Top 10 best footballers from West Bengal

Indian football legends like PK Banerjee and Manas Bhattacharya are on this list.

West Bengal has always been renowned for its football heritage and being a prominent place of prestige for Indian Football. The state is home to some of the oldest and most renowned football clubs in the country, which include traditional giants like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.

All three of these clubs are now playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) and have rich histories backing them up, having won many prestigious trophies in the past and producing legendary players.

West Bengal has also been home to some iconic names in Indian Football, with the state producing some of India’s all-time premier footballers. Here we have a look at 10 of the best footballers of all-time from West Bengal.

10. Manas Bhattacharya

Manas Bhattacharya gained his fame with his acclaimed tenure with Mohun Bagan, a club he had three different stints with from 1977 to 1988. The skillful winger earned a lot of praise for his impressive pace and trickery through the wide areas, but he was quite devastating with his final product too.

Bhattacharya scored 64 goals in his career for the Mariners, being one of their highest-scoring players of all time. He also had some memorable moments with the Indian national team in the 1980s and holds the record for winning six Santosh Trophy editions with West Bengal.

9. Sisir Ghosh

A vibrant striker with a lot of unpredictability over his work in the final third, Sisir Ghosh glittered up Indian Football with his lethal striker instincts in the 1980s and 1990s. The centre-forward played for both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in his career, spending over a decade with the Mariners. He was one of their shining lights in their topsy-turvy period in the 1980s, helping them win a couple of Durand Cup and Federation Cup titles during his time, scoring over 60 goals.

Ghosh was excellent for India as well, helping them win the gold medal in the 1985 and 1987 South Asian Games. He scored four goals in the former as well. Ghosh scored many memorable goals across his decade-long career, including five goals in three AFC Clup Championship matches for the Mariners in the 1988/89 season.

8. Subhash Bhowmick

Subhash Bhowmick had to face a lot of adversity in his playing career, including a bad knee injury that threatened to end it, but perseverance and guidance from the right people helped him excel. Bhowmick was an exceptional striker for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in his career, scoring well over 200 goals in his career, including over 50 for the Mariners.

He was a deadly finisher with a lot of technical prowess with the ball, being able to burst past players and get into promising positions to unleash his powerful finishing ability.

Bhowmick created a record for scoring in four consecutive Kolkata Derby matches, winning many Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield titles with the Kolkata giants. He had a memorable international career too, scoring nine goals and helping them win the bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games – in which he scored two goals.

7. Krishanu Dey

Fondly known as the ‘Indian Maradona’ because of his similarity to the Argentine legend Diego Maradona, Krishanu Dey was the ultimate entertainer on the pitch during his acclaimed career. The forward had beloved stints with both Mohun Bagan and Esat Bengal in his career, scoring over 150 career goals at the club level and winning eight CFL titles with the two clubs.

He was famous for his incredible skill on the ball as well as his amazing dribbling ability to basically glide past defenders at will. Dey also had an impressive international career, scoring many goals for India and being part of the squads that won gold medals at the 1985 and 1987 South Asian Games.

6. Subrata Bhattacharya

An ultimate one-club man renowned for his unbridled love for Mohun Bagan, Subrata Bhattacharya is considered one of the best defenders to have ever come out of Indian football. Inspired by the iconic defender Jarnail Singh, Bhattacharya was a thorn for a lot of attacking players in his days.

5. Monoranjan Bhattacharya

Better known as ‘Mona da’, Monoranjan Bhattacharya is considered one of the finest Indian centre-backs to ever play for East Bengal in their history. The centre-back was a favourite player for legendary East Bengal coach Amal Dutta, who managed to get the very best out of him. Monoranjan gained a reputation for being an extremely skilled defender, who was physically strong, dominated in the aerial duels and was also a very tidy tackler of the ball.

He managed to oust the foreigner forwards he faced in his career, having a memorable career with East Bengal and winning over 20 trophies with them. He also enjoyed a pretty good international career and was granted East Bengal’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2019.

4. Sailen Manna

Sailen Manna can be argued as the best left-back to have come out of Indian football as he enjoyed a prolific career for both Mohun Bagan and India.

The versatile defender was a sturdy, hard-working figure who excelled in winning duels and covering a lot of ground going up and down the pitch for his team. Manna helped the Indian team enjoy a lot of success in the 1950s, being part of the team that bagged the gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games too.

Manna spent 19 years with Mohun Bagan, being the backbone of their backline and being known for his immaculate defensive skills.

He won 11 CFL titles and seven Durand Cup titles with them, as well as winning the Santosh Trophy 10 times with West Bengal. Manna was named one of the top-10 best captains in the world by the English Football Association (FA) in 1953 and was awarded the ‘Footballer of the Millennium’ by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 2000.

3. PK Banerjee

PK Banerjee had a very unique career as a footballer, in the sense that he never opted to play for the ‘big two’ in Kolkata in Mohun Bagan or East Bengal. He played for Aryan Club and the Eastern Railway football team, helping the latter win the CFL title in 1958.

Banerjee did, however, enjoy a brilliant international career as he was a vital player in the Indian side that won the 1962 Asian Games gold medal and were the runners-up of the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. He scored 16 goals for India and over 100 goals in his domestic career, being known as one of the most explosive and technically adept forwards of all time.

2. Gostha Pal

Gostha Pal was the standard-bearer for the kind of uncompromising, brave centre-back that footballers to come to India and played a huge role in the rise of Mohun Bagan as a premier football club in Kolkata. He joined the Mariners after their success in the 1911 IFA Shield and enjoyed a 24-year-long career with them.

Pal earned the nickname ‘The Chinese Wall’ after the Great Wall of China thanks to his incredible defensive qualities and ability to stop the fiercest of forwards on their track.

He made over 600 appearances for the Mariners, helping them win multiple Coochbehar Cup titles as well as the CFL and IFA Shield championships. In 1962, Pal was given the Padma Shri award and was the first footballer to receive such an honour.

1. Chuni Goswami

Chuni Goswami can easily be argued as one of the best-ever sportsmen to have ever graced the country of India. For those unknowing, not only was ‘Chuni Da’ an incredible footballer, but he was also a high-quality cricketer who made nearly 50 appearances for Bengal at the First-Class Cricket level.

Goswami gained his fame through his exploits in football, mostly because he was irresistible with a ball on his foot. Goswami enjoyed a near two-decade-long career with Mohun Bagan and remains one of their all-time top scorers.

He scored 145 goals in the CFL, being the player with the most goals in the competition in its history. Goswami won six CFL titles, five Durand Cups and four IFA Shield championships with the Mariners. He was also part of India’s 1962 Asian Games gold medal-winning squad as well as the 1964 AFC Asian Cup runners-up. He earned the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri in his iconic career and remains an iconic footballer for West Bengal.

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