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Friday, October 31, 2008

A defiant 10-men Bagan side edge past Dempo!

Bagan registered their first win in the 08-09 edition of the I League and the victory came as a pain killer for the Bagan fans as the first full three points came against one of the better teams of the Indian League, Dempo Sports Club, Goa. Certainly this victory will be cherished by the Green and Maroon brigade as this is not only the first victory after the things had started going wrong after the CFL triumph, but this also has come from an away match and even so from Goa.
Karim Bencharifa, after the Derby draw had expressed his apprehensions about the future of his team in the I league which will become more competitive as the league progresses. It was important for Bagan to win this match just to keep the hopes living.
Bagan went into this match with the famous duo of Barreto-Bhaichung upfront but with a suspect defense Karim had to pin his hopes to the two best players in India, Barreto and Bhaichung.
The match started off with Bagan playing a "wait and watch" game and slowly tried to gain control and just then the Bagan defense received a jolt. In the 33rd minute of the match Anand Vasan received the second yellow of the match and was sent off. Bagan reduced to 10 men against Dempo in Goa. A difficult proposition...
Dempo as expected stepped on the gas and tried to play the pressure game and waited for the Bagan defense to commit the error. But Bagan defense did not crumble under pressure and Dipak seemed quite impressive in the back.
With the beginning of the second half, Bhaichung Bhutia was pulled down inside the penalty box and the referee pointed to the spot. Barreto stepped up and converted from the spot and put Bagan in the lead.
10 men Bagan had to put up a valiant battle against a Dempo side starring Ranty Martins, Beto, Steven Dias and other players of repute.
However, Dempo failed to force the issue and Bagan defense neither gave them the chance and Mohun Bagan went on to registered their first win in this edition of I league riding the sole goal from Barreto.

Barreto to miss Churchill match!
Mohun Bagan will however, miss the invalueable services of the Bagan Ace, Jose Ramirez Barreto in the next match against Churchill on the 9th of November following a double booking. He had already received a caution against Mohd. Sporting and today he received another yellow card.
Anand Vasan and Barreto will have to sit out in the match against Churchill Brothers who will play their away match in Salt Lake Stadium.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mohun Bagan general election on 2nd November!

The Mohun Bagan General Election which had been scheduled for November the 2nd is to be held at the Club Premises on that day!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Bagan fail to hold early lead! Derby ends in 1-1 draw!

There could not have been a better occasion for Karim's boys' to make a start afresh in the 2008 I League than by winning the Calcutta Derby on Saturday and the stage was set as the veteran India and Bagan captain, Bhaichung Bhutia made his return sound loud in the 2nd minute of the match with a goal! If only, Bagan defense could have defended the goal...
Barely a minute had passed when Ishfaq made a cutting run through the left and made a short centre which Bhaichung receiving acrobatically evaded two East Bengal defenders and then squeezed in a bullet through Subrata Pal's legs. Bagan were up 1-0!
The slushy condition made playing football a tough job as both the teams tried hard to make any headway. Bagan defense with Habibur back in the side seemed confident and with Barreto and Bhaichung upfront with Ishfaq making cutting runs into the East Bengal defense seemed good enough for Bagan, until Marcos spilled the beans and gifted Yakubu with a ball inside the Bagan half. Yakubu made some progress with the ball and sent in a through to Syed Rahim Nabi and Nabi placed the equaliser for East Bengal past Shilton as Bagan defense stood ball watching.
The equaliser came late in the half and till the end of the first half, it was 1-1.
With the beginning of the second half, Shilton was replaced by Sangram and the most interesting incident of the half followed just minutes later as Rakesh Masih flew in with a sliding tackle on East Bengal side back Surkumar. Surkumar retaliated with a foot-stab on Rakesh and then followed it with a punch that threw Bhaichung down who had come to cool his temper. Surkumar received the marching order from the Referee and the East Bengal goalie Subrata Pal ensured a booking for himself as he kept spitting insults at the referee. Except this incident there is hardly anything to talk about that happened in the second half.
What would hurt Karim and the Bagan fans is that Mohun Bagan failed to capitalise and force the issue against a ten men East Bengal side. Mohun Bagan surprisingly came up with very ordinary display of football in the second half and did not seem to threaten Subrata Pal, who however, could have received another yellow card for his excessive time wasting tactics.
The team seemed to lack the drive even after going 5 matches without a win and Karim will be having his handful for the rest of the I League handling pressure from both ends.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Marcos signs for Bagan, finally!

The ice between JCT and Mohun Bagan over the Marcos issue has finally been broken and JCT has released Marcos, realising that he had no intentions of going back to JCT. However such release came only after much pressure and counter pressure from both the sides and in the process JCT have successfully denied Marcos's services to Bagan as the third foreigner for the first four matches. Bagan had to pay a sum of money as Transfer fee to JCT.
However, Marcos Perriera has officially signed for Mohun Bagan as the third foreigner and will feature against East Bengal FC in the coming derby.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Barreto fights a lone battle!

Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting — the top two from the Calcutta league — played out a 1-1 draw at the Salt Lake Stadium in their I-League encounter on Sunday. The result leaves both sides on two points from four matches — just above bottom placed Vasco SC in the league standings. Saddled with injuries both Shabbir Ali and Karim Bencharifa were forced to field makeshift sides. The patchwork Mohammedan Sporting defence saw the on-loan pair from Peerless, Madhab Das and Anit Ghosh in central positions and Gurpreet Singh and Bijoy Das as the side backs. At the other end, Deepak Mondal slotted in the unusual role of right back, with Peter Odafe and Anand Vasan playing in the heart of defence. Bencharifa kept his faith on the low on confidence Mohan Raj at the left back position. When the Bagan defence was breached first, three minutes from kick-off , most interpreted it as an early sign for a blockbuster Sunday. It was the brilliant Theodore Sunday who created the goal for young Goutam Thakur. The Liberian intercepted a through ball from Mike Okoro and skipped past Peter Odafe’s challenge. He then somehow managed to keep his balance as custodian Shilton Paul charged forward. After rounding the keeper, Sunday showed his acumen as a clever cutback to Thakur, 10 yards from the goal left the youngster with little to do. Bagan were down by a goal, before they realised what hit them. What followed next was a fierce onslaught from the green and maroon brigade. Barreto came close twice with headers going wide off Mohan Raj’s long throws. The bumbling pair of Madhab and Anit lived dangerously before succumbing in the 23rd minute. Malswamtluanga’s low cross from the outside right wasn’t cut out by Anit and Bijoy and it landed at Jose Ramirez Barreto’s feet on the bounce. The Brazilian then rolled back the years — first teeing it up with a single touch and then volleying home, while falling backwards. 1-1 and a thrilling showdown was on the cards. Sunday and Rakesh Masih came close with efforts on target before the interval. The second half saw Mohammedan Sporting get off the blocks quicker. Sunday who despite carrying an injury showed his class time and again with sharp turns and silken control, came close in the 63rd minute. Shilton was stretched to parry out the striker’s crack on goal after he controlled Gurpreet’s pass perfectly. Thakur had a chance to win it for his side, but he headed over the crosspiece when instead he had to nod it in from point blank in the 70th minute. The reply from Bagan never quite came, as the game disintegrated steadily in the last quarter. The mindless action on the pitch, similar to an average pinball game saw aimless kicks and misdirected passes before the referee blew for time. TEAMS Mohun Bagan: Shilton Paul, Deepak Mondal, Peter Odafe, Anand Vasan, Mohan Raj, S. Malswamtluanga(Tapan Maity, 78’), L. James Singh(Henry Gangte, 65’), Rakesh Masih, Lalkamal Bhowmick(Kartick Kisku, 85’), Ishfaq Ahmed, Jose Ramirez Barreto

Saturday, October 18, 2008

JCT softens on Marcos issue!

After Bagan officials had reffered the Marcos lien issue to the AIFF Player Status Committe, the facts came out and it was found that Marcos is actually not registered with JCT, but he was registered under the Punjab Football Association. Bagan officials with the help of Kuljit Singh, a Punjab Police high Official, were trying to make Marcos register under a Punjab club and hen take him in lien.
However, the latest development on this issue as received today is that, JCT will ease any transfer problems regarding Marcos, provided Mohun Bagan meet a few of their monetary demands. What seemed like Mohun agan would not be able to avail the services of Marcos till December, it is most likely that the issue will be solved in the next two to three days and that would make Marcos available to Bagan before the derby match, if not against Mohammedan Sp.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sporting Clube stun Bagan!

Sporting Clube de Goa scored a goal in each half to down depleted Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the third round of the ONGC I-League, played at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. The winners, who led 1-0 at half time, scored through an own goal (25th) and substitute Nathaniel Amos (47th). The win, their third in a row, took Sporting Clube de Goa to the top of the table with nine points from three matches. Bagan, who suffered their second defeat, have one point from three matches. The Sporting Clube de Goa midfield combined well, having the lion’s share of ball possession. Joseph Pereira and Harmanjot Khabra stitched some nice moves as Sporting built most of their moves on the left to keep their rival defence under pressure. Sporting surged ahead in the 25th minute through Wilton Gomes. Joseph, who kept the rival defence guessing with deceptive crosses, sent a measured cross to medio Wilton Gomes, who headed the ball towards the goal. Bagan defender Mohan Raj shot the ball into his own goal trying to make a clearance, making it 1-0. Bagan lacked the penetration to trouble the rival defence. However, they did manage to create some scoring chances. Jose Ramirez Baretto, who played as the lone striker, was fed with long balls by Lalkamal Bhowmick. The wily striker did get away from his marker on a couple of occasion to create chances for Ishfaq Ahmed and Malsawmtluanga, who failed to capitalise on the chances. Sporting continued to enjoy the upper hand in the second half and increased the lead in the 47th minute through their new Nigerian recruit Nathaniel Amos, who came in place of Joychandra Singh late in the first half.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Branco's equaliser save Bagan from blushes!

Branco Cardozo, was brought in as a late substitute by Karim, when Mohun Bagan was trailing Air India by one goal, and the promising young Bagan striker did not disappoint the Bagan fans as he managed to score the equaliser and give Bagan a point.
The match started off with Bagan pouncing on the Air India defense bringing up waves of attack one after the other. Ishfaq Ahmed, continued his brilliant form and along with Lalkamal Bhowmick, the duo effected some commendable attacks. With the properly orchestrated attack from Lalkamal and Ishfaq, the Air India custodian had a tough time under the bar and did his best to deny Bagan from scoring. However, just before the half time, Bagan conceded a goal against the run of play.
In the second half, Mama was introduced to revitalise the right flank but to no avail. However, Lalampuia, finally found a free ball, directed by Barreto and made his way into the box and it was quite unselfish of him, when he pushed the ball across the goal to Branco who was free and he pounced on the occasion and converted it into a goal.
Karim after the match, confessed that the Bagan team has not been performing upto its true potential and its not an easy job for him to make a young team work like magic and said time is the essence. The young brigade has been finding it hard to cope up with the pressure of the Calcutta crowd and Karim is trying his best to make things work.

MOHUN BAGAN ATHLETIC CLUB-The National club of India

A Short History:

MOHUN BAGAN AC-The National club of India, the oldest Club in Asia,
was established on 15th August 1889 when India was up in arms against her collonial head, England.

Eversince its establishment the Club had been winning a lot of local leagues and cups but the moment of greatness that surpasses all came in the year 1911 when Mohun Bagan AC became the first Indian club/team to defeat the foreigners in their own game of football.

On 29th of July 1911 Mohun Bagan won the IFA shield beating East Yorkshire 2-1. Eversince there has been no stopping!

The club has won and keeps on winning many a laurel for the country! It has made our Nation Proud!

According to FIFA rankings, in Asia, Mohun Bagan is the 16th biggest team to have an avg. home crowd of 19,888. According to World standards, Mohun Bagan has been ranked of 127 much ahead of other big clubs like Udinese(Italy), Benfica(Portugal) and Fulham(England) to mention a few.

It is however,not an easy task to consolidate the history of a club which is more than 117 years old*...(read more...)

*For Further Info:Please visit The Offical site of MAC: History section please open in a New Window

Location: Kolkata Maidan
Colours:
Green and Maroon
Symbol: Sail Boat

Stadium: Mohun Bagan ground
Yuva Bharati Krirangan

MOHUN BAGAN AC- It's not just a club, it is an institution, a religion, a passion. LIVE IT...DIE FOR IT...

A Pictorial trip of the Mohun Bagan Ground!

Satellite Imagery of our Club Ground!*
*Open in a New Window please.
Images of Yuva Bharati Krirangan*
*Open in a New Window please.

Photos by: Soumyadeb Sinha
Photos by: Soumyadeb Sinha

Souvenirs

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