Not only Swadhin Bangla Football Team, Zakaria Pintu was also the captain of the first national football team of independent Bangladesh.
After studying the annals of 25 sports provided in a book titled “Bish Bochore Bangladesher Kheladhula” (20 years of Bangladesh sports) published by National Sports Council, it was confirmed that Pintu was the first ever captain of any sport in Bangladesh.
The book supplies the national and international results of all Bangladesh sports spanning from December 16, 1971 to December 31, 1990.
Bangladesh played their first international match or tournament when the national football team captained by Pintu toured Malaysia for the 19th Merdeka Cup in 1973.
Before that, Pintu had already built a legacy of captaincy for around two decades.
From school to college
Born on January 1, 1943 in Naogaon, Pintu took football lessons at the age of 10 from local coach Golam Kibria in the city’s Krishnadeva High School field.
He then moved to Barisal and got admitted to Mathbaria High School.
Pintu said (Khelar Mathe Muktijuddho by Dulal Mahmud, 2020) he made captaincy debut for an inter-school team when he was a student of class six in Mathbaria school.
Since then, Pintu spent most of his playing career as captain.
He enrolled at Jagannath College in 1958. He became the captain of its football team.
The institution clinched inter-school championship title under his captaincy. His team also won the Governor’s Cup and Sir A F Rahman Shield.
Pintu joined BM College of Barisal for graduation in 1960 and continued as captain. His team became inter-college and Sher-e-Bangla Shield champion.
He got admitted to University of Dhaka in 1968 for Masters degree and became captain of the DU team and combined university football team.
Time at Mohammedan
Pintu began his league career featuring for traditional East End Club in the first division in 1957.
After two years there, he joined Dhaka Wanderers in 1959.
A year after Wanderers became league champions in 1960, he joined Mohammedan Sporting Club where he plied his trade for the last 15 years of his career.
He was nicknamed as kalo pahar (black mountain) for his strong mentality and tireless effort in defence (Amader Footballerra by Dulal Mahmud, 2006).
Mohammedan became league winners in his debut year. The club later went on to win the league title in 1963, 1965 and 1966.
Pintu was given the captaincy of the popular club in 1968. He continued as captain until hanging up his boots in 1975.
The year Pintu was given Mohammedan’s captain’s armband, during the same time he also made his debut in Pakistan national football team at a tournament in Turkey.
Pintu later admitted in an interview that he became famous for his role as stopper at Mohammedan.
Swadhin Bangla Football Team
After the 1971 war began, Pakistan army attacked Naogaon as Pintu and his whole family fled to Balughat in West Bengal, India.
He worked as administrator of Bangalipur recession camp and held physical training sessions for the freedom fighters before joining the Swadhin Bangla Football Team as senior member (Kheloarra Jokhon Ronagone by Dulal Mahmud, 2019).
For his vast playing and leadership experience, Pintu was made the captain of Swadhin Bangla Football Team that played their first exhibition match in Nadia on July 25.
By that time, The Provisional Government of Bangladesh, also known as the Mujibnagar Government and Bangladeshi government-in-exile, was formed.
Pintu continued to lead Swadhin Bangla Football Team which took part in 16 friendly exhibition matches across India during the Liberation War, winning 12 and losing only two.
He carried on captaincy for some more years after the war.
It was a rare incident to raise awareness on war through football and Pintu ensured his name would forever be remembered in the history of Bangladesh sports.
After independence
The first recorded football match in the newly independent Bangladesh was a game between President’s XI and Mujibnagar XI, led by Pintu, held at Dhaka Stadium on February 13, 1972.
Three months later, Bangladesh hosted Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan for a congratulatory football match at the same venue. Pintu was the captain of that Bangladesh team recorded as Bangladesh XI.
For the first time, a Bangladeshi sports team travelled abroad to participate in a football competition held in Guwahati, Assam in India later that year.
The name of Bangladesh’s team was Dhaka XI.
The team played five matches in the tournament (Bordoloi Shield 1972), including the final.
Pintu was given the captaincy of Dhaka XI as they lost only one game - the final.
The historic moment came in 1973 as Pintu was an automatic choice to become the captain of Bangladesh’s first national team for the Merdeka Cup.
Pintu carried on playing for two more years as captain of Mohammedan before walking into the sunset.
He later became coach and manager of Bangladesh team but it is his contribution during and after the Liberation War that has made him immortal.