Gostha Pal

Gostha Behari Pal (20 August 1896 – 8 April 1976) was an Indian professional footballer. He was the first captain of India national team,[1] played during the 1920s and 1930s.[2]

Gostha Pal
Pal on a 1996 stamp of India
Personal information
Full name Gostha Behari Pal
Date of birth (1896-08-20)20 August 1896
Place of birth Bhojeswar, Bengal Presidency, British India
Date of death 8 April 1976(1976-04-08) (aged 79)
Place of death Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Position(s) Centre back
Number 5
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1907–1912 Kumartuli AC 11 (0)
1912–1936 Mohun Bagan 617 (43)
National team
1924 – 1935 India 37 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Personal life

Pal was born in Bhojeswar, Faridpore, Bengal Presidency (currently located in Bangladesh). He moved to Calcutta when he was an infant and lived there till his final days.

Football career

Sir Dukhiram Majumdar was the father figure of football in India during the pre-independence era, responsible for bringing up players like Gostha Pal, Shibdas Bhaduri and others.[3]

Nicknamed as "Chiner Pracheer" (The Great Wall of China),[4][5] Pal was one of the best defenders of contemporary Indian football.[6] He started playing for Kumartuli Athletic Club aged 11, and joined Mohun Bagan at the age of 16. In 1921, Gostho Paul was honored with the captaincy of the Mohun Bagan football team, and he remained as the club captain for next 5 years. In 1924, he was also appointed as the captain of the Indian national football team, that toured to Sri Lanka.[7] He retired in 1935.[8]

Legacy
The statue of Gostha Pal at the Kolkata Maidan.

A statue was erected in the memory of Gostho Pal Sarani[9] in 1984, at Kolkata Maidan area, in Kolkata.[10]

Awards
  • Awarded Padma Shri in 1962, fourth highest civilian award in India.[11][12]
  • Mohun Bagan AC awarded him the Mohun Bagan Ratna posthumously, which is given to former greats of that club, in 2004. The family of Gostha Pal returned the Mohun Bagan Ratna to Mohun Bagan Club in 2019 in protest of the lackadaisical attitude of the club towards the legend's memorabilia.[13]

See also

References
  1. Hassan, Mehedi (1 August 2018). "ভারত যেদিন নেমেছিল খালি পায়ে... [The day India landed barefoot ...]". www.prothomalo.com (in Bengali). Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. Top 10 Bengali footballers in the history of Indian football Khel Now. Retrieved 12 September 2021
  3. Mondal, Avik (4 December 2020). "শিবদাস ভাদুড়ী,গোষ্ঠ পাল সকলেই তাঁর ছাত্র,বাঙালি মনে রাখেনি বাংলার ফুটবলের প্রথম কোচ দুখীরাম মজুমদারকে". banglaamarpran567383012.wpcomstaging.com (in Bengali). Bangla Amar Pran – The glorious hub for the Bengal. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  4. "GOSTHO PAL - THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA - GREAT ICON OF KOLKATA FOOTBALL". kolkatafootball.com. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. Sengupta, Somnath (20 August 2011). "LEGENDS OF INDIAN FOOTBALL : GOSTHA PAL". thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.
  7. "History in Timeline of Indian Football". All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. "Gostho Pal: The Chinese Wall of Indian Football". Live Indian Football.
  9. "People forgetting Gostha Paul: Son". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  10. Mamata Banerjee pays homage to legendary footballer Gostha Pal on his birth anniversary New Indian Express. Retrieved 9 September 2021
  11. "India's greatest footballer"[Usurped!] (about Sailen Manna), SportsStar, The Hindu, 15 April 2006
  12. "National Award winning Footballers". indianfootball.de. Indian football. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  13. Mohun Bagan misplaced Gostha Pal's Padma Shri award, claims son Outlook India. Retrieved 9 September 2021
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