Five glorious moments in the history of Mohun Bagan

#4 First NFL title

Chima Okorie was an important player for the team in the late 90s

Mohun Bagan’s promising run in the year 1997 came to a halt when they were vanquished by their arch-rivals East Bengal in the Federation Cup semi-final. However, they staged a strong reprisal when they went on to drub East Bengal in the ensuing derby by a solitary goal from Dipyendu Biswas.

With their spirits soaring high, they went into the National Football League, which was the second edition of the tournament. Once again, they were handed a defeat at the hands of Air India in the opener.

The team turned the tables from there and remained undefeated for the next ten matches, but their unbeaten run was finally nixed by Salgaocar in February.

That loss to Salgaocar was their final defeat of the season and they went on to notch up the title after they drubbed Mahindra United by 3 goals. Chima Okorie scored 9 goals, which was the highest for Mohun Bagan in the tournament, followed by Dipyendu Biswas’s 4 goals.

Reazul Mustafa led the defence for Bagan in the tournament. Sri Lankan recruit, Roshan Pereira, was also a crucial player as he scared his opponents with dicey runs down the wings and the centre.

Another feather in the crown of Mohun Bagan that year was the addition of the title, “Diadora Team of Asia” for that month’s performance.

The following year witnessed a phenomenal performance from Bagan again. Despite squandering away the NFL title to Salgaocar, they went on to win the IFA Shield. One of their most notable victories in the tournament was their victory against Uzbekistan stalwarts, Pakhtakhor Taskent FK.