India’s sleeping giants have woken up

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For Mohammedan Sporting the long wait is over. For 73 years, their numerous fans in the walled city of Delhi, suffered repeated frustration as their favourite club failed to win a second Durand title, after their first ever triumph in 1940. They were runners-up in 1959, 1980 and 1992. On all three occasions they were fancied to win but it was always a case of so near and yet so far.

The jinx wast broken in the 126th edition of the Durand tournament. In a memorable final, they beat gritty ONGC 2-1. Co-incidentally the score line was the same in their 1940 Durand triumph also, when they beat the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the final at a venue which is now known as the Major Dhyan Chand National stadium.
Both these Durand titles are not just important football victories but have considerable symbolic significance also. The 1940 Durand tournament victory was the culmination of a memorable decade for Mohammedan Sporting.
They won the Calcutta league for five years in a row in the mid-thirties (a record which remained unsurpassed till East Bengal won the same title for six years in a row from 1970—75).
Their successes led to frenzied support and Muslims in every city of undivided India were fans of this team. They had an abundance of money and were the first Indian team to play with boots and focus on proper diet and physical fitness for their players. Due to their massive support, Mohammedan Sporting was the first to procure talent from all over India. Full backs Juma Khan and Bachi Khan came from Peshawar and Quetta in the North-West Frontier Province. goalkeeper Usman Jan was from Delhi and ace scorer, centre forward Rashid from Ajmer in Rajasthan.
The symbolic significance of the 2013 Durand win is that the sleeping giants of Indian club football have finally woken up. For years Mohammedan Sporting has underachieved. They had not won a major domestic trophy for 26 years. Their last triumph was in the 1987 Rovers Cup when they beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final. Consequently their supporters declined as the younger generation grew tired of listening to past glories.
Significantly in the 2013 Durand tournament, it was like yesterday once more. Their numerous fans flocked to Ambedkar Stadium to cheer their team. The Durand victory is also a morale boost for their players, who now feel they can compete with the best teams of India.
On previous occasions, Mohammedan Sporting got promoted to the I-League or to the earlier National Football League but were relegated within a season or two.
Their 45 year old Nigerian coach, Masood Abdul Aziz Bola is confident about his team faring well in the 7th I-League. His initial target is survival and then to aim for a top five finish. He feels the squad is competitive as it possesses the right blend of younger and experienced players.
For the judicious selection of players, credit must go to club president Sultan Ahmed, a Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament, who used his contacts to ensure enough funds and curbed interference by officials in team selection, so that Mohammedan Sporting can revive their glory days of the past.