Historic 1911 IFA Shield Winning Squad
“All honour to Mohun Bagan!! Those eleven players are not only a glory to themselves and to their Club and to the great nation to which they belong; they are the glory to the game itself”— this was the report that was published in The Empire (An evening daily in Calcutta) regarding the historic 1911 IFA Shield win of Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan became the first club of India to win the IFA Shield in 1911 by defeating East Yorkshire Regiment. Mohun Bagan supporters, still feel proud when they discuss or even think about this great victory, which not only acted as a stimulus for the increase of popularity of football in Bengal but also acted as a catalyst for the freedom movement against the British supremacy. The founder Secretary Jatindra Nath Basu commented on the 1911 success: “That win was not accidental but had to be worked inch by inch through contests with some of the strongest teams in India”. Mohun Bagan defeated the following clubs to reach the final:
First Round – Mohun Bagan (Bijaydas Bhaduri 2, Abhilas Ghosh) 3 – 0 St. Xaviers.
Second Round – Mohun Bagan(Shibdas Bhaduri, Bijaydas Bhaduri) 2 – 1 Rangers(Allen)
Third Round – Mohun Bagan(Bijaydas Bhaduri) 1 – 0 Rifle Brigade
Semifinal – Mohun Bagan (Kanu Roy) 1 – 1st Middlesex(Clarke)
Semifinal (Replay) – Mohun Bagan(Shibdas Bhaduri, Habul Sarkar, Kanu roy) 3 – 0 1st Middlesex
In the final on 29th July, in front of a huge crowd presence Mohun Bagan faced the stiff challenge of East Yorks Regiment. East Yorks drew the first blood in the second half when their captain Jackson scored from a free kick. Mohun Bagan had their opportunities and Shibdas Bhaduri levelled the score within five minutes. Three minutes later he again broke the resistance of the military team and entered their box. This time Abhilas Ghosh scored the all-important goal receiving a pass from the captain Shibdas Bhaduri.
The Mohun Bagan team for 1911 IFA Shield was—
Hiralal Mukherjee (Goal), Bhuti Sukul and Sudhir Chatterjee (backs), Monmohan Mukherjee, Rajendra Nath Sengupta, Nilmadhab Bhattacharjee (halves), Jitendra Nath Roy (Kanu), Sris Chanda Sarkar (Habul) , Abhilas Ghosh, Bijaydas Bhaduri, Shibdas Bhaduri(Captain)(Forwards).
In 1911 Mohun Bagan also won Gladstone Cup, Nawab Asanullah Challenge Shield and Bengal Jimkhana Shield.