Kolkata: It was the city’s first tryst with a global football icon and the first time ever that a Brazilian weaved magic on Indian soil. And the icon was none other than Pele. On Sept 24, 1977, Pele—widely revered as the “Football King” and the “Black Pearl”—brought Kolkata, the undisputed Mecca of Indian football, to a complete standstill. The Brazilian icon, who had already lifted three FIFA World Cup trophies, arrived in Kolkata at the age of 38 to lead his club, New York Cosmos, in an exhibition match against home favourites Mohun Bagan at Eden Gardens.Unsurprisingly, the stadium was packed to the brim with over 80,000 fans, while thousands more scrambled for elusive tickets across the city. Despite playing on a rain-soaked, slushy pitch, the immortal legend’s presence alone delivered a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for the crowd.On the field, the PK Banerjee-coached Bagan produced an outstanding performance that exceeded all expectations. They not only contained Pele and prevented him from finding the back of the net, but they also came tantalisingly close to securing a historic victory. Cosmos took an early lead through Carlos Alberto’s goal.But thanks to goals from Md Habib and Shyam Thapa, Mohun Bagan held a 2-1 lead against the star-studded Cosmos side until a controversial late penalty levelled the score at 2-2. The Cosmos equaliser came through a controversial penalty awarded with minutes left for the final whistle.The exhilarating draw against world-class opposition provided a massive boost to Bengal’s enduring passion for the “beautiful game.” For Mohun Bagan, it turned out to be a turning point. Coming off a disheartening period marked by unexpected defeats in both the Calcutta Football League derby and the Federation Cup final, the result galvanised the squad.Under the leadership of captain Subrata Bhattacharya, Bagan captured the “Triple Crown”—winning the IFA Shield, Durand Cup and Rovers Cup in the 1977–78 season for the first time in the club’s history.Football historian Gautam Roy, who was at the ground with his friends, recalled an electrifying atmosphere with 80,000 fans screaming their lungs out. “Pele was not at his best due to the heavy underfoot conditions. It was raining and the quality of football was not high. But watching Pele in flesh and blood was enough for fans like me. I still remember Pele’s free-kick, late into the first half, which was saved brilliantly by Bagan keeper Shibaji Banerjee,” said Roy.With Bagan leading the match, the green-and-maroon fans were over the moon, recalled Bagan midfielder Gautam Sarkar. “We were all in awe of Pele and it was a privilege playing against him. But once the match started, there was no reverence and we played hard. We deserved to win and the penalty was actually a wrong decision. The ball hadn’t touched our defender Sudhir Karmakar’s hand and even Pele admitted it. But it was a decision prompted by respect to Pele, I guess,” said Sarkar.Pele, however, played just the first half. “He was wary of taking the field due to the sticky turf that had turned slippery after rain. Eventually, he agreed to take the field since the entire stadium was waiting to see him. The deafening roar, when he took the field, still rings in my ears. But he could not move fast or display his trademark skills which the spectators had expected to see. For Bagan fans, Pele’s lacklustre display was well compensated by the brilliant show of their side with players like Habib, Sarkar, Thapa and Bhattacharya playing out of their skin, probably enthused by the presence of the world’s greatest footballer,” said Roy.
