East Bengal ; 100 years YOUNG and still moving on

Dedication & Dedicate

I completely dedicate this article to the QUATRET FOURSOME The first is Mr Prosanta Gupta who resides at Kolkatta. He has been pegging me to write a BOOK onb the History Of East Bengal football team but my problem is I do not know to write even a single alphabet in Bengali.The second in the list is Late Madam Vlasta Zulijevic from Croatia. She was the one who told me a lot about Croatia and Croatioan football.Infact the national Coach of our football team is a Croat. The third in the list is Mr Sanjoy Choudhury  a technocrat, ( B.E) who is a Kolkattan but is at Switzerland on a job.He calls me as a ENCYCLOPEDIA of East Bengal's football and last but NOT the least Madam Maria Kebschull who is an ardent fan of Kolkataa, it's heritage and culture and it's football especially the team I support It was she who continuously kept on saying me that I should write and pay my RESPECT to this club which has been the backbone of Indian football and the BREATHE of the Baangall's who love football and East Bengal.

East Bengal ; 100 years YOUNG and still moving on

The PRIDE of Bengal and the HEART of Indian Football East Bengal Football club today on August 1^st 2019 has put it’s feet on its completion of 99 years and it’s the 1^st day of the 100^th years of existence in Indian football.

WHAT A GLORIOUS MOMENT IN THE ANNALS OF INDIAN FOOTBALL
Formed on August 1^st  1920 after a dissident between the warring faction of the club East Bengal took the birth as the off-shoot of one of the other famous club of India that is Mohu Bagan .What happened was something very unusual and very unexpected. That unexpectation yielded in an outburst of temper and finally the GLAMOUROUS club of India EAST BENGAL FOOTBALL Club was formed This is the story

INCIDENT HOW EAST BENGAL FOOTBALL CLUB WAS FORMED :

History of Kingfisher East Bengal F.C-:
On  July 28^th, 1920,  there was a match scheduled to be played between Mohun Bagan A.C. and Jorabagan in a Coochbehar Cup tie.   Mohun Bagan was a name to conjure with then. However when they fielded the team they dropped one of the most versatile player from the team, and took the field without Sailesh Bose, their star halfback. Watching this incident but not in a position to bear it, this, industrialist Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, who was also the Vice- President of Mohun Bagan A.C, pleaded with the club authorities for Sailesh Bose's inclusion, but to no avail. Annoyed with the entire happening of events, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri instantly cut all ties with his old club and formed a new club along with Sailesh Bose, Ramesh Chandra (Nasha) Sen, Raja Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri and Aurobinda Ghosh. A new club by the name of East Bengal FC was set up on 1st August 1920. The name was kept as East Bengal because most of their founders hailed from that region of Bengal.

Initial Day’s : A saga of TRAILS and TROUBLES :

East Bengal before the partition was known as East Pakistan which now has become Bangladesh. That part of the land which was undivided India was full of and was ther land of “ BAANGAAL “ These Bangaals were known as East Bengali’s as they hailes from eastern Part of Pakistan then. Since the fan base of East Bengal Football club was almost every Baangaal this club was named after them and it came to be known as East Bengal.Thus East Bengal, the name and the club took it’s root in India

Pricked by the Britishers always

India then was fighting the war of Independence . The Bengalis particulary the East Bengali’s from East Pakistan and the Punjabis were giving a harrowing time to the Britihsres and were making them to kneel before them. A lot of Scientist from East Pakistan and a lot of MACHO’S frm Punjab were taking the horns of the Britishers by the bulls that they were though the bulls ought to be taken by horn. What I mean to say is what was happening in the other part of the country as a easy meet was proving to be a non-easy meat to the Britishers s the east Pakistani’s then in the form of Bengali’s and the Punjabis were frying the Britishers  on the pan without any oil put in it This was pricking and hitting the Britishers all the way and making them a Lilliput inspite of the fact that they were ruling the world .

This background and this sentiments was enough when the Britishers had to smack the pride of the East Pakistani’s in terms of the Bengali’s .The anger and the frustations of the Britishers were always poured upon this club when it came to square and off-root the balance and East Bengal football club was always fighting three opponents when it played it’s game then. One it had to take on the supporters of the Mohun Bagani’s 

whenever they played, secondly they had to play against the referees always and last but not the least the British Administration was always there to poke the club and puncture it’s movement forward to put it back by some kms if not by miles

1928 : East Bengal authorities win the COURT-CASE against the Britishers : Indian lawyers gets WWW recognition then

It was 1928. East Bengal were playing match against their opponent Mohun Bagan in a local tournament. Some days before in an nine-a-side football tournament played at the Jorashonkha ground then, East Bengal had beaten the British Army team by 5-0 and a day after that it beat Mohun Bagan by 8-1. These two results completely blew off whatever the Britishers and the Mariner’s had it with them .As the size of the ground then was small measuring 70 yards by 50 yards everyteam were asked to pay with nine of their best players It was expected that Mohun Bagan would win the tourney and the fixture were so arranged that it was made and prepared for the Mohun Bagan to win that easily, but when East Bengal beat them by that margin the Britishers pumped the supporters of both the team and it was free for all. Threenecks on that day was chopped  by the East Bengal supporters after a British Official spat on a old lady, a supporter of East Bengal and when some Bagani’s supporter joined the Britishers and punched some East Bengali supporters’ the FIRE and the RAGE got out of the Bangaal then at that moments and  three necks were chopped off, one belonging to the British Police and two of the Bagani supporters.

The matter went to court and East Bengal club Was banned from playing football in India The Maharaja of Cooch-Behar Mr Santosh who then would sponsor and spend the money on the club to run it’s activity brought a well famous lawyer from Britain, a Bangali by the name of manjoy Hridhoynath Banerjee to fight the case. That lawyer fought it and fought oit tooth-and-nail and won the case in favour of East Bengal. Thus East Bangal was reinstated to play and continue it’s activity of Football at Bengal and India .

Eversince then and that day, the Mohun Bagani supporyter from then till now FEAR the East Bengali supporter’s and the trend continues and it continues till this day . Secondly the Britishers during those days made the Mhoun Bagani’s be it their club officials or be it their supporters, to back them blineyed to always prick and puncture the East Bengal team and it’s upoorters.That again widened the chasm between the two Indian club and one saw the other as their enemy. The cultural differences also then came into the picture The so called the refugees  from the East Pakistan when it started to outbeat one and all in yterms of intellectual’s and the ilks of everything, the burns at the heart grew wider every moment and till this day the supporers of either of the club just cannot see eye-to-eye with the others.The same tend is also evident when the players of the two team lock their horn on the field Thus is the remorse and the antagonism that is ever observed when these two club meet.It is REVENGe and the STAKES in terms of PRESTIGE that flows out of the players, it’s supporters and the club officials and that is why a East Bengal-Mohun bagam match is called as the battle between the “ Illish “ and the “ Chingri “  and it is CHINGAREE that is een when this two team plays

East Bengal’s worst : It was designed to destruct and demolish the club

The period between 1929 to 1934 was the wrost for East Bengal. The Britishers were one after one pulling this club for all the reason’s which wwrre not connected to the game and the sports at all To cite an example, Mohun bagan were given a ground to establish their club during those days with a guarantee of Rs 5,000=00 per annum so that tey and their plaers practiced and they had a place to exist in the annals of Indian football.The same facilitywas accorded to Mohammedan Sporting. But when East Bengal approached the authorities, too many excuses were put and the club’s activity was put to halt .

Aftare a lot of tug-of-war that the East Bengal’s club authority had to fight with the British authorities the Britishers gave aa small piece of land to the East Bengal authorities to establish themselves.This had a effect on the players.They were deprieved of practicing in a normal football field and that showed in their performance when they  were relegated to the second divioiosn for the period 1934-35 but when East Bengal

came back again to the first division in 1936-1937 they were a TIGER on the field The insult that it hit them to be relegated had started buring them and the rage could be seen the way the club started playing football. For it was then the Mohun bagani’s were hit for a score of 4-0 in two different occasion and once Mohammedan Sporting was hit for a six ( 6-1 ) in an leagye encounter However any title still was not coming to the East Bengal club

First successs : The IFA League

It was in the year 1942 which gained International recognition because it was QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT that ook it’s root and it was the same year that East Bengal won the IFA League for the first time. But the HUGE wave was created in 1945 when East Bengal won the IFA League and immediately in the IFA Sheild finals they humbles their dearest rival Mohun bagan by 1-0 to win the DUAL of the League and the Shield.

Stigma : Not Being Able To Win Outside Bengal

The success of East Bengal did not meet eye with the others especially the Britishers and the Mohun bagani’s.They floated a news that East Bengal was a Tiger on the field within Bengal .They did not have the capacity to win anything outside Bengal. This HIT the East Bengal authorities and they fell onto and into the business and the task of structing their football road and building a team which could play for a period of ten years without being shattered even if one or two deserted them for a better avenue

Pagsley, the PANCHA-PANDAV & Ahmed Khan WRITE “ ORBITUARIES “ for opponent

With an aim to build and win almost all the tournament the East Bengal authorities started forming the team and they roped in pagsaley in 1942.A Britisher who played for England at England but then refuged at Burma, walked in all the way from Rangoon to Koplkatta to join East Bengal.HE WAS THE FIRST EVER FOREIGN RECRUIT FOR EAST BENGAL and that started the trend Pagsalay was a TIGER on the prowl and a LION for the KILLL

Pic-: Majid Bhiskar the BEST ever foreigner to have played in India and for East Bengal Football team
Between the period from 1945 to 1949 came in the PILLSAR and the CANON of Indian football, namely S.Raman who is credited for scoring the FIRST ever international goal for India in the Olympics in 1948, P.Venkatesh, Appa Rao, Dhanraj, Ahmed Khan and P.Saleh joined East Bengal These FIVE players that I have highlighted along with Pagsaley produced storms in form of the HAIL and CYCLONES to MINCE, GRIND and DUST their opponent’s that an Olympic Chinese team was defeated by east Bengal by 2-0 in an match they played here. This was the FIRST occasion that an Indian team had played and won a match against an International Olympic side in a football amcth and East Bengal it ws which did that

DELHI JAI : 1952 and Durand win 1951 : President Of India invites East Bengal for dinner

DELHI JAI was the slogan in antics and an sarcastic remark by the Indian press to the authorities of Pakistan This was created by the Indian media at Delhi.Pakistan had vowed to fight against India for 1000 years and then it also vowed that it will take away Kashmir from India, beside raise their national flag on the Red Fort. Those were the two things that they would do

The scribes at New Delhi invented the SLOGAN Delhi Jai and when would it happen in reality for Pakistan Slowly this slogan by the Sports scribes of Delhi was implemented on the Durand Cup Cup and the DCM ( Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy )  They formaulated a headline in terms of a slogan that which would be the First Indian team in football to achieve the Delhi Jai as Pakistan would not be able to achieve it in 1000 years

1951 was rhe FIRST when East Bengal won the Durand Cup .That was the first occasion that East Bengal won this Cup at New Delhi.The newspapers which was in favour of East Bengal carried out a long story flaying those who wrote and said that East Bengal does not possesses the capacity of winning any tourneys outside Bengal 1952 saw East Bengal winning the DCM Trophy as well as the Durand Cup Trophy for the first time

The achievement of wiining both the MOST IMPORTANT Trophy of India and that too at Delhi in front of the naked eye of the Presdident then Mr rajendra Prasad whom the Indians with LOVE referred him as Rajendra Babu.

Pic-: The Bar Pooja Performed At The East Bengal Ground On The " POILA" Baisakh Day  
The scribes of New Delhi then, wrote about East Benagl saying that when Pakistan achieves the Delhi Jai is not known and would that happen is not known but ofcourse DELHI JAI has been performed by East Bengal .So impressed was Mr Rajendra Prasad that he requested the East Bengal team that won both the Trophies in one football calendar that year, to have the dinner with him on that night. The entire East Bengal team was shocked to receive that kind of an offer from the President of India then.Never could they believe that those kind of a day will ever come their life .The entire team and the entire support staff went in for the dinner at the palatial President Palace and for about three hours they were woth the Hon’ble President enjoying one of their BEST time of their life with the President then
EAST BENGAL IS THE FIRST TEAM TO HAVE BEEN INVITED BY THE HON’BLE PRESIDENT OF INDIA FOR SUCH A TREAT
Tour Of Europe: SUCCESS BEGETS SUCCESS
It is said that success begets success and nothing succeeds like success .The East Bengal and it’s playing lores were flowing all through the Scandinavian European countries as well as the Eastern European countries. The club too was in need of not only the GLORY but also the money At this time the Sweden Football authorities and the Romanian football authorities invited East Bengal for the tour to play some matches against their teams.East Benagl accepted the tour and they played in some games over there. The HORRIFYING result was the NATIONAL Champion Club team of Sweden was hammered by 2-0 in a match. Similar tales were scripted at Romania.
East Bengal immediately then were invited by USSR as well to play some games over there. The condition of USSR and it’s climate which was below -40 degree had a terrific bearing on the team The team could not adjust at all to the freezing climate at USSR and it lost some games buy a margin of over 10 goals Not only that some of the playersfell sick However a GOLDEN LETTER’S CHAPTER was inscribed by the club

Success and fairy tale from the fifties to the start of sixties:

The “ Paanch-Pandavas “ and their story had become a house hold folklore at Bengal. East Bengal by the end of 1960 had almost won 78 titles alla together, fifity of them had come through the courtesy of these five pandavas

But as they say every good things had and has to come to and end. The first of the end came in 1951 when Pagslay for all good reason decided to do away with football.He went back to Rangoon to lead his after football life. From 1959 to 1961 all the Pandavas has retired and the last one who was a ball jugglar coupled with feet magic, Balram too had decided to hang his boot in 1963. Thus started the slide and East Bengal was not that a force to conjure with though they would pull the trigger if needed be  on and on their own day

1966 : galaxies of East Bengal star desert & Hyderabadis come over
1966 was the year when a host of satrs that were described as the galaxies deserted East Bengal to join the job offered to them by the B N R and the Eastern railways. Players like Sunil Nandi, Arun Ghosh, were the examples and East Bengal was a hollow team.It was decided to go in for scouting the fresh blood and the first of such was Mohammed habib, and then it was naimuddin. Came Gurukripal Singh from Mohun Bagan and then came kali babu Verma. Ram Bahadur retired after serving east Bengal from 1953-54 in 1967 but then came Sudhir Kormokar.He was followed by Samaersh Choudhury, Arun Banerjee the goalkeeper, Kamal Guha, Santo Mitra, and then in 1970 East Bengal had a team which boasted of Peter Thangaraj, Sudhir Kormokar, Naimuddin, Mohammed Habib, Swapan Sengupta, kali Babu Verma, Prasanto Sinha, KajalMukhejee, Ashoke Lal Banerjee to name a few. From Dehradoon vcame in Shyam Thapa and from Burma came in Rook Bahadur . That was the start of an era which we called it the Golden era of East Bengal

1970 to 1976 : Golden Era of East Bengal, Epitabh written for many a club

It was P K Banerjee who took over the Chief Coach and it’s assignment for East Bengal. Iyt tarted the GOLDEN ERA for East Bengal . The first of the successcame in the IFA League which they won it by defeating Mohun Bagan. Soon afterwards came the TRIUMPH of the IFA Sheild.

Playing against a HIGHLY tactical, fit, and a very FOXY Iranian side in the IFA Shield finals which was laden with as many as six World Cuppers from Mexico, Venezueala and Paraguay which was assisting that side, the PAS Club of Iran, which was a highlky skilled professional team, East Bengal as against the thinking and as against the tide went to beat that club by 1-0 in an absorbing pulsating finals to completely topple the applecart of many a pndits of Football That set the ball rolling

“ BAANGLA BONNAYE TEY DOOBAY ACHHEY AAR MOSHALEY KOLKATTA JOLCHHEY “ was the headline then given by JUGANTAR then, a dailies from Kolkatta then. In this period Mohun Bagan just could not beat East Bengal in any of the football matches from 1970 to 1976 when that 15^th second goal by Mohammed Akbar brought Mohun Bagan it’s respect back to football.That ws East Benhgal in that period

Many famed name such as 24^th April Youth Club, of North Korea, the Dok Rok Gong of North Korea, and many of them from USSR and Malaysia as ell as the South Asian countries that played football and that had sent it’s tream to India to play Fooytball wasd measured in a similar scale where only the defeat would await them and the epitabh would be written about them.This scenario changed in 1975 when East Bengal lost to hang Yang University by 2-0 in the finals of the DCM Trophy

SUCH WAS THE MAGIC OF EAST BENGAL THAT FROM 1970 TO 1975 NO TEAM FROM ABROAD COULD BEAT THEM THAT INFACT IS A RECORD OF ANY FOREIGN TEAM NOT BEATING EAST BENGAL IN FOOTBALL MATCHES  

Success: Far few and too little from 1976 to 2003

From 1976 when Mohammed Akbar’s 15^th second goal drowned East Bengal to about 2002 East Bengal in terms of success was not that a team which could be feared and which could sway away the opponent.Yet the Federation Cup Trophy wiining tale in 1965 which crowned them as the South Asian Champion to play the AC Cup proper then, the I League title in 2000-2001 and thereafter in 2002-20033 and 2003-2004 under Subash Bhowmik as the coach, a few Federation Cup win here and there and some victories in the Super Cup held the prestige and covered the plum of the club by some icings on the cake done and at times adding a cherry to the icings but that kind of a roaring success which we saw the club enjoying in the period between 1970 to 195 was something which could not be repeated

Trophies:: The Most by any Indian Club team

Pic-:
The East Bengal 1985 Football Team, Winner Of The Fed Cup 1st Time On Individual Basis

In it’s 100 years of its existence,East Bengal has played about 4001 games in toto .This includes all the exhibition games, goodwill games, and games at abroad which also includes the before season and after season traing games against the flighted teams.It has scored about 14001 goals in the span of these last 100 years.

It has so far won 160 Football titles well inside and outside India. This is the MOST number of Trophies won by any Indian Football club .It won the TRIPLE CROWN twice, first in the year 1973-74 when Sudhir Kormokar was the Captain.They again won that in 1990-91 when in all probability Syed Naimuddin was the coach

The Two President Of Club : From TENACITY to MODERNITY

The two President of the club that would always find their name inscribed with the letter of GOLD would be Mr Jyotish Chandra Guha and Mr Deepak Das. It was the ERA of TENACITY when Mr J C Guha was in the charge and at the HELMS of the club. It was MODERNITY when Mr Deepak Das took it over to convert the club into one.

That sums up for this club which is the MOTHER NUMBER in terms of the club for Baichung Bhutia and which is the SECOND MOTHER to all the Bangaals who floow, worship and are the ardent as well as the BLIND SUPPORTERS of this PIOUS and GANGES like club for the one’s who are Baangaal’s.

Shyamal Bhattacharjee