DOHA: Calcutta football has become outdated and irrelevant with many old-school supporters.
As the modern game is now largely shaped by the glamour and commercial appeal of the Indian Super League, there’s no emotion involved anymore.
But there was an era when football in the city belonged to the common people.
Let us rewind the clock by 50 years and revisit one of the most iconic chapters in the history of Mohun Bagan.
The early years of the 1970s had not been particularly memorable for them. Results were inconsistent and the fans were growing increasingly frustrated.
Everything began to change in 1976 when Chandra Madhab Roy took charge as the club’s football secretary. Determined to restore the club’s lost glory, a complete rebuilding process was initiated under his leadership.
The second step was to convince the legendary P.K. Banerjee to become their head coach.
From the 1975 squad, the club retained Prashanta Mitra, Shankar Banerjee, Subrata Bhattacharya, Compton Dutta, Dilip Palit, Prasun Banerjee, Jahar Das, and Ulaganathan, while most of the older players were released.
It was followed by some key signings — Bagan pulled in experienced players Samaresh Chowdhury and Subhash Bhowmick from East Bengal, along with Mohammad Habib and his younger brother Akbar from Mohammedan Sporting Club.
Emerging talents Santosh Basu, Bidesh Basu, Dilip Sarkar, and Mafatlal star Pradip Chowdhury also joined the side.
“What a year it was for the green and maroon side,” recalled Akbar, one of the stars of that memorable team.
It was Akbar who etched his name into Calcutta football folklore on July 24, 1976, on July 24, 1976, by scoring against East Bengal in just 17 seconds. His effort still regarded as the fastest goal in Calcutta Maidan history.
That victory against East Bengal helped the club win the Calcutta League title after a gap of six years since 1969.
Out of 22 league matches, Mohun Bagan won 20 and collected 42 points.
Only two matches did not end in victory — a goalless draw against BATA and a 1-1 draw against Tollygunge Agragami.
But the success did not stop there.
Mohun Bagan went on to win the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup, Bordoloi Trophy, and Darjeeling Gorkha Brigade Gold Cup in the same season.
Mohun Bagan squad of 1976
Goalkeepers: Prashanta Mitra (Captain), Santosh Basu, Jayanta Mukherjee
Defenders: Subrata Bhattacharya (Vice-Captain), Compton Dutta, Dilip Palit, Shankar Banerjee, Pradip Chowdhury, Dilip Sarkar, Uttam Ghosh
Midfielders: Prasun Banerjee, Samaresh Chowdhury, Shyam Sundar Manna, Sukumar Mukherjee
Forwards: Subhash Bhowmick, Narayanaswamy Ulaganathan, Mohammed Habib, Mohammed Akbar, Bidesh Basu, Jahar Das
