to revolutionize the Indian football fan movement through tifos, chants, slogans and pyrotechnics. A premium fanbase of Mohun Bagan across entire Bengal is called ''Mariners of Bengal''. The members of the fanbase are scattered across different areas of Bengal. And they are each promoting Mohun Bagan in their area. ''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 The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
record. Over 21,000 attended the league decider of the 2014-15 I-League between Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC in Bengaluru, of this ''".. over 8,000 were away fans, traveling from as far as
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, Mumbai and Pune to watch the game"'', noted Sunando Dhar, chief executive officer of the
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
in the same article. Their grand reception when, by some estimates, over 200,000 fans gathered to greet the 2014-15 I-League clinching squad (on their way back to
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
from Bengaluru) has been dubbed as ''"legendary"'', ''"unparalleled"'' and ''"surreal"'' by the press as well as football historians. Mohun Bagan fans have also provided financial help to the club during times of struggle. In the early 2000s, a Mohun Bagan fan mortgaged his house to raise funds for signing Brazilian superstar Jose Ramirez Barreto. In 2013 another fan donated his entire monthly salary to the club. Crazy and passionate football fans, Pannalal and Chaitali Chatterjee, who traveled abroad to 10 FIFA World Cups to represent India, India's footballing passion, had once said, ''“You can cut open my wrist. You will see Mohun Bagan running in my veins, and nothing will ever change that.” '' On 29 July 2020 (Mohun Bagan Day), Marines abroad took an initiative to feature the club on the billboards of NASDAQ at Times Square, in order to celebrate the occasion during the times of COVID-19 pandemic, pandemic when all the fans in India were under a COVID-19 lockdowns, lockdown. This made Mohun Bagan the first ever Indian sports entity to be featured on the NASDAQ billboards at Times Square. FIFA posted about this moment on Twitter. Celebrity Mohun Bagan fans include Hemendra Kumar Ray, Manna Dey, Jyoti Basu, R. D. Burman, Sourav Ganguly, Amitabh Bachchan, Uttam Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, and many more.


Rivalry

Mohun Bagan's biggest rivalry is with city rivals East Bengal Club, East Bengal and is popularly known as the
Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...
. Mohun Bagan also had an intense rivalry with Mohammedan SC but the importance of this match has fizzled out in the past two decades because the teams only meet once a year in the
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
.


Kolkata Derby

Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...
or the ''Boro Match'' is a football match between Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan FC, ATK Mohun Bagan) and SC East Bengal, East Bengal. Till 29 October 2022, 383 matches have been played between the two teams out of which Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan) has won 126 matches and East Bengal have won 132 times (including all competitive matches and exhibition games) and rest of the matches ended in draws. The first match between the sides was played on 8 August 1921 in the Coochbehar Cup, and the semifinal match ended in a 0–0 draw. Mohun Bagan won the replayed semifinal 3–0. Rabi Ganguly scored the first-ever derby goal in that match, and the other two goals were scored by Poltu Dasgupta and Abhilash Ghosh. The first Calcutta Premier Division, CFL match between the sides was played on 28 May 1925 in CFL, where East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 1–0. Mohun Bagan holds the record of scoring the fastest goal in a derby (24 July 1976, a 17-second goal from Md Akbar of Mohun Bagan). They have the record of winning two consecutive derbies on two successive days (7 and 8 August 1935) and had the unique distinction of losing only one derby in 7 years (1933 to 1939). A few notable victories include the Darbhanga Shield match on 5 September 1934, when Bagan won 4–1 (Amiyo Deb scored all four goals, the only time a player scored four goals in this derby), and a 5–3 win in an
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
encounter on 25 October 2009 (Chidi Edeh scored four goals). They have won several derbies scoring four goals against East Bengal. One such instance was in Raja Memorial Shield final played on 6 August 1937 at the common ground of both the clubs (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan), where Bagan beat East Bengal 4–0 and Asit Ganguly scored three goals in that match.


Ownership and finances

Mohun Bagan AC is registered as a society under Societies Registration Act, 1860 and West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. Unlike many other top
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s in the country which are Limited company, limited companies, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership. The registered members forms the ''Mohun Bagan Society'', which takes part in the general elections for the appointment for various posts. The club is governed by its own "''constitution''". Amendments and resolutions are passed via annual general meetings. However, the football department was registered as a private limited company in 1998 after a joint venture with United Breweries Group. Presently, KGSPL own the 80% share of football entity and consortium known as ATK Mohun Bagan Private Limited. RPSG Group founder Sanjiv Goenka is the principal owner of the organization while former India national cricket team, Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly and businessman Utsav Parekh are co-owners. They own 80% of the shares while Mohun Bagan Athletic Club also acts a co-owner, owning 20% of the organization.


Notable players

The eleven players of the 1911
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
winning team are often regarded as the ''Amar Ekadash'' ().


Top scorers in NFL/I-League


Top scorers in Calcutta Football League

''Note:'' Only players with more than 50 goals have been listed below.


Mohun Bagan Day

On 10 July 1911, Mohun Bagan had begun their third
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
campaign. The tournament continued for the next 19 days, with Mohun Bagan eventually becoming the champions by defeating the
East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
team. Thus, for the first time, a native club defeated the Great Britain, British and the British Raj, British-Indian teams in a football tournament. Since 2001, July 29 is celebrated as 'Mohun Bagan Day' in honor of the club's victory over
East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
in the 1911 IFA Shield Final.


Campaign

---- ---- ----


Mohun Bagan Ratna

Mohun Bagan Ratna is an award presented each year on Mohun Bagan Day to outstanding former players, irrespective of the sports played. The first recipient was former captain
Sailen Manna Sailendra Nath Manna ( bn, শৈলেন মান্না; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly p ...
.


Current board

{, class="wikitable" , - !style="background:#1A5026; color:white; text-align:center;", Office !style="background:#7A1024; color:white; text-align:center;", Name , - , President , Swapan Sadhan Bose , - , rowspan="5", Vice president , Moloy Ghatak , - , Arup Roy , - , Kunal Ghosh , - , Asit Chatterjee , - , Sohini Mitra , - , General Secretary , Debasish Dutta , - , Assistant Secretary , Satyajit Chatterjee , - , Treasurer , Uttam Kumar Saha , - , Finance secretary , Mukul Singha , - , Football secretary , Swapan Banerjee , - , Cricket secretary , Mahesh Kumar Tekriwal , - , Hockey secretary , Subhasish Pal , - , Tennis secretary , Sandipan Banerjee , - , Ground secretary , Pintu Biswas , - , Athletics secretary , Debashish Mitra , - , Youth football secretary , Manas Bhattacharya , -


Season overview

The club's competitive record since the inception of the first national-level league until 2020 is listed below.
{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; width:90%; text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Season ! colspan="8" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", National Football League / I-League ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Domestic Cup
(various) ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Asian club competition ! rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Calcutta Premier Division ! rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Other major honours , - ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", , - , align=left, 1996–97 National Football League (India), 1996–97 , style="text-align:right;", 5th of 6 (First Phase) , , align="right" , 5, , align=1, , align=3, , align=1, , align=6, , align=5, , align=6 ! rowspan="22" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Federation Cup , 1996 Indian Federation Cup, Quarterfinalist , , , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , Bordoloi Trophy , - , align=left, 1997–98 National Football League (India), 1997–98 , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st, , align=18, , align=9, , align=6, , align=2, , align=20, , align=10, , align=34 , 1997 Indian Federation Cup, Semifinalist , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , align=left, 1998–99 National Football League (India), 1998–99 , align=4th, , align=20, , align=6, , align=9, , align=5, , align=19, , align=17, , align=27 , style="background:gold;", 1998 Indian Federation Cup, Winners , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd ,
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
, - , align=left, 1999–2000 National Football League (India), 1999–00 , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st, , align=22, , align=14, , align=5, , align=3, , align=36, , align=17, , align=47 , , 1999–2000 Asian Club Championship, ACC , align="left" , Qualifying
round 2 , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd ,
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
, - , align=left, 2000–01 National Football League (India), 2000–01 , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd, , align=22, , align=13, , align=6, , align=3, , align=40, , align=19, , align=45 , , , , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st ,
Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...
,
Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...
, - , align=left, 2001–02 National Football League (India), 2001–02 , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st, , align=22, , align=13, , align=5, , align=4, , align=31, , align=19, , align=44 , style=background:gold;, 2001 Indian Federation Cup, Winners , , , style="text-align:right; background:#c96;", 3rd , Bordoloi Trophy , - , align=left, 2002–03 National Football League (India), 2002–03 , align=7th, , align=22, , align=9, , align=6, , align=7, , align=35, , align=25, , align=33 , Semifinalist , 2002–03 AFC Champions League qualification#Round 4, ACL , align="left" , Qualifying
round 4 , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , All Airlines Gold Cup , - , align=left, 2003–04 National Football League (India), 2003–04 , align=9th, , align=22, , align=6, , align=6, , align=10, , align=23, , align=24, , align=24 , , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd ,
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
, - , align=left, 2004–05 National Football League (India), 2004–05 , align=8th, , align=22, , align=5, , align=8, , align=9, , align=16, , align=19, , align=23 , style="background:silver;" , Runners-up , , , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , All Airlines Gold Cup , - , align=left, 2005–06 National Football League (India), 2005–06 , style="text-align:right; background:#c96;", 3rd, , align=17, , align=8, , align=6, , align=3, , align=17, , align=10, , align=30 , Pre-quarterfinalists , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , All Airlines Gold Cup , - , align=left, 2006–07 National Football League (India), 2006–07 , align=8th, , align=18, , align=5, , align=6, , align=7, , align=15, , align=21, , align=21 , style=background:gold; , Winners , 2007 AFC Cup#Group F, AFC Cup , align="left" , Group Stage , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , Indian Super Cup (1997–2011), Indian Super Cup , - , align=left, 2007–08 I-League, 2007–08 , align=4th, , align=18, , align=8, , align=6, , align=4, , align=22, , align=17, , align=30 , Semifinalist , , , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , , - , align=left, 2008–09 I-League, 2008–09 , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd, , align=22, , align=13, , align=4, , align=5, , align=30, , align=20, , align=43 , style=background:gold;, 2008 Indian Federation Cup, Winners , 2009 AFC Cup#Group Stage, AFC Cup , align="left" , Group Stage , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , Indian Super Cup (1997–2011), Indian Super Cup , - , align=left, 2009–10 I-League, 2009–10 , align=5th, , align=26, , align=10, , align=6, , align=10, , align=48, , align=43, , align=36 , 2009-10 Indian Federation Cup Final, Semifinalist , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , align=left, 2010–11 I-League, 2010–11 , align=6th, , align=26, , align=8, , align=10, , align=8, , align=34, , align=32, , align=34 , style="background:silver;" , 2010 Indian Federation Cup, Runners-up , , , style="text-align:right; background:#c96;", 3rd , , - , align=left, 2011–12 I-League, 2011–12 , align=4th, , align=26, , align=13, , align=8, , align=5, , align=51, , align=32, , align=47 , 4th of 4 (2011 Indian Federation Cup, Final Group Phase) , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , All Airlines Gold Cup , - , align=left, 2012–13 I-League, 2012–13 , align=10th, , align=26, , align=11, , align=8, , align=7, , align=40, , align=34, , align=29 , 2nd of 4 (2012 Indian Federation Cup, Final group phase) , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , align=left, 2013–14 I-League, 2013–14 , align=8th, , align=24, , align=6, , align=10, , align=8, , align=23, , align=24, , align=28 , 2013–14 Indian Federation Cup, Semifinals , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , align=left, 2014–15 I-League, 2014–15 , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st, , align=20, , align=11, , align=6, , align=3, , align=33, , align=16, , align=39 , 3rd of 5 (2014–15 Indian Federation Cup, Group Stage) , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , rowspan="2" align="left" , 2015–16 I-League, 2015–16 , rowspan="2" style="text-align:right; background:silver;" , 2nd, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 16, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 8, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 6, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 2, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 32, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 16, , rowspan="2" align="right" , 30 , rowspan="2" style="background:gold;" , 2015–16 Indian Federation Cup, Winners , , align="left" , Qualifying round 2 , rowspan="2" style="text-align:right; background:#c96;" , 3rd , rowspan="2" , , - , , align=left, Round of 16 , - , align="left" , 2016–17 I-League, 2016–17 , style="text-align:right; background:silver;" , 2nd, , align="right" , 18, , align="right" , 10, , align="right" , 6, , align="right" , 2, , align="right" , 27, , align="right" , 12, , align="right" , 36 , style="background:silver;" , 2016–17 Indian Federation Cup, Runners-up , 2016 AFC Cup#Group Stage, AFC Cup , align="left" , Group Stage , style="text-align:right; background:#c96;" , 3rd , , - , align=left, 2017–18 I-League, 2017–18 , style="text-align:right; background:#c96;", 3rd, , align=18, , align=8, , align=7, , align=3, , align=28, , align=14, , align=31 ! rowspan="2" style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Super Cup , 2018 Indian Super Cup, Semifinals , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd , , - , align=left, 2018–19 I-League, 2018–19 , align=5th, , align=20, , align=8, , align=5, , align=7, , align=27, , align=28, , align=29 , 2019 Indian Super Cup, Pre-quarterfinals , , , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st , , - , align=left, 2019–20 I-League, 2019–20 , style="text-align:right; background:gold;", 1st, , align=11, , align=12, , align=3, , align=1, , align=35, , align=13, , align=39 ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Durand Cup , style="background:silver;", 2019 Durand Cup, Runners-up , , , style="text-align:right; background:silver;", 2nd ,


Honours


Major titles

''Note:'' The following honours are only the
AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...
certified titles that Mohun Bagan have won until the 2020 merger. {, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;" !style="width: 5%;background:#1A5026; color:white; text-align:center;", Competition !style="width: 1%;background:#7A1024; color:white; text-align:center;", No. !style="width: 15%;background:#1A5026; color:white; text-align:center;", Seasons , - , National Football League (India), ''NFL'' /
I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
, bgcolor="#DCE5E5", 5 , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 National Football League (India), 1997–98, 1999–2000 National Football League (India), 1999–2000, 2001–02 National Football League (India), 2001–02, 2014–15 I-League, 2014–15, 2019–20 I-League, 2019–20 , - , Federation Cup (India), ''Federation Cup'' , bgcolor="#DCE5E5", 14 , style="text-align:left;", 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993 Indian Federation Cup, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008 Indian Federation Cup, 2008, 2015–16 Indian Federation Cup, 2015–16 , - ,
Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...
, bgcolor="#DCE5E5", 16 , style="text-align:left;", 1953, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1994, 2000 , - ,
IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...
, 21 , style="text-align:left;", 1911, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2003 , - , Indian Super Cup (1997-2011), ''Indian Super Cup'' , 2 , style="text-align:left;", 2007, 2009 , - , ''
Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football ent ...
'' , bgcolor="#DCE5E5", 14 , style="text-align:left;", 1955, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 2000 , - ,
Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...
, 30 , style="text-align:left;", 1939, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2018–19 Calcutta Premier Division, 2018 , - , colspan="4" style="text-align:left;", Bolded denotes that the tournament is an active national competition.
''Italicised'' denotes that the tournament is discontinued.


Awards

* Banga Bibhushan: 2022 (the highest civilian honour in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
given by the Government of West Bengal)


Performance in AFC competitions

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; width:90%; text-align:center;" , - ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Season ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Competition ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Round ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Club ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", 1st Leg ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", 2nd Leg ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Agg. ! style="background:Green; color:Maroon;", Highest Scorer , - , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , 1987 Asian Club Championship, 1987 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , Asian Club Championship , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , Qualifying round , style="text-align:left" , Al-Rasheed SC , rowspan="4" , , rowspan="4" , , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" , 0–2 , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , Sisir Ghosh
(6 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Manang Marshyangdi Club , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 6–1 , - , style="text-align:left" , PAF F.C., PAF FC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 4–1 , - , style="text-align:left" , Mohammedan Sporting Club (Dhaka), Mohammedan SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 2–2 , - , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" , 1988–89 Asian Club Championship, 1988–89 , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" , Asian Club Championship , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Qualifying round , style="text-align:left" , Crescent Textile FC , rowspan="6" , , rowspan="6" , , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 8–0 , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" , Sisir Ghosh
(5 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Kathmandu SC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 4–2 , - , style="text-align:left" , Fanja SC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 1–0 , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Semi-final round , style="text-align:left" , Kazma SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" , 1–0 , - , style="text-align:left" , Guangdong Hongyuan F.C., Guangdong Hongyuan FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" , 6–0 , - , style="text-align:left" , Al-Rasheed SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" , 2–0 , - , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , 1990–91 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, 1990–91 , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Asian Cup Winners' Cup , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , First round , style="text-align:left" , Dalian Shide F.C., Dalian Shide FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 4–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC" , 5–0 , style="text-align:center" , — , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , 1994–95 Asian Club Championship, 1994–95 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Asian Club Championship , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Preliminary round , style="text-align:left" , Club Valencia , rowspan="2" , , rowspan="2" , , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 7–1 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Tausif Jamal
(4 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Ratnam SC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 5–1 , - , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Second round , style="text-align:left" , Thai Farmers Bank F.C., Thai Farmers Bank FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–4 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 3–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 7–0 , - , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , 1995 Asian Club Championship, 1995 , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Asian Club Championship , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , First round , style="text-align:left" , Club Valencia , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 2–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 1–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 2–2
(away goal rule, a) , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Manoharan, Satyabrata Bhowmik
(1 goal each) , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , 1999–2000 Asian Club Championship, 1999–00 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Asian Club Championship , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , First round , style="text-align:left" , Muktijoddha Sangsad KC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 2–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 0–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 2–1 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Chima Okorie, Dipendu Biswas
(1 goal each) , - , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Second round , style="text-align:left" , Júbilo Iwata , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 8–0 , , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 8–0 , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , 2002–03 AFC Champions League, 2002–03 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , AFC Champions League , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Qualifying stage , style="text-align:left" , Saunders SC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 0–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 5–1 , rowspan="3" , , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Baichung Bhutia
(4 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Club Valencia , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 2–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 0–3 , - , style="text-align:left" , Daejeon Hana Citizen , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 6–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 1–2 , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , 2007 AFC Cup, 2007 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , AFC Cup , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Group stage , style="text-align:left" , Tampines Rovers FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 0–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 2–0 , rowspan="3" , , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Lalawmpuia Pachuau
(2 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Osotspa Samut Prakan F.C., Osotspa Samut Prakan FC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 1–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 0–0 , - , style="text-align:left" , Pahang F.C., Pahang FC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 1–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 2–0 , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , 2009 AFC Cup, 2009 , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , AFC Cup , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Group Stage , style="text-align:left" , Al-Karamah SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 1–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–4 , rowspan="3" , , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Rakesh Masih
(1 goal) , - , style="text-align:left" , Al-Wehdat SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 1–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 5–0 , - , style="text-align:left" , Kuwait SC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 6–0 , - , rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" , 2016 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , 2016 AFC Champions League, AFC Champions League , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Qualifying stage , style="text-align:left" , Tampines Rovers FC , rowspan="2" , , rowspan="2" , , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 3–1 , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Cornell Glen, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Katsumi Yusa
(1 goal each) , - , style="text-align:left" , Shandong Taishan F.C., Shandong Taishan FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–6 , - , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" , 2016 AFC Cup, AFC Cup , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , Group stage , - , style="text-align:left" , Maziya S&RC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 5–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 1–1 , rowspan="3" , , rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" , Jeje Lalpekhlua
(6 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , South China AA , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 0–4 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–3 , - , style="text-align:left" , Yangon United F.C., Yangon United FC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 3–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 1–1 , - , rowspan=1 style="text-align:center" , Round of 16 , style="text-align:left" , Tampines Rovers FC , , , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 1–2 , - , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" , 2017 AFC Cup, 2017 , rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" , AFC Cup , - , rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" , Qualifying stage , style="text-align:left" , Colombo FC , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 1–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 2–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 4–2 , rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" , Jeje Lalpekhlua
(4 goals) , - , style="text-align:left" , Club Valencia , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 1–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 4–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 5–2 , - , rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" , Group stage , style="text-align:left" , Bengaluru FC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 2–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 3–1 , rowspan="3" , , - , style="text-align:left" , Abahani Limited Dhaka , style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;", 3–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFFFCC;", 1–1 , - , style="text-align:left" , Maziya S&RC , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 0–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#FFCCCC;", 5–2


Filmography

* Arun Roy, ''Egaro, এগারো: The Immortal Eleven'' (), 2011


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * *


See also

*
Club of Pioneers The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country. The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football Association football, mor ...
* Oldest football clubs *
ATK Mohun Bagan FC ATK Mohun Bagan FC () is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club, which was formed as a merger between the football section of m ...
* Mohun Bagan A.C. (cricket) * Mohun Bagan A.C. (youth)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mohun Bagan AC, Association football clubs established in 1889 I-League clubs Football clubs in Kolkata 1889 establishments in British India ATK Mohun Bagan FC Sports clubs in India Multi-sport clubs in India