Sushil Bhattacharya
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1924 | ||
| Place of birth | Bagdogra, Bengal Presidency, British India | ||
| Date of death | 18 July 2015 (aged 90) | ||
| Place of death | Kolkata, India | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Town Club | |||
| Vidyasagar College | |||
| Sporting Union | |||
| 1945–1949 | East Bengal | ||
| 1950–1956 | Eastern Railway | ||
| 1951 | → East Bengal (loan) | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1961–1962 | East Bengal | ||
| 1971–1972 | Tollygunge Agragami | ||
| 1975 | India women | ||
| 1975–1977 | Bengal | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sushil Bhattacharya (1924 – 18 July 2015) was an Indian football player and coach. He was the first manager of the India women's national football team. He was also the first head coach in the history of East Bengal.[1][2]
Playing career
Born in Bagdogra, Bhattacharya began his playing career with Town Club in Baharampur, representing them in the IFA Shield.[3] He then played for Vidyasagar College and Sporting Union, before signing for East Bengal in 1945.[3] With East Bengal, he achieved the double in 1945 by winning both the Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield.[4][5] He spent four seasons for the "red and gold brigade", played until 1949.
He later earned a call-up to the national team in 1946.[3] Bhattacharya moved to Eastern Railway in 1949, returning briefly to East Bengal on loan in 1951, for the Durand Cup.[3] At the tournament, they defeated Rajasthan Club 2–1 in final and lifted their first ever Durand Cup. He also appeared with George Telegraph in Calcutta Football League.[6]
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Bhattacharya began his coaching career with Eastern Railway, as an assistant coach.[3] He was deputy of Bagha Shome at the club, which was then consisting players like P. K. Banerjee, Pradyut Burman, Prashanta Sinha, Nikhil Nandy and others. He later became the first-ever permanent "head coach" coach of East Bengal.[3][7] He won the IFA Shield and Calcutta League with East Bengal in 1961.[8]
Bhattacharya also managed Tollygunge Agragami and helped the team gaining promotion to the CFL first division.[3] He also helped Tollygunge reaching the IFA Shield final in 1971, in which they were beaten by Mohammedan Sporting.[9] He then took charge of different age group teams of Bengal alongside the Narendrapur Ramkrishna Mission College football team and Kolkata Veterans Club.[10]
In 1975, he came the first-ever manager of the Bengal women's team, and the first-ever manager of the newly formed India women's national football team.[3][8][11] Credited for nurturing Indian women talents like Shanti Mullick,[12] Bhattacharya also guided Bengal junior and sub-junior teams achieving nationwide success.[6]
Death
Bhattacharya died of cancer at his home in Tollygunge, Kolkata, on 18 July 2015, aged 90.[6]
Honours
Player
East Bengal[13]
- Calcutta Football League: 1945
- IFA Shield: 1945
Eastern Railway
- Rovers Cup runner-up: 1950[3]
Manager
East Bengal[14]
- Calcutta Football League: 1961
- IFA Shield: 1961
- Dr. H. K. Mookherjee Shield: 1961
- Rovers Cup: 1962
Tollygunge Agragami
- IFA Shield runner-up: 1971[3]
See also
References
- ^ Sportstar, Team (1 August 2020). "100 years of East Bengal: A timeline". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ The World Sports Today (1 August 2020). "100 years of East Bengal: A timeline of Kolkata giant's key milestones". The World Sports Today. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mitra, Atanu (19 July 2015). "Legendary Indian coach Sushil Bhattacharya passes away". www.goal.com. Kolkata: Goal. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ "History". eastbengalfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "1940S TO 1960S". East Bengal Football Club. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ a b c "ইস্টবেঙ্গলের প্রথম কোচ প্রয়াত" [First coach of East Bengal passed away]. www.anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. 19 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Kapadia, Novy (14 September 2017). "When East Bengal officials 'begged, pleaded, cajoled' team to beat arch-rivals Mohun Bagan". Scroll. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ a b Arunava Chaudhuri (21 July 2015). "India's first women's football national team coach Sushil Bhattacharya passed away". Sports Keeda. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ Chakrabarty, Kushal (12 July 2012). "Mohammedan Sporting Club, Kolkata: A New Horizon | IFA Shield archive". kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata Football. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ Das, Debasmita (14 May 2019). "ইস্টবেঙ্গলের প্রথম পেশাদার কোচ, না পাওয়ার বাস্তবে এ এক অন্য তথ্যচিত্র!" [East Bengal's first professional coach, this is another documentary in reality!]. bengali.indianexpress.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Doyle, Jennifer (28 January 2010). "A World Cup Dream Revives India's Women's Soccer Team". NY Times. India. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
- ^ "Women's Asian Cup - When hosts India grabbed the silver medal in 1979". Goal.com. 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "EAST BENGAL CLUB, INDIA – RECORDS, FUNS AND FACTS | SUSHIL BHATTACHARYA – THE FIRST COACH OF EAST BENGAL CLUB – 1961". eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com. East Bengal Club. 24 November 2014. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Basu, Rith (9 September 2012). "Champion of champions with cup full of firsts". www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
Bibliography
- Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
- Martinez, Dolores; Mukharjiim, 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.
- Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
- "Triumphs and Disasters: The Story of Indian Football, 1889—2000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- Roy, Gautam (1 January 2021). East Bengal 100. Allsport Foundation. ISBN 978-8194763109.
- Bandyopadhyay, Santipriya (1979). Cluber Naam East Bengal (in Bengali). Kolkata: New Bengal Press.
- Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (2017). Mohun Bagan–East Bengal (in Bengali). Kolkata: Parul Prakashan.
- D'Mello, Anthony (1959). Portrait Of Indian Sport. P R Macmillan Limited, London.