Pradip Kumar Banerjee (23 June 1936 – 20 March 2020) was an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a striker for the India national football team. He also captained the national team and later on became the coach of the national team. He represented India in 45 official matches and scored 15 official goals for the country. He was one of the first recipients of

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

, when the awards were instituted in 1961. He was awarded the prestigious

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 1990 and was named Indian Footballer of the 20th century by

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

. In 2004, he was awarded the

FIFA Order of Merit The FIFA Order of Merit is the highest honour awarded by FIFA. The award is presented at the annual FIFA congress. It is normally awarded to people who are considered to have made a significant contribution to :association football. At FIFA's ce ...

, the highest honour awarded by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. Banerjee died on 20 March 2020 at 12:40 p.m. after suffering from age-related issues, having been on life support at a Kolkata hospital since 2 March. He also had an underlying history of Parkinson's disease, dementia and heart problems.

Early life

Pradip Kumar Banerjee was born on 23 June 1936, in

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is locat ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

(now

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

). He studied in

Jalpaiguri Zilla School Jalpaiguri Zilla School was established in 1876 and is an educational institution of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The landmark red brick main building is located on the bank of River Teesta. Infrastructure Jalpaiguri Zilla School has a ...

and completed his schooling from K.M.P.M. School in

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal corporation, Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East ...

Playing career

At the age of 15, Banerjee represented Bihar in

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

, playing in the right wing. He later represented Railways and

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in the same tournament. In 1953, he joined Jamshedpur FA and made his debut against Hindustan Limited in

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield to ...

. In 1954, he moved on to Kolkata and joined

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...

. Later he moved on to represent Eastern Railway, and played under coaching of legendary

Sushil Bhattacharya Sushil Bhattacharya (1924 – 18 July 2015) was an Indian professional football player and coach, who is credited for becoming the first manager of the India women's national football team. He was also the first head coach in history of East Ben ...

, who guided them winning CFL in 1958, DCM Trophy in 1957, Bordoloi Trophy in 1967. He scored 14 goals for his team in 1959 season of CFL. He made his debut for the national team in the 1955 Quadrangular tournament in Dacca (presently

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

(now capital of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

) at the age of 19. He represented India in three Asian Games namely, the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games ( ja, 第3回アジア競技大会) and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, the

1962 Asian Games ) , Host city = Jakarta, Indonesia , Nations participating = 17 , Athletes participating = 1,460 , Events = 120 in 13 sports , Opening ceremony = 24 August 1962 , Closing ceremony = 4 September 1962 , ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

, where India clinched the gold medal in football and then the

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. He was part of the national team that played at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. In that tournament, they reached the semi-finals, before going down 1–4 to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, which is still considered India's greatest ever achievement in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

. He captained India at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he scored an equalizer against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in a 1–1 draw. He represented India thrice at the

Merdeka Cup Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, where India won a silver medal in 1959 and 1964 and a bronze medal in 1965. In 1961 Merdeka Cup, he played under

Sailen Manna Sailendra Nath Manna ( bn, শৈলেন মান্না; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly p ...

. Banerjee, known for having incredible partnership with

Chuni Goswami Subimal "Chuni" Goswami (15 January 1938 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian professional footballer and first-class cricketer. As footballer, he played as a striker or winger, captained both the Mohun Bagan club and the Indian national te ...

and Tulsidas Balaram, is one of the "Indian football's holy trinity". Recurring injuries forced him to drop out of the national team and subsequently to his retirement in 1967.

International statistics

FIFA "A" matches only

International goals

FIFA A international matches are listed.

Managerial career

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi felicitating the Indian football legends, at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup match, in New Delhi

As one of the finest coaches in the history of Indian football, Banerjee came to be known for his inspirational pep talk to players termed as "vocal tonic" before games. He managed India national team at the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

, Thailand and led them clinching bronze medal. In that tournament, he had players like captain

Syed Nayeemuddin Syed Nayeemuddin (born 1944), known as Nayeem, is an Indian football coach and former player. He played for and was captain of the Indian national teamSukalyan Ghosh Dastidar Sukalyan Ghosh Dastidar (born 1947) was an Indian professional footballer from Jalpaiguri, who played as a striker (association football), striker for the India national football team, alongside Mohun Bagan AC, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal FC, Ea ...

Shyam Thapa Shyam Thapa is a retired Indian footballer who played for the India national football team and was the bronze-medallist at the 1970 Asian Games. He also managed the Nepal national football team. Coached by P. K. Banerjee, Thapa became one of ...

, Mohammed Habib, Magan Singh. The next year in 1971, he gave India an international title, winning Pesta Sukan Cup in Singapore. His first managerial stint came with

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = Ea ...

, joining the club as manager in 1972. Throughout Banerjee's managerial career, he would frequently return to manage East Bengal.He managed East Bengal when they trounced arch rival Mohun Bagan 5–0 in the 1975

final, the biggest ever margin in Kolkata derbies. He managed Mohun Bagan in the historic match against a star-studded

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

spearheaded by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

on 24 September 1977, in which both the teams shared honours as the match ended 2–2. Under his guidance, Mohun Bagan's performance against the American club featuring Pelé,

Carlos Alberto Torres Carlos Alberto "Capita" Torres (17 July 1944 – 25 October 2016), also known as "O Capitão do Tri", was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as an attacking right-sided full-back or wing-back. A technically gifted defender w ...

and

Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...

, earned popularity worldwide. In 1976, Banerjee joined

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regim ...

, guiding the club to a historic feat, winning the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup respectively to achieve their first-ever triple-crown triumph in one season. He became the national coach in 1972, starting with the qualifying matches of the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. He went on to coach the Indian Football Team till 1986.Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Website
. Retrieved 12 November 2006 In 1983, he came back to East Bengal and managed a until 1984, and again in 1985. He gave them a Federation Cup, which let the club qualified for

1985–86 Asian Club Championship The 1985–86 Asian Club Championship was the fifth edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by the Asian Football Confederation, and was the first such tournament in 14 years. Several clubs played in the qualifying round in t ...

. As part of Central Asia Zone (tournament was named "Coca-Cola Cup"), his team defeated

New Road Team New Road Team ( ne, न्यु रोड टिम; better known by its abbreviation NRT) is a Nepalese multi-sports club, widely known for its association football, football achievements. The club is based in Kathmandu, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu. ...

of Nepal by 7–0 to start their campaign, where Biswajit Bhattacharya netted four goals, also beat Dhaka Abahani 1–0,

Club Valencia Club Valencia is a Maldivian football club based in Malé, Maldives. Nicknamed ''The Sunrisers'', the club competes in the Dhivehi Premier League, the top tier of Maldivian football. History The notion of establishing a football club named C ...

9–0. That 9–0 result against the Maldivian outfit is still the biggest margin of victory by an Indian team over any foreign opponents. Banerjee led the East Bengal to sixteen major trophies in four seasons which included four Calcutta League titles, four IFA Shield titles, three Rovers Cup titles, two DCM trophies, two

Bordoloi Trophy The Bordoloi Trophy, also known as the Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy, is a premier annual Indian football tournament held in Guwahati and organized by Guwahati Sports Association (GSA). The tournament was first started in 1952 ...

wins and one Durand Cup title. His one of the finest

Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...

games as head coach of East Bengal was the semi-final of 1997 Federation Cup, one of the most anticipated matches in Indian football history, in which he guided the club in front of 131,000+ spectators at the

Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekananda, the stadium fo ...

, a 4–1 win against

Amal Dutta Amal Dutta (4 May 1930 – 10 July 2016) was a former Indian footballer, coach and football manager. Born in Calcutta, then Bengal Presidency, he is considered as the first professional football coach in the country. A finest thinker of the sp ...

's Mohun Bagan. He joined the

Tata Football Academy Tata Football Academy (Tata FA or TFA) is an association football academy situated in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned football academies in India. History ...

and served as its technical director from 1991 to 1997. Banerjee was awarded the player of the Millennium in 2005 by FIFA. He had also won the International Fair Play Award from the Olympic Committee, a feat that is yet to be repeated by any Indian footballer. In 1999, he again took up the post of the technical director of the Indian Football team. He also served as technical director of Mohammedan Sporting. During his coaching days in Kolkata football, Banerjee had a fierce rivalry with

, witnessed during the days of

Death

Banerjee died on 20 March 2020 in a hospital in Kolkata. He was suffering from chest infection for a few weeks. He is survived by his two daughters Paula and Purna. His brother

Prasun Banerjee Prasun Banerjee is an Indian former professional footballer and politician who is serving as an MP in the Lok Sabha from Howrah. He is an Arjuna Award winner (1979). Younger brother of the Pradip Kumar Banerjee, Prasun had also captained ...

is also a renowned footballer who captained India.

Honours

Player

India *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Gold Medal:

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

runners-up:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Colombo Cup The Colombo Cup was an annual football tournament first held in Colombo, Ceylon. It was also known as Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. Established in 1952 by the Ceylon Football Association as a part of the Colombo Fair, teams from India, Pa ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

runner-up:

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, 1964; third-place: 1965 Bengal *

: 1958–59 Eastern Railway *

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...

: 1958 *

DCM Trophy The Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy, known simply as D.C.M. Trophy, was an invitational football tournament in India. It was held annually in New Delhi and was organised by the local Delhi Football Association. It was India's first football tourname ...

: 1957 *

: 1967 Railways *

: 1961–62, 1966–67

Manager

India *

bronze medal:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

*Pesta Sukan Cup (Singapore): 1971 *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic ...

Gold medal:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

East Bengal *

: 1974, 1975 * Federation Cup: 1980–81 Mohun Bagan * Federation Cup: 1978–79

Individual

in 1990 *

in 1961. * Listed as ''Indian Footballer of 20th Century'' by

. *

(Centennial), highest honour by

in 2004 ''dated'' 23 June 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2006. * Banerjee is the only footballer from Asia who has been awarded the FAIR PLAY Award. * Mohun Bagan Ratna: 2011 * Bharat Nirman Awards — Lifetime Achievement: 2011 * Football Players' Association of India Lifetime Achievement Award: 2013–14 * East Bengal "Coach of Coaches Award": 2019

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (2017). ''Mohun Bagan–East Bengal'' .

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

: Parul Prakashan.

External links

*
Obituary: The incomparable P. K. of Indian football
at ''

Sportstar ''Sportstar'' is an Indian monthly sports magazine published in India by the publishers of '' The Hindu''. Its headquarters is in Chennai. History and profile ''Sportstar'' was established in 1978. The magazine covers international sports, i ...

'' (archived on 5 December 2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, P. K. 1936 births 2020 deaths India international footballers Footballers from West Bengal Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of India Recipients of the Arjuna Award East Bengal Club managers Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1958 Asian Games Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games 1964 AFC Asian Cup players Indian football managers India national football team managers Asian Games gold medalists for India Association football forwards Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Mohun Bagan AC managers Aryan FC players Calcutta Football League players