Mohun Bagan Super Giant Reserves and Academy

Mohun Bagan Super Giant Reserves and Academy is the reserve team and youth system of the Indian Super League side Mohun Bagan Super Giant. The U-21 and the reserve teams are generally referred to as last stage of progression into the senior squad. The reserve team participates in the Calcutta Football League. Youth teams also participate in the RF Development League and the AIFF Elite League. The concept for a youth team was conceived and materialised under the leadership of Balai Das Chattopadhyay in 1944.[1]

Mohun Bagan Super Giant Reserves and Academy
Nickname(s)The Mariners
Short nameMBSG
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002)
GroundMohun Bagan Ground
Capacity22,000
OwnerRPSG Mohun Bagan Pvt. Ltd.:
  • Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. (80%)
  • Mohun Bagan Football Club Pvt. Ltd. (20%)
ChairmanSanjiv Goenka
Head coachDeggie Cardozo (Reserves)
LeagueCFL Premier Division (Reserves)
RF Development League
AIFF Elite League

History

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Mohun Bagan collaborated with Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) to establish a residential academy for youth development in 2002. On 20 July 2002 Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy was set up in Durgapur, and the primary objective of the academy was "Spot and Groom the Youth", with the best of training using modern techniques, tactics, physical and psychological conditioning, and related inputs, so that in near future, India could see them in the national platform.

In 2007 the club had appointed a famous Brazilian football expert Prof. Luiz Greco, as the Technical Director of the youth teams of Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy.[2]

The academy teams won various trophies across the country. The academy's greatest feat was achieved in 2006 when the club's U14 team qualified for the Final Round of Nike Premier Cup (Under-14), a worldwide club tournament hosted by Manchester United, by beating East Bengal in the National Qualifier and Singapore Sports School in the final of South-East Asia Qualifier. Till then no Indian team had ever participated at the premier level since independence.[3] The team faced some of the top clubs like Manchester United, São Paulo, Athletic Bilbao and Ferencvárosi in the group stage and, Brussels and Universidad Católica in the 17-20th place play-offs semi-finals and 19th place play-off final respectively. Unfortunately the team didn't win any match and ranked 20th in the tournament among the 20 qualified teams over the world.[4]

From 2015 to 2018 the U-19 team participated in the prestigious IFA Shield, which was organised as an U-19 tournament due to the busy schedules of the clubs' senior teams. Mohun Bagan was the runners-up for two consecutive seasons, 2017 and 2018.[5][6]

In 2017 the U-15 team defeated ATK by a record 13–0 scoreline in the opening match of AIFF U15 Youth League.[7]

In 2019 the U-19 team also participated in a regional franchise-based Talent Hunt league called Zee Bangla Football League that featured the top 4 clubs of West Bengal (Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan and Aryan) along with 16 franchise teams representing various districts of the state.[8] The organisers declared both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal as the winners after the final match was abandoned due to fan unrest.[9]

After the ownership changes of the footballing section of Mohun Bagan, the youth academy, although merged with ATK Reserves And Academy, was disbanded for the next two seasons.[10][11]

In June 2022, fresh trials were conducted under senior team head coach Juan Ferrando to set up new under-13, under-15 and under-18 teams, and UEFA Pro License holder Spanish coach Josep Maria Roma Gilbert was appointed from Al Hilal to take charge of the U-21 team.[12][13] In the 2022–23 U-17 Youth Cup, the team failed to qualify for the knockout stages. The reserve team of Mohun Bagan participated in the Reliance Foundation Development League for the first time. This competition is predominantly for the under-21 age group, with five under-23 players allowed in the squad and three in the playing XI.[14] They successfully secured a third place and qualified for Next Gen Cup where they ranked 6th. The reserve side also participated in the CFL Premier Division under the senior team's assistant coach Bastob Roy who replaced Gilbert from the new season.

Statistics

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As of 8 September 2024

Season Team Tournament Result Played Won Draw Lose
2022–23 Under-17 2022–23 Indian Elite League 3rd of 5 in Group stage 4 1 2 1
Under-21/Reserves 2023 Reliance Foundation Development League 3rd 15 10 3 2
2023 Next Gen Cup 6th 7 4 2 1
2023–24 Under-13

AIFF Sub Junior League

3rd out of 6 in Regional qualifiers 10 5 2 3
Under-15 AIFF Junior League Quarter finals 14 9 2 3
Under-17 2023–24 Indian Elite League 3rd out of 4 in Final group 13 7 3 3
Under-21/Reserves 2023 Calcutta Premier Division 5th of 6 in super six 15 8 3 4
2024 Reliance Foundation Development League 3rd of 5 in National Group 14 6 3 5
2024–25 Under-21/Reserves 2024 Calcutta Premier Division TBD 11 4 4 3

Honours

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Global

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National

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Regional

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  • Zee Bangla U-19 Football League: 2019[note 1]

Notable players

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Notes

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  1. ^ Joint winners with East Bengal

References

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  1. ^ "History of Mohun Bagan – Presented by MohunBaganClub.com: 1940–1949". Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. 2014. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Gokulam Kerala FC's future mission gets Brazilian boost". The New Indian Express. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Mohun Bagan to take on Man United!". Hindustan Times. 4 August 2006. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Nike Premier Cup World 2006". www.footjuniors.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  5. ^ "IFA Shield 2017: Gani Ahmed Nigam stars as FC Pune City defeat Mohun Bagan in final | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. ^ "East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 4-2 to lift U-19 IFA Shield – Times of India". The Times of India. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ "AIFF U-15 Youth League: Mohun Bagan rout ATK 13-0 | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Zee Bangla Football League to be held from May 26 to June 23!". Arunava about Football. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Zee Bangla Football League: The farce that was the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan U-19 final | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  10. ^ "RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group acquires majority stake in Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Private Limited". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  11. ^ "OFFICIAL! ATK and Mohun Bagan to be known as ATK Mohun Bagan FC | Goal.com India". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Juan Ferrando to scout young players for ATK Mohun Bagan". The Print. 19 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (13 July 2022). "ATK Mohun Bagan sign Josep Roma Gibert as U-13 & U-15 head coach!". Arunava about Football. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL)". The Away End. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  15. ^ Garin, Eric; Gonzalez, Miguel Alvim; Pardellas, Carlos. "Nike World Club Cup U-14 2006". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  16. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2008). "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the National Football League (under-19)". indianfootball.de. Indian Football Network. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2021.