East Bengal's memorable 1973 DCM tournament triumph

East Bengal after the triumph

The 29th of October is the 40th anniversary of arguably the finest performance by an Indian club side against a quality foreign team. Way back in 1973, on this day, East Bengal emerged victorious in the DCM tournament final against the mighty Dok Ro Gang of North Korea, which had six players who had excelled for their country in the 1966 World Cup. The final on Sunday, 28th Oct, and the replay the next day, both ended in goalless draws. However, Dok Ro Gang refused to play extra time on October 29 and East Bengal were declared winners.

In 1973, the all-Indian East Bengal team played superlative football against a side which had destroyed the other Indian clubs on their way to the final. East Bengal has the best record against foreign clubs, having won 78 of the 191 matches they have played so far, but their 1973 DCM victory was probably their greatest hour.

It may be recalled that the DCM tournament held in Delhi was the first to regularly invite foreign clubs to participate. This trend started in the 1968 DCM tournament, when Ethiopian Airlines and Ceylon XI were the foreign participants. The first North Korean club side to play in India was Youngmen FC which annexed the 1972 DCM tournament.

The North Korean club (Dok Ro Gang) that contested the 1973 DCM tournament was awesome to behold. After they thrashed Leaders Club, inclusive of Inder Singh, Sri Kishen and Gurkripal Singh, 7-0 in the quarterfinals, many East Bengal players got overawed. Even the spirited Bade Mian of the Maidaan, Mohd. Habib, felt they could not match the North Koreans. Many of the players including the phlegmatic Sudhir Karmakar and the hyperactive midfielder Gautam Sarkar felt that Dok Ro Gang was far superior to the North Korean club Pyongyang City Club that East Bengal had beaten 3-1 in the IFA Shield final in September 1973.

Many spectators and experts alike who had seen Dok Ro Gang whip Leaders club 7-0 on Sunday 21 October, felt that the North Koreans were the best club side that had ever played in India. In the quarterfinal they led Leaders Club 6-0 at half time, with a devastating display of speed, power and sharp finishing. One of India’s leading teams at that time, Leaders Club was left chasing shadows in the first half. At half time, the assistant secretary of the DCM tournament, R.K. Gupta took me to the North Korean dressing room and asked me to tell them not to go all out in the second half and humiliate one of North India’s most popular clubs. The North Koreans then as now were a mystery but I managed to convey the message through an interpreter and they slackened the pace in the second half and scored just once.

However in the previews before the final, all the newspapers, in Hindi, English and regional languages had made Dok Ro Gang overwhelming favourites to win the DCM title. It was felt that all East Bengal could do was reduce the margin of loss. In the early 1970s, North Korea was considered one of Asia’s best teams and their club teams were also rated the best in the continent.

However the astute P.K. Banerjee had other ideas and ultimately had the last laugh. In the two days gap before the final, Coach P.K. Banerjee used innovative motivational tactics to get the players charged up. Tactical classes were held on the roof of Duke Hotel, in Daryagunj, where East Bengal was staying. PK bought some bangles and told the players to wear them if they were scared of a fight. Incensed at such verbal taunts, they got motivated and he explained his plan of playing possession football in a 4-5-1 formation to deny North Koreans the ball and frustrate them. In the final this plan worked.

The East Bengal players were also highly motivated as the entire Ambedkar stadium cheered them vociferously, including the large section of Punjab supporters, known as “L Club” who were traditionally against all Calcutta based teams. This change in heart was also due to P.K. Banerjee. On successive evenings he met Banarsi Das, the President of L Club and other supporters of Punjab clubs. Over drinks he convinced them that in the final, they should forget club loyalties and it was a matter of prestige to support the Indian club.

East Bengal was the underdog in the final. However cleverly coached by the high profile motivator P.K. Banerjee, East Bengal outthought the North Koreans by using a flexible 4-5-1 system. Mohd. Akbar was the lone front runner and East Bengal’s packed midfield enabled them dominate play. As East Bengal outnumbered their opponents in midfield it prevented the North Koreans from launching counter speedy attacks, which was their forte.

In fact East Bengal had the better chances. In the 90^th minute of the final, Bhowmick and Akbar played a slick wall pass at the edge of the 18 yard box. This move bisected the Dok Ro Gang defence and set Akbar through on goal. However he angled his shot wide as the North Korean goalkeeper advanced.

The North Koreans were so impressed with East Bengal’s display in both finals that their embassy in Delhi made recordings of the finals and sent them back to Pyongyang for careful study and analysis. The North Koreans feared that India, with six East Bengal players in their ranks would be their most dangerous opponents in the 1974 Asian Games.

The historic East Bengal playing eleven in both finals were:

Goalkeeper: Arun Banerjee,

Defenders: Sudhir Karmakar, Ashok Lal Banerjee, Shymal Ghosh and Probir Mazumdar.

Midfielders: Gautam Sarkar and Samaresh ‘Pintu’ Chowdhury.

Forwards: Subash Bhowmick, Mohammed Akbar, Mohammed Habib and Swapan Sengupta.

Reserves used in the final: Biman Lahiri and Chandan Gupta.

File Photo: P.K Banerjee

In the same 1973 DCM football tournament, there was further evidence of P.K. Banerjee’s clever game reading. In the initial stages of the semi final, his team East Bengal struggled to find their rhythm against the hard tackling Leaders club of Jalandhar. P.K. realised that this was happening as their frail playmaker and midfielder Samaresh ‘Pintu’ Chowdhury was being repeatedly body charged by the better -built midfielders of Leaders club, especially ex-international Gurkripal Singh. Hence within fifteen minutes he substituted Samaresh by the combative and stockily built Chandan Gupta who coped with the physical challenge and slowly East Bengal re-grouped and dominated play. In the second half, East Bengal was leading 1-0 when P.K. made another clever substitution. He introduced another ball playing midfielder Biman Lahiri in order to create more chances. Lahiri along with international inside forward Mohammed Habib tormented the Leader’s Club defence with their clever passing and East Bengal emerged comfortable 3-1 winners. During the 1970s, just two substitutions were allowed, so P.K. took a risk but he was confident of his game plan. Astute substitutions, clever change of tactics and variation in approach play always made the teams coached by P.K. Banerjee attractive to watch.

Also in this semi final match, two of East Bengal’s regular defenders stopper back Shymal Ghosh and left back Probir Mazumdar were unavailable due to niggling injuries. Their replacements stopper back Salil Das and left back Abhani Ghosh played with great maturity and were not overawed by occasion or the hustling tactics and speed of the Leaders Club attack. This showed the depth of talent in East Bengal’s squad.

East Bengal started their campaign on Saturday Oct. 20, with a 2-2 draw against Tata Football club in a quarter final league match. Samaresh Chowdhury and Mohd Akbar scored for East Bengal and Jahar Das and Shabbir Ali for Tatas. The Calcutta club looked disjointed and rusty as there had been a lay-off due to the Puja festival after the IFA Shield final. Also coach P.K. Banerjee had been unable to get leave from his employers Eastern Railway so there was nobody to inspire or motivate them in this listless match.

Their next quarter final league match was on Monday Oct. 22 against Mafatlal Mills, Bombay, which included internationals Amar Bahadur, Ranjit Thapa and Bhupender Singh Rawat. To progress to the semi finals, East Bengal had to win. P.K. Banerjee had joined the squad and East Bengal was galvanized. The intricacy and rapidity of East Bengal’s passing movements on that day was a joy to behold. The team maintained their concentration throughout the match and there were always plenty of passing options for the player with the ball. East Bengal in 1973 resembled Barcelona of the 21^st century, intelligent movement and clever passing.

Habib was at his astute best and created many moves with his through passes. The tenacity of Gautam Sarkar, Probir Mazumdar and Habib enabled East Bengal to quickly recover the ball. For long periods they dominated the match and won 5-0, with a goal each by Lahiri, Swapan Sengupta, Mohd. Akbar, Bhowmick and Habib. A top class outfit, Mafatlal Mills, Mumbai were not just defeated but outclassed.

The quality football that East Bengal displayed in the four matches they played in the 1973 DCM tournament within seven days, against Mafatlal Mills, Leaders Club (semi finals) and against Dok Ro Gang (both final and replay) has not been surpassed by any Indian club till now. They were a delight to watch throughout that season, winning the Calcutta league, IFA Shield, DCM tournament and Rovers Cup. East Bengal’s brilliance in 1973 will linger in memory forever.