By Nilanjan Datta,
AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: You flip through the history of the Federation Cup and the names of the yesteryears strike you forcing you into nostalgia. But doesn’t the first page strike you the most?

You try to ponder back to 1977 only to discover the might of the Green and Maroons. But at the end, you had a different Champion in the inaugural edition.

The history book points out that Indian Telephone Industries scraped past Mohun Bagan by a solitary goal by M Rajashekar in the Final. Was it an upset? Or was it very much on the cards?

The goal scorer who had in fact, scored in all the matches that were played in that edition, all in humility mentioned to www.the-aiff.com that it was “David vs Goliath on the field.”

“It wasn’t Mohun Bagan whom we played. They weren’t a Club. Rather, it was the Indian National Team who we played against,” Rajashekar, whose dad G Muthuraj had represented India in the 1950s, pauses. After a breath, he murmurs:  ‘Md. Habib, Shyam Thapa, Asian all Star Player Sudhir Karmakar, Bidesh Bose, Md. Akbar, Prasun Banerjee, Gautam Sarkar, Subrata Bhattacharyya… It was David vs Goliath.”

Over the phone, you realize he takes a deep breath.

‘Hello,’ you respond, fearing that the connection may have got disconnected.

“We also had four Indian National Team Players – Goalkeeper Sundareshan, Mohan Kumar, P Kumar and yours truly,” this time he smiles. “Lionel was our Captain.”

“But Bagan were Bagan! During those days the Team’s worth was around 9 lakhs!” his voice was all enveloped in surprise. After a split he reiterates and stresses: “Nine lakhs! Can you imagine? That was the year when King Pele came to play against Bagan with his then Club Cosmos. They had the best of India. In fact, they were the National Team.”

“And guess who was their Coach?” quips Rajashekar. “It was none other than PK Banerjee.”

You are all ears.

“Those were different days. Kolkata ruled Indian Football. We all looked to beat a Kolkata Club whenever we played.”

The 64-year Rajashekar bursts out in laughter when reminded that he had scored in all the matches leading to the Final.

“We beat Mafatlal, JCT and Md. Sporting in both the legs of the semifinal. Tarun Bose was the Md. Sporting Goalkeeper then. What a Player!” certifies Rajashekar.

“On the day of the final, we went to the Church in the morning, came back and had a Meeting. We were told to go and play our best.”

How did the match unfold?

“It was jam packed. Football was the big sport at that time and despite the absence of any Kerala Team in the Final, people from all parts had flocked to watch (literally) the National Team play. The galleries were full.”

“Bagan started off better,” admits Rajashekar. “They had more chances than us. Some of them were even sitters. But either Shyam Thapa or Akbar muffed them up,” he recollects.

“Sundareshan came up with some brilliant saves. That inspired us further as we headed into the interval.”

What was the talk during those 15 minutes in the Dressing Room?

“Don’t concede, chase hard. If you defend well, you will get your chances. You can break them down, Coach Thomas insisted. We listened and executed it on the field.”

The goal came 20 minutes into the second half.

“It was perhaps the sole chance which we got. It was a long ball and both Subrata (Bhattacharyya) and I went for it. I got to it faster, took off and made my way to the top of the box and placed it in with an angular grounder,” the voice suddenly sounds euphoric.

“The crowd went berserk. Till then they were very sporting and cheered the good work of both Teams. But they just went wild when we scored. As my Teammates ran up to me, we understood that we had to hold on to the head at any cost. We had taken the lead against Bagan and couldn’t afford to lose it.”

“The last 25 minutes was so difficult; in fact, very difficult. We ran like mad all over. We had to, and we succeeded. Bagan were conquered; Goliath lost, David won,” Rajashekar’s voice sounded so satisfied.

Thereafter?

“Bagan Players congratulated us; so did PK Banerjee. We had a party in the night. The mission was accomplished so we were allowed to drink,” he laughed.

“I still remember the train journey back home the next day. We were so proud. Some 1000 colleagues from ITI had gathered at the Railway Station. It was their victory as much it was ours. We were treated like heroes. I remember being presented an HMT automatic watch. That was a prized possession.”

“The match defines Football at its best. You may be the better on paper and may get more chances than your opponents. But till you put it into the net, you haven’t seized it.”

(Picture courtesy: Mr. M. Rajashekar)