Having seen the trailer of ZEE5’s original web series Bombers, it comes across as a story of romance, friendship, and rivalry. More importantly, Bombers feels like a story of those who refused to give up and fought for their cause. This got us thinking we have heard such stories before but in real life. Hence, as the release of Bombers comes closer, let us look back at some real-life stories in football where the team fought against the odds.
29 July 1911 – Mohun Bagan Beat A British Football Team
In 1911, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club got a chance to play against well trained British East Yorkshire Regiment. This match was not just a match but it was a chance to show the British government what Indians can do when they put their heart at it. At the end of this match, Mohun Bagan had defeated the British team to win the IFA Shield and engraved their name in history. It was the first time that an Indian football team had managed to beat a British team. This strengthened the morale of the locals who saw this as a victory against their oppressors.
6 Feb 1958 – Munich Air Disaster
In 1958, an unfortunate incident took place at Munich-Riem Airport. In the third attempt to take off a slush-covered runway, an European airlines plane crashed. In the list of fatalities were 8 players of the Manchester United football team along with three members of their staff. It took the team ten years, but they managed to build a strong team after this devasting loss and won the FA Cup against Sheffield Wednesday with 3-0.
14 Nov 1970 – We Are Marshall
Returning home after losing a match against the East Carolina Pirates, the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team was flying back home. However, tragedy struck when it collided with the tops of trees on a hillside near the Tri-State Airport. The crash leads to the death of all the passengers, including the entire team of Marshall University and their coaching staff.
The crash almost led to the end of the university’s football program. However, the efforts of coaches Jack Lengyel and Red Dawson led to a tough but fruitful struggle to assemble a new team. Despite most new recruits having never played football before, the team was able to bounce back on the university football team circuit.
With the same ‘never-say-give-up’ spirit at heart, ZEE5’s Bombers strongly hints at an inspirational story where a broken team is strengthened by a coach to rising up as champions. Starring Aahana Kumra, Ranvir Shorey, Varun Mitra Prince Narula, Sapna Pabbi, Zakir Hussain, Anup Soni, and Meiyang Chang, Bombers will be releasing on 22nd of June 2019 on ZEE5 which also has various exciting web series. Till then, let us know what you thought about this article?
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