Articles on History of Indian Football

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  • munna219777munna219777 28505 Points
    Deepak Mondol 1998 Batch and Malsawmthulanga 2002 batch have really survived so many years. otherwise most TFA grads even of 2006 Batch have retired. Less number of clubs and tournaments is also the reason.
    Deb_Banreddevil87archak
  • archakarchak 2082 Points
    Sharmila Dey, the wife of Late Krishanu Dey, recounts some of the interesting tidbits of her husband's life
    http://www.anandabazar.com/supplementary/patrika/a-write-up-on-krishanu-dey-by-his-wife-sharmila-dey-1.335471#
    It's a super long write up in Bengali(somebody please translate it for our friends who can't comprehend the language) that evokes every bit of emotion from the depth of his or her heart

    ArsenalFan700thebeautifulgamemunna219777
  • thebeautifulgamethebeautifulgame Durgapur,India29574 Points
    Absolutely brilliant, heart-rending and full of  many unknown facts about the "Indian Maradona". I am trying to translate it here. I am not an expert on translation but since the article is on Krishanu, one of my childhood heroes, I will give it a try. Thank you Archak for bring it to my notice.
    munna219777
  • thebeautifulgamethebeautifulgame Durgapur,India29574 Points

    This is the first part of the translation. Hoping to finish it today.

    Tomorrow, 20th March, is the day when the iconic footballer Krishanu Dey passed away. His wife Sharmila  Dey Reminisces:

    It was in the days before Kalipuja. The year was 1979. We used to stay at Naktala, beside Amtala rickshaw stand. In the early hours of the morning, a group of boys came to our house to collect Subscriptions from my father. One of them was a boy, short in stature, whose hair-style resembled Rajesh Khanna's, two moles on the cheek, a hint of moustache. Daddy asked them, 'What do you want?' It was this boy who answered in a shy voice, "Namaskar. my name is Rantu (Krishanu). We have come to collect subscriptions on behalf of Prabhat Sangha. You can donate whatever is possible for you.' Who knew that this boy would be inextricably linked up with me for the rest of my life? Would be my partner in all my joys and sorrows? Not only would he flood me with joys immeasurable, but would also leave me so suddenly plunging me in sorrow?

    I was fourteen then, he seventeen

    The whole country has known him as a footballer who displayed his God-gifted skills on the field, who used to enthrall the spectators every moment. But to me he was already acquainted as an extremely shy, polite and unassuming person. Even to say that he was grounded would appear to be an understatement. Leave alone abuses, I never heard him raise his voice. Arrogance did not exist in his lexicon. But this Rantu changed dynamically when he entered the playground. I would be surprised how this soft-spoken boy took on burly, stout defenders without batting an eyelid. He seemed so fast and agile. This same person rarely uttered a word when he returned home. Even during that day, while asking for subscriptions, he quietly went away in fear of Daddy after some time. Not that Daddy was a very serious person. But something strange happened to me after that day. That shy, soft-spoken boy seemed to weave a charm on me. I used to notice him always-while going to and from home. I used to wait in the veranda just to get a glimpse of him. I was hardly fourteen then, he was about seventeen. After practice, he would return home traversing our house. After noticing for some time, I could gauge the exact time. I would slink down to the veranda: I noticed that he was also keeping an eye on me. Thus, even from afar, our lives began to link up with one another, our hearts began to beat to the same rhythm.
    More to follow........
    Deb_Banfootydipshibiermunna219777reddevil87deepunamewtheldCarbon_14
  • ArsenalFan700ArsenalFan700 Reddit13655 Points
    Fucking legend! That is all. Wish I could have seen him play when he was alive :(
    munna219777
  • thebeautifulgamethebeautifulgame Durgapur,India29574 Points
    Second part:

    A tell-tale letter that says, 'I want to meet you'

    A few days letter I sent him a letter through one of his friends, Babua. I had written, 'Do you like my company? Do you love me?' Even before he could reply, I heard that that there had been a terrible agitation in their house. Somehow, his parents had got wind of our relationship. We decide to keep mum for one year. At around this time, his brother Toton came from Berhampur to Kolkata. Toton used to 'follow' me a lot. I could never trust him. Next year, during Durgapuja, on Saptami, 28th September, Toton handed me a letter. Rantu had written that he wanted to meet me. That was the beginning. At first, our love was confined to furtive glances and exchange of letters. The letters were exchanged through Toton. It was some time before we could get the license for our love. We used to walk together whenever we got time. About two hours. But I would make it a point to return home according to the time scheduled by my guardians. Krishanu used to escort me to the lane adjoining my house.

    A golden ring for goalkeeping

    Krishanu is remembered in Indian football as a play-maker but he began his journey in football in a very different fashion. He used to play as a goalkeeper. it was from him that i learnt about his introduction to football. He used to play cricket a lot during his childhood. Cricket was his only passion. Whenever there was a cricket match in the locality, he used to play as a wicket-keeper. He did not have much interest in football. The local club for which he used to play was Prabhat Sangha. There was a local tournament called G.R. Dhar Shield. Krishanu's elder brother and his friends constituted the ore group Of Prabhat Sangha's players. Rantu and his friends were regular spectators. One day, a player called Santu-da took him to the football coach Achyut Bandopadhyay. he used to practice in the ground adjoining Rabindra Sarovar Stadium. It is heard that he once received a golden ring for goal-keeping. That ring is still there in our house. Later Achyut-da realized that the goal-keeper position was not suited for Krishanu. From then onward, he began to play him in midfield. 
    More to follow.....Should I continue friends, or are you finding this boring? Lots of interesting football trivia to follow though.
    footydipmunna219777reddevil87deepunamewtheldCarbon_14
  • kartik91kartik91 Delhi1139 Points
    Please go on mate! This is a fascinating read!
    munna219777
  • footydipfootydip Ranaghat, Nadia, West Bengal2722 Points
    Fabulous read .Go on mate.  :)
    munna219777
  • EastBengalPrideEastBengalPride India9281 Points
    I was lucky to watch him play from the stands, I was very young and these were my early days of going to YBK. The most talented Indian footballer in last 3 decades, my mom was a big fan too.
    munna219777
  • thebeautifulgamethebeautifulgame Durgapur,India29574 Points

    Mohun Bagan comes calling

    Krishanu's first club was Calcutta Police. Then he joined Port Trust. There he caught the eye of the legendary Sailen Manna. Manna-da had informed Mohun Bagan about Krishanu, which led to MB's offer. I was happy, yet there was bit of unease also. He would be playing for such a big club at such a young age! Could he handle the strain? I had heard that the senior footballers there were very temperamental, I thought that as a young boy, he might be somewhat vulnerable. I had told Rantu, 'Look, it's good that you are going to Bagan. But you will have to spend most of the time on the reserve bench. You have to gear yourself up for it. Finally, will it lead to any improvement?' Krishanu assured me that such opportunities come only once in a lifetime and that he was sure that something good would come out of it. It was there that he met Lalu, Bikash Panji and ended up being great friends with him. Such was their friendship that it extended beyond the football ground. It often happened that Bikash used to play for a lesser amount for Krishanu and vice versa. Their understanding in the football field can wholly be attributed to their friendship. They almost had a telepathic communication between them. I used to meet him invariably after practice. I would ask him every day,' What did you learn today?' He used to tell me that the seniors were very friendly and used to help him a lot. He used to mention Surajit Sengupta a lot, he treated Krishanu like his son. He would point out his mistakes and help him improve his skills. Bablu-da (Subrata Bhattacharya) was the complete opposite, he would scold him a lot. But he was unstinting in his praise when Krishanu played well. But Krishanu had love and respect towards both of them.

    Have to join East Bengal

    Krishanu spent three years at Mohun Bagan. It was then that he received an offer from my favourite club, East Bengal. I was elated. I told him,' You must join East Bengal. You will improve further there.' It was 1985. I was not yet married, though everyone knew of our relationship. One day, we were returning home after seeing a movie. Me, Rantu, my sister and brother-in-law. Suddenly, a local youth informed us that East Bengal's Paltu-da has come to our house and was looking for Rantu. Daddy had already come down, I followed him. Seeing the deep-set, serious Paltu-da for the first time, I became nervous and went inside the house. Daddy also might have been a bit nervous. Such was the atmosphere during the transfer season those days, that there was always an in-built tension.Daddy deliberately gave a wrong address to Paltu-da. But could that deter the great man? He found out the correct address. And then, he kept guard for three whole days in front of their house so that the the recruiters of any other club could not bring Krishanu to their club. I won't say that I was not afraid. But i was feeling very happy for Krishanu too. If things go according to plan, Krishanu would sign for East Bengal this year. And that was what exactly happened.

    Those two dream passes

    When I think of Rantu's East Bengal days, I am invariably reminded of that match against Mohammedan. It was the year 1985, probably a Calcutta League match at YBK. This was the match that gave birth to the 'talent' named Krishanu. East Bengal was coached was the legendary P.K. Banerjee. Since he was not included in the playing eleven, a disappointed Krishanu decided to sit in the reserve bench with Crocin in his hand, feigning sickness. Mana-da (Manoranjan Bhattacharya) decided to give him a piece of his mind; in fact, if it was not for Mana-da, he might have not played that day. Just after a few minutes of play, East Bengal began to trail by a goal, courtesy a thunderbolt of a strike by Cheema. Krishanu was introduced after a long time. Moments within coming in , he provided two inch-perfect passes, which led to two goals. That was his day- dribble after dribble, accurate passing, he was absolutely unstoppable. After the match, he was bubbling with ecstasy, riding on a wave of emotion and jubilation. When he met me after the match, he asked me,' Did you see the match? Did you like it? Did you see those two passes? The supporters had taken me in their lap.' I told him that he had indeed played very well, but he needed to do it consistently. Then followed the hat-trick at the Merdeka Cup-and national fame! 
    More to follow....need some rest.
    munna219777footydipreddevil87deepukartik91namewtheldCarbon_14
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