Samar Banerjee
Badru Banerjee in 1955 playing for India.
Personal information
Date of birth (1930-01-30)30 January 1930
Place of birth Bally, Howrah, Bengal Presidency, British India
Date of death 20 August 2022(2022-08-20) (aged 92)
Place of death Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948 Bally Protiva Club
1949–1952 Bengal Nagpur Railway
1952–1959 Mohun Bagan
International career
1954–1956 India
Managerial career
1961–1962 Bengal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Samar "Badru" Banerjee[1][2] (Bengali: সমর "বদ্রু" ব্যানার্জী; 30 January 1930 – 20 August 2022) was an Indian footballer who played primarily as a striker for the India national football team.[3][4][5] He captained India at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where they achieved fourth place.[6][7][8]

Early and personal life

Samar Banerjee was born on 30 January 1930, in Bally, Howrah, Bengal Presidency.[9] His father, Sasanka Sekhar Banerjee, enrolled him in R. G. Kar Medical College for medical education.[10] In 1959, he got a job in Burma Shell Company, and was posted in Siliguri. However, his love for the game brought him back to Kolkata for training on weekends, but hanged up his boots later after having a remarkable playing career.[11]

Club career

Banerjee's footballing journey started as a school-going kid. In his childhood, after returning from school, going to kick football became a kind of rule.[11] He started playing at Bali Hindu Sporting Club and also used to play football at Wellington Club. At the age of 18, he went on to represent Bally Protiva Club, a third division team of Calcutta Football League at that time.[11] In an interview on the website of Mohun Bagan AC, Badru said, "Since then I started playing with boots. As a result, when I got the chance to play in the boots later on, I didn't have a day even though my teammates were struggling."[11] Having impressed with his skills, he was roped in by Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR).[10]

He later joined Mohun Bagan AC during an excellent eight-year stint. The formation of Banerjee's deadly combination up front with Kesto Pal achieved endless success in the century old club.[12] Banerjee won the IFA Shield in his debut season with the "green-and-maroon brigade" in controversial final against Rajasthan Club of Calcutta. He then guided the club to their first ever Durand Cup next season. Banerjee again hogged the Maidan limelight in 1954 when they secured another first, a double with the CFL and IFA Shield titles.[11] He was also part of Mohun Bagan's foreign tour of 1956, in which they won all four matches.[13]

In 1958, Banerjee was chosen as team captain. Besides guiding Mohun Bagan to several trophies including their first ever Durand Cup in 1953, Rovers Cup in 1955, Banerjee has represented West Bengal and won Santosh Trophy twice in 1953 and 1955.[10]

International career

Banerjee went on to represent Syed Abdul Rahim–managed India national team during the "golden era" of Indian football.[14][15][16][17] He then toured with the club to East Africa, with players including P. K. Banerjee.[10] He also played under captaincy of Sailen Manna in international matches, and is highly influenced by him during his playing career.[18]

With India, he participated in three Summer Olympics and captained the team in 1956 that finished fourth,[19][20][21] after losing to Bulgaria 3–0 in the bronze medal playoff.[10][22]

Managerial career

After retiring, Banerjee involved in coaching and managed then Calcutta Football League premier division side Barisha Sporting Club.[11] He then became head coach of Bengal in 1961, and guided the team winning 1962 Santosh Trophy.[10][23]

Death

Banerjee died from complications of COVID-19 on 20 August 2022, at the age of 92.[10]

Career statistics

Scores and results list India's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Banerjee goal.
List of international goals scored by Samar Banerjee[24]
No. Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
112 December 1956Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, Australia Australia7–1Friendly

Honours

Banerjee being felicitated by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, 2017.

Mohun Bagan

India

Bengal

Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution of Indian Football (Part Two): Revolution Under Rahim Saab". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Kapadia, Novy (7 June 2015). "Mohun Bagan: Blaze of Glory". indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Legends of Indian Football: Samar Banerjee – Where is He Now? - Goal.com". Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Official website of Shibpur International. Archived 14 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Life of Samar Banerjee.
  5. ↑ "Chuni Goswami: A legend in every sense of the word". theweek.in. The Week. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Media Team, AIFF (15 August 2022). "Indian Football Down the Years: Looking back at the glorious moments". www.the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Nizamuddin, Mohammad (14 July 2018). "Old-timers recollect past glory of city football". www.thehansindia.com. Hyderabad, Telangana: The Hans India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Nag, Utathya (3 February 2022). "Indian football at the Olympics: The complete history". olympics.com. The Olympics. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Samar Banerjee: The man who led India in the 1956 Olympics". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "India's star Olympic football captain Samar 'Badru' Banerjee dies". The Times of India. Kolkata, West Bengal: Press Trust of India. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Badru Banerjee: সবুজ-মেরুনের হয়ে তুমুল সাফল্য, তবে বদ্রু মনে থাকবেন অলিম্পিক্সের জন্যেই". www.anandabazar.com. Kolkata, West Bengal: Anandabazar Patrika. 20 August 2022. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Chakraborty, Debojyoti (29 August 2017). "WHEN EASTERN RAILWAY RAN ON FULL STEAM (1958)". www.goaldentimes.org. Goalden Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Das, G. C. (14 September 2008). "Indian Legendary Football Players Profile: SAMAR (BADRU) BANERJEE". www.kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata Football. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  14. ↑ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Sengupta, Somnath (26 December 2010). "Legends of Indian Football: Rahim Saab". www.thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  16. ↑ Nizamuddin, Mohammed (14 July 2018). "Old-timers recollect past glory of city football". Hyderabad, Telangana: The Hans India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  17. ↑ Qadiri, Faizan (4 September 2015). "Syed Abdul Rahim: The Indian Ferguson | The visionary who guided India to their greatest success". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  18. ↑ Das Sharma, Amitabha (15 March 2012). "A natural leader — Sailen Manna". sportstar.thehindu.com. Kolkata, West Bengal: Sportstar. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  19. ↑ Esamie, Thomas (sources: The Sydney Morning Herald; personal records of Alan Garside Snr) (25 October 1999). "Games of the XVI. Olympiad: Football Tournament (Melbourne, Australia, 24th November – 8th December 1956)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "Match report Australia vs India, 1956 Olympics". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  21. ↑ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The senior Indian team at the 1956 Olympics". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "INDIAN FOOTBALL NEWS (APRIL 2021): Ahmed Hussein, former Olympian footballer passed away". www.kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  23. ↑ Kapadia, Novy (27 May 2012). "Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "1956 Australia Men's National Team Results". ozfootball.net. Australian Online Football Museum. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "Mohun Bagan's Historic Maiden Durand Win in 1953". Mohun Bagan AC. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  26. ↑ Morrison, Neil (1999). "Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952–1955: 1954 (Calcutta, India)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Mohun Bagan Ratna – The Jewels of Mohun Bagan". mohunbaganac.com. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  28. ↑ "I AM MOHUN BAGANI BY BIRTH: SAMAR (BADRU) BANERJEE Fan Site of mohun Bagan AC MBC.Com – Premiere Fan site of Mohun Bagan AC". Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  29. ↑ Diegostrikes (30 July 2009). "Dose from Subha: Mohun Bagan Day celebrations, Mohun Bagan Ratna to Samar (Badru) Banerjee". Dose from Subha. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading

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