Simple & serene, he was undisputed Pasha of EB’s backline
Times of India | 23 January 2026
Kolkata: There was that familiar November afternoon chill in the Capital in 1993. When East Bengal coach Shyamal Ghosh asked his captain to make the customary dressing room speech before entering the Ambedkar Stadium ground to face Punjab State Electricity Board in the Durand Cup final, his ever-reliable defender got cold feet.
"Sab ko achcha khelna hain or final bhi jitna hain (Everyone has to play well and win the final)," Ilyas Pasha completed his speech as hurriedly as he would often lope up down the right flank.
"Bas, aur kuchh nahi? (Is that all?)" Amused, a team member prodded him to say more.
"Theek hain, agar hum jit jaaye, main sab ko chocolate khilaunga, (Alright, if we win, I will buy everyone a chocolate)" the East Bengal captain blushed, pleading everyone to excuse him.
A few hours later, Pasha lifted the crown as East Bengal — who had seen a young precocious Bhaichung Bhutia announce his arrival in Indian football with a sumptuous bicycle-kick goal in the semifinal win against BSF a couple of days ago — defeated PSEB thanks to Sanjoy Majhi's solitary goal.
These words might bear testimony to what Ilyas Pasha had been as a player — simple but sublime, reticent yet resolute, pure and powerful.
Pasha always let his football do all the talking. Carrying Karnataka football's rich football legacy in the footsteps of Ahmed Khan, Mariappa Kempaiah, Ulganathan and Babu Mani to name a few and assimilating it in the Kolkata Maidan's ruthless competition, he certainly managed to carve a niche for himself.
Pasha, 61, died in Bengaluru on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.
His post-retirement struggles in life were a far cry from how he had embraced success at the peak of his career, especially during his uninterrupted association with East Bengal from 1990 to 1998.
"He was a raw and rare talent when he came to join Mohammedan Sporting in 1989," senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar recalled. "Next season, when the team management gave us the go-ahead to sign him, we virtually ‘kidnapped' him from his mess and took him to an undisclosed location until all formalities about his signing were completed. He was shy and simple — a rare quality in today's players. A perfect gentleman footballer."
At that time, Pasha — who started his career in the top flight with the Bengaluru-based ITI before shifting to Kolkata — had already become a regular in Karnataka's Santosh Trophy campaign. However, his international stint was limited to just 8 matches after having made his India debut during the Nehru Cup match against Bulgaria in 1987. But he became the Mr Reliable for every coach at East Bengal in the 1990s. Pasha went on to form a formidable backline with the likes of Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Tarun Dey and Krishnendu Roy.
What made him special and survive the Maidan for so long given that there were more eminent defenders playing their trade at that time?
His former colleagues point to the art of cerebral defending and how he mastered it. Never known for exhibiting unnecessary bravado and aggression on the field, Pasha was all about calm and composure under pressure, and his peripheral vision and ability to read the game made him stand out from the rest.
"When I joined East Bengal in 1997, I used to play in the same position as him, but he never saw in me a competitor and he was always there like an elder brother and a guide for me," former India defender Phalguni Dutta said.
His very first season at East Bengal saw the team lift the coveted triple crown under coach Syed Nayeemuddin (IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup).
And when he was elevated to the team's captain in 1993, his reign was also marked by the triumph of the Wai Wai Cup in Kathmandu, the club's first international trophy, as well as a 6-2 drubbing of Iraqi powerhouse Al-Zawra in the Asian Cup Winners' Cup — still regarded as one of Indian club football's biggest wins in international stage.
Post retirement, when he decided to go back to Bengaluru, he found himself in financial predicament. Although East Bengal stood by him, helping him financially and honouring him with a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
However, away from public glare, his end to a brilliant football career turned out to be a sad affair.