Indian football: The tale of the unbeatable Mohammedan Sporting side of 1930s

Mohammedan Sporting Club, often considered the third giant of Kolkata football, may have lost their sheen since the beginning of the 21st century but they used to be a powerhouse in Indian football at one point of time.

In fact, they enjoyed considerable success even before the other two giants of Kolkata football, namely Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The Black Panthers were the first native Indian club to win the Calcutta Football League (CFL) league in 1934 after being just promoted to the top division.

They went on to win the league in the next four editions as well and set a record of winning the title five times in a row, a record which was only bettered by East Bengal when they won it six years on the trot from 1970 to 1975. More recently, East Bengal won it eight years in a row.

Mohammedan’s dominance lasted for nine years starting from 1934 to 1942. During this period, they won 15 trophies including five CFLs, three Durand Cups, three IFA Shields and one Rovers Cup. They came close to winning the ‘triple crown’ on two occasions, in 1936 and 1941 when they had won the IFA Shield and the Durand Cup but on both occasions, they missed out on winning the Rovers Cup.

Mohammedan Sporting was established as Jubilee club in the year 1887 by Nawab Azizul Islam. They changed the name twice first to Crescent club and then to the present name in 1891 which is officially considered as the founding year of the club.

The club did not enjoy much success in its initial years as they had managed to win just the Coochbehar Cup thrice in 1902, 1906 and 1909. But under the able leadership of official C.A Aziz, the club embraced the changes in the game. It was Aziz along with Aryan club pioneer Sir Dukhiram Majumder, who understood the importance of Indian players wearing boots. In fact, Mohammedan were the first Indian club to play with boots.

During Mohammedan’s glorious years, Indian football witnessed the rise of a superstar, Mohammed Salim, who was the first Indian player to play in Europe. Scottish giants, Celtic FC had called the Calcutta-born (now Kolkata) winger for trials after they saw his exploits against Chinese Olympics side in two matches which were played in India in 1936.

As a part of his trial, Salim played two matches for the club and impressed the Celtic management. He was very close to become the first Asian player to play professionally in Europe but unfortunately, he became homesick and decided to return home and rejoin Mohammedan Sporting.

Other than Salim, the big names who donned the Black and White jersey in that era are defenders Taj Muhammad and Jumma Khan. The duo of Khan and Muhammad in the two-man defence was the best in the country in those days.

Mohammedan had also recruited goalkeeper Osman Jan from Delhi Crescent club. According to legendary Indian defender Sailen Manna, Jan was the greatest goalkeeper he has ever seen in his lifetime. Standing at just 5'6", Jan had a very big leap and a powerful fist.

The Black Panthers are no more the giants they once were behind but their dominance during the 1930s is still unmatched.