Looking back at how Mohun Bagan signed Jose Ramirez Barreto

Jose Ramirez Barreto is considered a Mohun Bagan legend.

Jose Ramirez Barreto will always be remembered in the Indian football fraternity as one of the best players to ever play for Mohun Bagan. As a matter of fact, he’s among the best foreign players to have ever played in the Indian domestic leagues.

In many ways, the Brazilian striker paved the way for foreign players to thrive in India. An unstoppable goal machine during his peak, Barreto created many unforgettable memories for the Mariners’ faithful.

There is also a rather interesting tale about his arrival in Indian football and how Mohun Bagan signed him up. Before arriving in Kolkata in 1999, Barreto tried his luck in Japan for their top division side Kawasaki Frontale. A graduate of the Gremio academy, which also produced players like Ronaldinho after him, the striker was fascinated by football in Asia from a young age.

However, his stint in Japan was cut short after only one year at Kawasaki. Barreto suffered a nasty ankle injury while playing for them. The lengthy recovery period from it and his physical state meant that Kawasaki had to release him.

Barreto returned home to Brazil after his release from the club. He ended up spending a few months at home to recover from his injury and get back to full fitness. It was at home that he got the news of another prominent Asian club in Mohun Bagan being in search for a foreign striker.

The Brazilian forward arrived in Kolkata, but needed to undergo trials with the club before he could be signed. He didn’t find it to be a walk in the park back then. Mohun Bagan already had four foreign players in their squad at that time, including Igor Shkvyrin, Sammy Omollo, Stephen Abarowei and Dusit Chalermsan, As per the rules, a team could have five foreigners in their squad – with any four playing at the same time.

Barreto faced competition from two African players named Alex and John. The latter actually manage to impress the Mariners’ coaches with his performances and even outshone Barreto at times. However, some things worked in the Brazilian’s favor.

Firstly, Mohun Bagan were in desperate need of a forward or a second striker at that time – who could help score more goals. On top of that, John set a demand for the Mohun Bagan officials - stating that to sign him, they would need to sign his friend Alex too. That wasn’t possible at that time because the Mariners could only sign one foreigner and couldn’t register six at one time.

Ultimately, they decided to go with Jose Ramirez Barreto despite taking a risk with his recent ankle injury history. What followed was the start of an iconic career. Barreto scored over 200 goals for Mohun Bagan and remains their all-time top goal-scorer in the history of the NFL (I-League) as well as the Federation Cup.