Subrata Bhattacharya (Bengali: সুব্রত ভট্টাচার্য; born 3 March 1953) is an Indian football manager and former professional footballer.^[2][3][4] He primarily played as a defender for India national team and spent seventeen years playing for Mohun Bagan.^[5][6][7][8] He was the stopper back for Mohun Bagan during 1975 IFA Shield final when East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 5–0, the biggest ever margin in the Kolkata Derby.^[9][10][11] He won Indian National Football League for two times as a coach of Mohun Bagan. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1989.^[12][13]

Playing career

As a defender, influenced by players like Jarnail Singh,^[14] Bhattacharya played for seventeen years for Mohun Bagan, from 1974 to 1990.^[15] In the club, he played under coaches P. K. Banerjee and Amal Dutta.^[16] He became the Captain of Mohun Bagan in 1977; Mohun Bagan won the triple crown that season and became the first club to do so in Indian football history.^[17] He also led the side against a star-studded New York Cosmos spearheaded by Pelé on 24 September 1977;^[18][19] both the teams shared honours as the match ended 2–2.^[20][21] Under his captaincy, Mohun Bagan's performance against the American club featuring Pelé, Carlos Alberto Torres and Giorgio Chinaglia, earned popularity worldwide.^[22]

With Mohun Bagan, he won numerous trophies. They won Bordoloi Trophy with win against Mohammedan Sporting, and the "triple crown", IFA Shield, Durand Cup, and Rovers Cup.^[23]

The duel between him and Chima Okorie of East Bengal was a high point of Calcutta Football League in 80s,^[24][25] though he believes Majid Bishkar is the greatest foreigner to have played in Kolkata.

He was a pivotal part of the state team against PSV Eindhoven and Mohun Bagan in Mohun Bagans centenary celebration against a team led by Roger Milla.

Managerial career

During his coaching career, he managed all three Kolkata-giants East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting.^[26][27] He took charge of Mohun Bagan first in 2000 when the club was undergoing a period of transition, and signed few notable foreigners including Igor Shkvyrin from Uzbekistan, Sammy Omollo from Kenya, and Dusit Chalermsan from Thailand.^[28] In 2007, Bhattacharya was appointed head coach of East Bengal, but after their poor showing in the inaugural 2007–08 I-League, he resigned.^[29] He also managed then NFL side Tollygunge Agragami in 2003.^[30][31] He later served as both coach and technical director of Prayag United (then known as Chirag United).^[32][33] Bhattacharya also managed ONGC in I-League.^[34]

In 2015, Bhattacharya fought against Satyajit Chatterjee for the post of football secretary in Mohun Bagan club election and was defeated by more than 2000 votes.^[35] In May 2018, it was officially announced that Bhattacharya was appointed head coach of another Kolkata based club Bhawanipore.^[36] After unveiled new coach, he quoted "I am joining Bhawanipore instead of Tollygunge Agragami. They are offering me a better package so I decided to join them. The management has agreed that the team would practice in Kalyani instead of Kolkata. So from the first week of June, we will start preparing for the season in Kalyani."^[35] In 2019, he joined Mohammedan Sporting as technical director.

Personal life

Bhattacharya is father of actor Saheb Bhattacharya, who appears in Bengali films.^[37] His daughter Sonam is married to Sunil Chhetri,^[38] who captains India, and is the country's all time top goal scorer.^[39][40]

In October 2022, Bhattacharya was admitted to a city hospital after suffering from dengue.^[41][42] His autobiography, named Sholo Anna Bablu (lit. 'Bablu of Sixteen Annas'; "ষোলো আনা বাবলু"), was official unveiled on Mohun Bagan Day on 29 July 2023.^{[43][44][45][46]}

Honours

See also

• List of one-club men in association football
• List of association football families

References

Further reading

• Sen, Dwaipayan (2013). "Wiping the Stain Off the Field of Plassey: Mohun Bagan in 1911". In Bandyopadhyay, Kausik; Mallick, Sabyasachi (eds.). Fringe Nations in World Soccer. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-99810-5.
• Sen, Ronojoy (2015). "The Empire Strikes Back: The 1911 IFA Shield and Football in Calcutta". Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-16490-0.
• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
• Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
• Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score. Routledge. ISBN 9780415348355. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021.
• Basu, Jaydeep (2003). Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 9788174764546. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022.
• "মুছে গেল হীরকের দ্যুতি" [The light of the diamond disappeared]. eisamay.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Ei Samay Newspaper. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.

External links

• Subrata Bhattacharya stats at RSSSF
• Subrata Bhattacharya at Khel Now (archived)