#3 Resurgence in 1976 and treble followed by a match with Cosmos
Mohun Bagan was at their lowest in the years between 1970 and 1975. After failing to rope in any good players, the team’s performances dipped drastically, while arch-rivals East Bengal, on the contrary, was in the pink of form and kept on ravaging one club after another.
After a crushing and humiliating defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals, East Bengal in the 1975 Shield final, Bagan vowed to bounce back. Prasun Banerjee, along with Subrata Bhattacharya, was signed by the club to bolster their squad. Compton Dutta, who was one of the most robust defenders of India at that point of time, was also brought in by Bagan.
Despite having a star-studded side, Bagan failed to make an impressive start to their season. They were sent home with a defeat to ITI in the inaugural Federation Cup final, but they were finally able to quell their trophy drought as they went on to thrash Mohammedan in the finals of the Borodoloi trophy.
Mohun Bagan then, for the first time, notched up the first ever treble in the history of Indian football in 1977. They went on to win the IFA Shield with a victory over their arch-rivals East Bengal, won the Rovers Cup by trouncing Tata Sports Club, and they walked over JCT Mills to polish off their ‘triple crown’ by notching up the Durand.
After such an exultant feat achieved by the club followed another historical match in the archives of Mohun Bagan. New York Cosmos, that sported the likes of Pele, Carlos Alberto, and Georgio Chinaglia, visited Kolkata to play an exhibition match against Mohun Bagan.
As expected, Cosmos drew first blood through Alberto Carlos but Shyam Thapa soon cancelled out the early goal when he went on to score the equaliser. Mohun Bagan left the onlookers speechless as they went on to take the lead via a Mohammad Habib stunner. However, Georgio Chinaglia scored a late goal to end the game on level terms.
The following year witnessed Mohun Bagan scoring 78 goals in 22 matches to bag the Calcutta Football League. It was also followed by the IFA Shield and the maiden Federation Cup where Bagan was jointly crowned champions with East Bengal.
Another famous match that ensued the Cosmos vie was the game with Ararat Yerevan. Yerevan comprised players like Arkady Andreasyan and Khoren Oganesian, who were taking Europe by storm at that point in time.
Despite conceding an early goal, Bagan fought back in the game and levelled things and eventually went on to take the lead. A late strike from Oganesian kept things at par.
In 1979, Mohun Bagan stamped their authority as one of the best Indian clubs when they went on to win all four trophies in which they participated. They managed to notch up the Durand, IFA Shield, and Calcutta Football League.
This era of Mohun Bagan was marked as one of the notable eras for the club, who came back from the dead and turned into one of the deadliest forces of the game in Indian football.
