Top five achievements of Jose Ramirez Barreto in Indian football

Jose Ramirez Baretto was the mainstay for Mohun Bagan during the club’s halycon days at the turn of the century

Mohun Bagan legend Jose Ramirez Barreto announced on Saturday that he would retire at the end of the 2013-14 season. The Brazilian spent 11 years at Mohun Bagan, over two spells, and also had a successful one-year stint with Mahindra United.

Barreto played his final game for the green-and-maroon brigade last year before joining another Kolkata outfit Bhowanipore, where he is playing now and will end his career there.

Sportskeeda lists his top five achievements in Indian football

Successful first spell at Mohun Bagan

Barreto joined Mohun Bagan as an unknown Brazilian in 1999 and won the National Football League (NFL) title in his very first season in Indian football. The Brazilian was more of a provider in his debut campaign for Uzbekistan striker Igor Skiviryn with the two being instrumental in Mohun Bagan’s second title triumph. In his second season, Barreto finished top scorer of the NFL with 14 goals but Mohun Bagan narrowly missed out on the title to arch-rivals East Bengal.

The green-and-maroon brigade regained the title the following season with Barreto once again being inspirational as he finished second highest scorer in the league with 15. Mohun Bagan failed to mount a title challenge in the 02-03, and 03-04 seasons but Barreto continued to be their best player and was consistently among the top scorers of the league. By the time he left Mohun Bagan in 2004 after falling out with the new administrators, he had already won every other major domestic trophy in India – Calcutta League, Durand Cup, Rovers Cup, IFA Shield and Federation Cup.

Double winners with Mahindra United

After having a brief spell with Malaysia’s Penang FA, Barreto returned to India at the start of the 2005-06 campaign and joined the ambitious project at Mahindra United. The Mumbai club had roped in some of the best Indian players but the signing of two-time NFL winner Barreto sent out a title warning to all other clubs on these shores. The former Gremio youth player first guided Mahindra to Federation Cup success, scoring six goals in four matches including a match winning brace in the final against Sporting Clube with the winner coming in the last minute of extra time.

Mahindra United then went on to win the league title, thus emulating Dempo’s feat from the previous season of winning the Federation Cup and NFL in the same campaign. Although Ghanaian Yusif Yakubu was Mahindra’s top scorer, Barreto was the real difference as the Brazilian used to bail them out in tight games. Just like his combination with Skiviryn at Mohun Bagan, Barreto shared a great understanding with Yakubu and the two great foreigners were instrumental in Mahindra’s twin success.

Talisman in second MB spell also

Barreto reunited with Mohun Bagan in 2006, when he was nearing the age of 30 but despite the signing of India captain Bhaichung Bhutia, the Brazilian was the Mariners’ talisman. The green-and-maroon brigade struggled in the NFL but Barreto inspired them to Federation Cup success and nearly took them to the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup. The following season was the inaugural campaign of the I-League and Mohun Bagan finished fourth with the pairing of Bhaichung and Barreto in fine form.

The 2008-09 season was statistically Barreto’s last best campaign for the Kolkata giants as he reached double figures in the I-League with Mohun Bagan finishing runners-up and he also won his third Federation Cup, netting the winner in the final against Dempo. As a team, Mohun Bagan weakened in the next two campaigns but an ageing Barreto continued to show his class. The signing of Odafa Okolie in 2011 took away a lot of weight off Barreto’s shoulders but he remained a key figure in his final season at Mohun Bagan.