Arun Ghosh
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Arun Ghosh (born 7 June 1941) is a former Indian football player who represented India internationally. He also played club football for both the
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
giants
Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...
and
East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in the Indian ...
. He later managed the India national team.


Playing career

He was part of the team that played in the 1960 Rome Olympics under coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. He later appeared in 1964 Merdeka Cup, where they achieved second place. In the same year, he went on to represent his nation at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, where they also finished as runners-up as
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
clinched the title. He was also a member of the squad that won gold medal at the 1962 Asian Games Football Championship in 1962. He also played in the final, where India defeated South Korea 2–1. Ghosh represented
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
in Santosh Trophy, and played club football for then Calcutta Football League side
East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...
. He shifted to the "red and gold brigade" after playing for
Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...
in the early 1960s. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Jim Lewis, a member of the England football team, is famously reported to have told Arun Ghosh, a defender in the Indian football team: "You play like
Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...
!" This compliment came before India’s impressive performance in their match against France, which ended in a 1–1 draw. India had shown exceptional skill, ball control, and tactical discipline, which surprised many European players and commentators. Jim Lewis’s remark highlighted how aesthetically pleasing and technically sound India's football was during that match — reminiscent of the flair associated with
Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...
. It was always regretted for Arun ji, and it is repeatedly said by him to us that had Rahim Saheb lived for a few more years, an Olympic medal could have been won by India, which was missed at the Melbourne Games in 1956.


Managerial career

In 1974, Ghosh went on to became coach of the India U-20 team along with Syed Abdul Salam, ahead of the 1974 AFC Youth Championship in Thailand. After a brief training camp in
Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...
, his team participated in the tournament and reached the final. A 2–2 scoreline against Iran-20 insured that both the teams shared the trophy. Under his coaching, India U-20 team achieved their first ever continental title, in which Shabbir Ali scored five goals. Ghosh also served as director of
Tata Football Academy Tata Football Academy (Tata FA or TFA) is a Association football, football academy based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns Indian Super League, ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned and leading football ...
in Jamshedpur from 1997 to 2003.


His Friends

Arun Ghosh sir’s best friend was our Indian Pele Tulsidas Balaram. He always regards him as the best Indian football player. When he was in the team, he called Balaram ji as "Balram Kaku" because they had a 5-year age gap. But as time passed by, they became best friends and in the last days of Balaram ji he shifted his home to
Uttarpara Uttarpara or Uttarpara Kotrung is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Uttarpara is located at , within 10 k ...
. He also had a great friendship with Pradyut Barman who played a few matches in the 1962 Asian Games and they used to talk for hours on telephone and face to face also. He also has great respect for Sheoo Mewalal who played twice in Olympics for India. When Mewalal ji passed away no newspaper was covering his death story. He went to a newspaper office and told them to write about Mewalal ji.


Current Situation

Arun sir’s journey from a budding footballer in Howrah Union to a celebrated player and coach is a story of dedication, perseverance, and excellence. His contributions to Indian football, both on and off the field, have left an indelible mark. As a player, he inspired a generation of footballers, and as a coach, he laid the foundation for the sport’s future in India. Arun’s legacy serves as a guiding light for Indian football, reminding us of the heights that can be achieved through hard work and passion. Currently Arun ji is living with his family in
Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
with his full family. He is currently suffering with
Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
and
Dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
where the world has forgotten our hero. Currently he is not engrossed in watching football but he is a huge fan of
Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...
and his favorite player is
Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...
. He has coached were footballers like Mahesh Gawli, Kalyan Chaubey, Noel Wilson, Clifford Miranda, Subrata Paul, etc. Have come out. He did not require any foreign support as much. Clubs like
Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...
and
East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...
still felicitate him with awards and the MP of Howrah and his student Prasun Banerjee also gave him award. Plus, Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee also writes letters to him. His son is a National Table Tennis champion and his grandson is an engineer and state Table Tennis player. When Maidaan released in 2024 he had just recovered from
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
so the producer
Boney Kapoor Achal Surinder "Boney" Kapoor (born 11 November 1955) is an Indian film producer primarily associated with Hindi cinema, in addition to Tamil and Telugu cinema. Early life Kapoor was born as Achal Surinder Kapoor in 1955, the son of Surinder ...
, director Amit Sharma and
1962 Asian Games The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...
winner DMK Afzal were also there in the screening in Avani Riverside Mall.


Honours


Player

India *
Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
Gold medal:
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
*
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 c ...
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 Patria ...
* Merdeka Tournament third-place: 1965, 1966


Manager

India U20 * AFC Asian U-19 Championship:
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
East Bengal * Federation Cup: 1978–79 Mohun Bagan * Federation Cup: 1980–81


Individual

*
Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given 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 Arjun ...
: 1965 * East Bengal "Bharat Gaurav Award": 2013


See also

* History of Indian football *
History of the India national football team The history of the India national football team dates back to the 1920s. They have never played in the FIFA World Cup, World Cup although they qualified in 1950 FIFA World Cup, 1950. They have had no entries in the tournament from 1950 onwards. ...
* India national football team at the Olympics * List of India national football team captains * List of India national football team managers


References


Further reading

Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * Others *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosh, Arun Indian men's footballers 1964 AFC Asian Cup players India men's international footballers Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for India Living people 1941 births Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games medalists in football East Bengal Club players Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Footballers from Kolkata Calcutta Football League players Recipients of the Arjuna Award Men's association football defenders East Bengal Club managers Mohun Bagan Super Giant managers Indian football managers India national football team managers