3) Gostha Pal
Undisputedly the best Indian defender of his era, Gostha Pal’s is a case of curious and curiouser. Discovered purely by chance shortly after the legendary Mohun Bagan IFA Shield win in 1911, Pal ended up with the Mariners in 1913. After a rather shaky start to his professional career, the 17-year old boy wonder truly lived up to his billing turning in an impeccable performance in just his second match against Black Watch.
After that match, Pal just went from strength to strength slowly evolving from a solid centre half to an exemplary one and ultimately into the first true Indian superstar defender.
A true blue centre half in every sense of the word, Gostha Pal’s defining attribute was his barefoot playing style. The barefoot bandit took on booted players from English clubs with stunning ease and intrepid courage, more often than not emerging victorious.
For 23 years, the Great Wall of China as he was affectionately christened by the football loving public donned the maroon and green of Mohun Bagan, playing the majority of his matches as the team leader.
Under the captaincy of Pal, Mohun Bagan first began to write the history books of Indian football, becoming the first ever Indian team to play in tournaments such as the Rovers Cup and the Durand Cup. The Rovers Cup final run of 1923, Durand Cup semi final run of 1924 and the pitch lie down of 1936 in a match against Calcutta FC to protest against dubious refereeing are just some of the incidents with Pal at the helm that have now forever gone down in Mohun Bagan and Indian football folklore.
Pal’s greatness was honoured in 1924 when he was chosen to be the first every Indian National team captain for an overseas match. What a way to create a legacy. A legacy that stands undented and untarnished.
