Subimal "Chuni" Goswami (15 January 1938 – 30 April 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, rugby lea ...

and

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er. As footballer, he played as a striker or winger, captained both the Mohun Bagan club and the India national team. He also served as the

Sheriff of Kolkata The Sheriff of Kolkata is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Sheriff has an office and staff in Calcutta High Court but does not have executive powers. Mumbai (Bo ...

. Goswami scored 12 goals in 37 international appearances. He was an Olympian, represented India national team at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

. He also led the team to achieve the gold medal at the

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, ...

, and earn the runners-up position at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. Playing for the India national team under coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim, Goswami was also a first class cricketer, playing

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

for Bengal. He captained his team to the final of the tournament in 1971–72. On 15 January 2020,

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issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour. Goswami's autobiography ''Khelte Khelte'' was published in 1982.

Personal life

Born in Kishoreganj,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

, Goswami moved to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and settled there in his childhood. His elder brother Manik Goswami was also a footballer who played for George Telegraph. Goswami was married to Basanti, who gave birth to their son. Goswami considered East Bengal legend Ahmed Khan as his idol. He also played tennis at the Calcutta South Club. Goswami was elected as the

in 2005. He was a member of the CC&FC, and felicitated by the club, which is one of the oldest sports club in the world, founded in the late 18th century. He also served as president of Calcutta Veterans Club.

Football career

Goswami began his playing career with the team of

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and was appointed captain. He led them to win the All India Inter University Championships for the Sir Ashutosh Mukjerjee Trophy. In the final, he scored the match winner against

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

. He later went on to represent

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 was part of the 1956 title win with P. K. Banerjee's, against Mysore. Goswami also appeared in prestigious Merchant's Cup tournament, hosted by Calcutta Cricket and Football Club. Chuni Goswami holds the distinction of playing for a single club, Mohun Bagan, throughout his club career despite numerous offers from other clubs including one reported offer from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Club career

Goswami joined the Mohun Bagan junior team in 1946 at the age of 8 years. He was a part of the junior squad up to 1954 and then graduated to the Mohun Bagan senior team. Mentored by club legend Balaidas Chatterjee, Goswami went on to represent Mohun Bagan in various foreign tours. He made his club debut on 29 May in the same year in Mohun Bagan's 3–0 win against Eastern Railway, in which he scored a goal. In the 1959 CFL season, Goswami scored 14 goals for his team. He continued playing for Mohun Bagan until his retirement in 1968. In the 1960s, Goswami and Jarnail Singh became two highest-paid players of the club; both of them captained the team respectively. Goswami captained Mohun Bagan in five seasons from 1960 to 1964. During his stay at the club, he won the Calcutta Football League six times,

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

and Durand Cup four times.

International career

Chuni Goswami made his international debut for India in 1956 during the team's 1–0 victory over the Chinese Olympic team. He went on to play for India in 30 international matches including in Olympics, Asian Games, Asia Cup and Merdeka Cup, scoring 9 goals. He captained India to the Asian Games Gold Medal in 1962 and a Silver in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and in the Merdeka Cup. Goswami, known for having incredible partnership with P. K. Banerjee and Tulsidas Balaram, is one of the "Indian football's holy trinity".

Career statistics

International statistics

Chuni Goswami played in 37 FIFA "A" international matches having scored 12 times for the National team.

International goals

Honours

Mohun Bagan * Durand Cup: 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965 *

: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967 * Rovers Cup: 1966 * Calcutta Football League: 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 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 runner-up: 1964 Bengal * Santosh Trophy: 1955–56, 1958–59, 1959–60 Individual * Mohun Bagan Ratna Award: 2001 * Banga Bibhushan: 2013 Records *Top goal scorer of Calcutta Football League (with 145 goals) Accolades * ''Sportskeeda'' All time Indian Football XI

Cricket career

Chuni Goswami made his first class debut for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy during the 1962–63 season. He was a Right Handed Batsman and a Right Arm Medium Pacer. After retiring from football, Goswami fully focussed on playing

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for West Bengal. He appeared in two Ranji Trophy finals, losing to Mumbai each time. In the 1968–69 final, he scored 96 and 84; but Ajit Wadekar's century helped Mumbai win on first innings lead. Later, he led the Bengal cricket team to a 1972 Ranji Trophy final which they lost to Mumbai for whom Gavaskar and Shivalkar starred. Playing for Combined East and Central Zone team against the touring West Indies side in December 1966, Chuni Goswami took 8 wickets in the match as his team surprisingly beat the tourists by an innings. In his cricket career, which spanned up to the 1972–73 season, he played 46 first class matches, scoring 1,592 runs with one century and seven fifties, and took 47 wickets.Players and Officials - Chuni Goswami
, from ESPNcricinfo. Goswami is also known for this tremendous display in a first class match for the combined team of East Zone and Central Zone in 1966–67, in which he took eight wickets in both innings against the Gary Sobers-led West Indies team that was touring in India.

Managerial career

Goswami later became team official of Mohun Bagan and went with Karuna Bhattacharya managed team to newly independent

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

in May 1972, where they defeated Dhaka Mohammedan in first match, but lost to Shadhin Bangla football team in their last match. He later became director of Tata Football Academy in 1986, and also managed

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

in 1991–92.

Death

Goswami died on 30 April 2020 at the age of 82 in

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 ...

after a prolonged illness. For the last few months, Goswami was suffering from underlying ailments with diabetes, prostate infection and neurological problems. His family confirmed that Goswami was admitted to a city hospital earlier in the day and died at 5 pm after a cardiac arrest.

Awards

Goswami won numerous awards during his playing career as well as after retirement for his contribution towards Indian football. The prominent awards won by him are: * 1958 – Best Footballer Award by Kolkata Veterans Sports Club * 1962 – Best Striker of Asia Award * 1963 –

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 ...

* 1983 –

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

award * 2005 – Mohan Bagan Ratna

Legacy

At the 123rd edition of the prestigious

, best player of the tournament award was renamed as 'Chuni Goswami Memorial Award for the Best Player' in honour of Goswami. On 15 April 2023, iconic "Chuni Goswami Gate" was unveiled by former Indian international cricketer

Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ born 10 July 1949), is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India national cricket team, India and Mumbai crick ...

at the Mohun Bagan club headquarters in

, in memory of him.

References

Bibliography

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External links

*
Details at RSSSF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goswami, Chuni 1938 births 2020 deaths Indian men's footballers India men's international footballers Footballers from Kolkata Cricketers from Kolkata Indian cricketers 20th-century Indian sportsmen People from Kishoreganj District Bengal cricketers Recipients of the Arjuna Award Sheriffs of Kolkata Olympic footballers for India Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics 1964 AFC Asian Cup players Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Asutosh College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Mohun Bagan Super Giant players East Zone cricketers State Bank of India cricketers Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1958 Asian Games Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games Men's association football forwards Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games Calcutta Football League players India national football team managers