Top five managers who have managed both Mohun Bagan & East Bengal

Published at :July 12, 2024 at 6:42 PM

Modified at :July 12, 2024 at 6:42 PM

Indian football has witnessed some of the finest tacticians over the ages at both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

With the onset of Indian football’s 2024-25 season, the thrill and enchantment are back in town. Kolkata’s premier football tournament, the Calcutta Football League kicked off on June 25, 2024, with defending champions Mohammedan Sporting Club registering a mammoth 6-0 over Wari Athletic Club at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.

Indian Super League 2023-24 shield champions, Mohun Bagan played their first match of the season on July 2, 2024, as they took on Sangbad Pratidin Bhawanipore at the Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay Stadium in Barrackpore.

Elsewhere, their arch-rival, East Bengal registered an emphatic 7-1 victory against Tollygunge Agragami. Both teams are gearing up for the first Kolkata Derby of the season which is scheduled for July 13.

P. K. Banerjee, Amal Dutta, and Syed Nayeemuddin’s managerial dynasties have brought years of fierce football rivalries, tactical innovation and some of the best football matches ever played to India’s premier championships.A new era for football managers and coaches is starting to develop now that European managers have entered the Indian game. Young, skillful and clever European ex-players are already making their way into management in India; many have previously overcome hardship to succeed.

In this feature, we delve into the list of the top five managers who have been on the sidelines for both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal:

5. Bishwajit Bhattacharya

After putting a lot of effort into his management career, Biswajit Bhattacharya managed Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, two of the biggest teams in Kolkata.

The Calcutta Football League 2018–19 season saw Peerless have an outstanding campaign and the tactics from Bhattacharya contributed significantly to that success. After leading Peerless to a second-placed result and stealing points from both of his previous teams, he resigned following his triumph against East Bengal.

4. Syed Nayeemuddin

After winning six trophies in two seasons, he guided East Bengal to their second triple-crown in Indian football in his debut season as head coach. After guiding the squad to seven titles in two seasons, he was reappointed in 1994. His record of 18 prizes in 2000 was second only to P. K. Banerjee. He developed Indian players like Bhaichung Bhutia, who went from being a midfielder to a striker and Babu Mani, Bikash Panji and Krishanu Dey.

He was the manager of Mohun Bagan from 1992 to 1994 when the team won the Federation Cup and successfully defended the Rovers Cup. Mohun Bagan, who was coached by him, competed in the Asian Club Championship in 1993–1994 and defeated Club Valencia of the Maldives and Ratnam of Sri Lanka.

3. Subhash Bhowmick

In 1986, Subhash Bhowmick started instructing George Telegraph in Kolkata. He brought back Manoranjan Bhattacharya to the national squad by leading the Indian football team to a competition in Dhaka in 1989. He became manager of Mohun Bagan in 1991 and together the two teams won the Sikkim Governor’s Gold Cup. In 1999, following bypass surgery, he made his way back to East Bengal.

He was re-added to the management in 2001–02 and the club won all five competitions in 2002–03. East Bengal took part in the 2003 ASEAN Cup. Two one-year spells in the Green and Maroon’s dugout during the 2010–11 season and the 2008–09 one-year term were Bhowmick’s final tenures with the teams.

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2. Amal Dutta

The former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal football player, who played in midfield and represented India at the 1954 Asian Games under the guidance of the architect of Indian football, coach Syed Abdul Rahim, went on to become a renowned tactical genius and the pioneer of professional coaching in India. Mohun Bagan’s “Diamond system,” a 4-1-2-1-2 formation that was implemented in the late 1990s and had elevated the team to a new level, was created by Amal Dutta.

Following his retirement, Dutta enrolled in a one-year FA coaching school in England. Midway through the Calcutta League in 1963, Dutta took over as East Bengal’s coach and four years after his return, he earned his first major break. He was the club’s manager until 1964. He was the technical director of the Indian squad and the country’s first professional coach for the Nehru Cup in 1987.

1. Pradip Kumar Banerjee

At three distinct Asian Games editions, Tokyo 1958, Jakarta 1962 and Bangkok 1966, he competed on behalf of India. India, incidentally, took home a gold medal at the 1962 Games. He also had a major role in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia, when India won three medals—two bronze and one silver. Another well-respected manager in the Indian football scene was P. K. Banerjee. During his days as a player, coach Rahim used to call him by the name, “Ustad.”

He began his coaching career with East Bengal, the dominant team in Kolkata, and then led Mohun Bagan to a historic treble, when the Green and Maroons secured their first triple crown in a single season by winning the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup respectively. He took over as the national team’s coach in 1972 and carried on till 1986.

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