Nicknamed "Jeepmen",[12] the club was popularly referred as India's MU after the English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United.[13][14] It was one of the most popular football clubs in the country and was known for its consistent good performance in the last four decades of its existence.[15] The club had won many major tournaments in India,[16][17] and also clinched an international tournament, 2003 POMIS Cup in the Maldives.[18]
History
Formation and journey
Mahindra United players (in red) in action during an I-League match against Salgaocar in 2007
The club was founded in 1962 as the "Mahindra & Mahindra Allied Sports Club" under the patronage of Mahindra Group.[19][14] Being predominantly a corporate sporting entity,[20] they secured admission into Bombay's Harwood League in 1964 and won the first title in 1970. Players like renowned goalkeeper E.N. Sudhir appeared with the club at that time.[21] The club later lifted its first knock-out tournament, Bandodkar Gold Trophy in 1980.[22] The club later became Durand Cup champion in 1998,[23] under coaching of legendary football manager Syed Shahid Hakim,[24][25][26] and went on to clinch the title again in 2001–02.[27]
Mahindra later participated in W.I.F.A. Super Division from 1990 to 1999 and clinched WIFA title in 1995.
They later participated in MDFA Elite Division and lifted trophies consecutively from 2000 to 2004 and 2006 to 2009.[29]
NFL and other domestic competitions
From 2002 to 2003, Czech coach Karel Stromšík managed club in the National Football League.[30] In the summer of 2006, it was renamed to Mahindra United. The shirt colour was also changed from orange to red.
Team played its NFL home matches at the Cooperage Ground in Mumbai,[31][32][33] but due to the bad state of the stadium, as of February 7, 2006, they had to play almost all of their NFL games at away venues.
Mahindra were crowned champions of NFL Premier Division for the first time in club's history in the 2005–06 season, with two games to spare.[34] They followed it up by beating their arch-rivals, Air India for the first time in the season. They are also two-time winners of the Indian Federation Cup, having won the title in 2003 and 2005.[35][36][37] The win in 2005 ensured that Mahindra became the first club in the history of Indian football to win the Federation Cup and National Football League double in the same season.[38][39]
They did however lose the NFL Super Cup to East Bengal by a margin of 1–2.
In the 2006 edition of IFA Shield, Mahindra United emerged as champions, defeating Mohun Bagan AC by 1–0 in Kolkata.[43][44] They also participated in the 2006 Federation Cup and achieved third place, defeating Dempo SC 4–2 in the penalty-shootout.[45] In the 2008 edition of IFA Shield, they defeated South African side Santos FC by 3–1 to win the title.
Mahindra United players blocking a freekick in an I-League match against ONGC.
Head coach of the team was Derrick Pereira. Players like Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Manjit Singh and Surojit Bose have been associated with the team. The club also tried forming under-15 and under-19 teams in order to nurture the young talent in the country.[38]
During the existence and playing days, Mahindra United shared rivalry in the NFL, predominantly with fellow Mumbai-based club Air India.[52][53][54][55][56][57]
Disbanding the club
In 2010, it was announced that club will be disbanded after the end of the 2009–10 I-League.[58][59][60][61] The decision was a major blow for football in Mumbai,[62] and financial reason was one of the main factors behind it.[63][64][65] Alan Durante, the chairman of Mahindra United, who had been with the team since 1991 and under whom Mahindra have won almost everything in Indian football, said it wasn't about costs.
We have decided to get out of competitive football and get into it at the school level. From the end of the I-League (2009–10 season), we will not take part in any competitive football. The players have promised to give their best in our remaining three I-League matches. We will then try to defend our title in the MDFA Elite Division, before closing down. Nobody in Indian football makes money and had that been the reason, we would have shut shop five years ago.
— Alan Durante, chairman of Mahindra United FC, after taking the decision of disbanding the club[66]
Ruzbeh Irani, executive vice-president of the club, said: "It was in line with our group's philosophy and shift, from taking part in professional sport to developing it. We feel we can make much difference to sport in India at the school level in football, instead of running a professional team."[67] Due to the dysfunction of Mahindra United, the All India Football Federation allowed AIFF XI to take part in I-League directly.[68]
Achievements
Overall
Mahindra United had won almost all the major competitions in India until its dissolution.[69][70][71][72][73] The club was one-time winner of the National Football League.[74] It was also the first team from Maharashtra to win the Harwood League and Nadkarni Cup three times in a row, and also first team from the state to compete in domestic highest division.[75] The club has also been two-time winner of IFA Shield and Federation Cup.[76][77] There are several other championships like Mammen Mappillai Cup, Rovers Cup, Chief Minister's Cup and Super Cup where Mahindra United has registered victories.[38]
On international level, Mahindra United achieved success through lifting the 2003 POMIS Cup trophy in the Maldives, beating Club Valencia 3–1.[78][79] They also became the first Indian club to reach the quarter-finals of the 2007 AFC Cup, but their journey ended with an aggregate 4–5 defeat to Lebanese side Al-Najmeh SC.[80][81][82][83] In 2003, Debjit Ghosh of Mahindra United, won IndianFootball.com 'player of the Year' award.[84]
Ranking
Mahindra United emerged as top ranked Indian team, and 464 universally, in the international rankings of clubs during the first ten years of the 21st century (2001–2010), issued by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics in 2011.[85]
Individual
In three consecutive seasons, Indian players (while representing Mahindra United) have been awarded the AIFF Player of the Year: S Venkatesh in 2004, Climax Lawrence in 2005, and Surkumar Singh in 2006.[86][87][88]
For all former or notable Mahindra United players with a Wikipedia article, see: Mahindra United FC players.
Foreign players
The following players of Mahindra United either represented their respective countries in senior/youth international level or appeared with the club in top-tier domestic league of India.
In an attempt to nurture young talent and promote football in Mumbai, Mahindra United fielded an under-19 team from 2003.[155] The team was managed by Santosh Kashyap,[156] and performed extremely well in the National Football League (Under-19) and reached the semi-finals, beating teams like Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar.[157]
Spurred by the success of its U-19 team, Mahindra United fielded both U-15 and U-17 teams from 2006.[159] The U-15 team played Manchester United Premier Cup Asian Qualifiers held at Kolkata, where top NFL clubs also participated.
^The POMIS Cup (President of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup), an international club football tournament incorporated in 1987, is the only international club tournament held in the Maldives, organized by the Football Association of Maldives (FAM).
^Sundaresan, Bharat (21 October 2008). "Jeepmen on track after U-turn". indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ abSharma, Sukalp (31 May 2010). "Indias biggest league". financialexpress.com. The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008). "History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
^Caless, Kit (19 February 2017). "クリケットの街から眺めるインドサッカー界の未来" [The future of Indian football seen from the city of cricket]. vice.com (in Japanese). Vice Japan. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^Bhattal, Amardeep (11 February 2000). "Mahindras trounce JCT 3–0". tribuneindia.com. Ludhiana, Punjab: The Tribune Online. Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015). "Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
Notes: The tournament was not held from 1914-19 (due to WWI), in 1939 (due to WWII), from 1941-49 (due to WWII and Partition), in 1962 (due to 1962 War) and in 2015 and 2017-2018 (due to unknown reasons)
