Kolkata: The reasons why Indian football – beleaguered, cash-strapped and permanently in a state of turmoil – has endured through its years of uncertainty are few. One of them has been the presence of sharp figures, who have not only dazzled on the field but become pictures of the sport’s endurance in the process. P.K. Banerjee could well have stood on top of the list.
Banerjee, a footballing colossus of his time and a raconteur for life, died here on Friday aged 83. He has played the game for 51 years.
Banerjee’s passing coincidentally takes place on the same day as that of another ace Indian footballer, Krishanu De, who died on March 20 in 2003.
Suffering from respiratory problems due to pneumonia and with an underlying history of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and heart problem, Banerjee had been on life support since March 2.
He is survived by daughters Paula and Purna, who are renowned academicians, and younger brother Prasun Banerjee, a sitting Trinamool Congress MP.
Extremely saddened to hear about the passing away of Legendary P.K.Banerjee. One of the greats of the Indian Football. His contribution towards #IndianFootball will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace. #PKBanerjee #RIP pic.twitter.com/8vFffM3YDx
— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) March 20, 2020
“PK” to Bengal’s footballing world, Banerjee was born on June 23, 1936 at Moynaguri on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. His family relocated to his uncle’s place in Jamshedpur before partition.
The 1962 Asian Games gold-medallist’s best days as a player coincided with Indian football’s golden era. He scored 65 international goals in 84 appearances for the national team, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Pele in scripting a unique journey for the sport in a country which only received it in pockets.
His contribution was recognised by FIFA which rated him as India’s greatest player of the 20th century, bestowing him with the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.
One of the greats of Indian football PK Banerjee is no more.. once did a memorable tv show with him.. was an encyclopaedia on the sport and spoke on football with an infectious passion. long before the ISL, Chetri, Bhutia, there was PK.. RIP
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) March 20, 2020
From his debut for Bihar in the Santosh Trophy as a 16-year-old in 1952 to a stint as Mohammedan Sporting coach 51 years later, Banerjee takes leave as one of India’s greatest.
A member of the holy trinity, that also included Chuni Goswami and Tulsidas Balaram, Banerjee was the last surviving scorer of the 1962 Asiad gold-winning team.
Another one his bright moments with the national team was a fourth-place finish at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where India beat Australia 4-1.
In the final of the 1962 Asiad, India prevailed in front of a hostile crowd angered by chef de mission Guru Dutt Sondhi’s remark that it was ‘Jakarta Games’, for barring countries like Taiwan and Israel.
Banerjee scored the opener in that game.
He was captain of the Indian team that last played the Olympics in Rome 1960.
He retired as a player in 1967 after being laid low by recurring injuries.
But then went on accumulate a staggering 54 trophies as a coach.
He pulled off a heist as Mohun Bagan coach when they famously held New York Cosmos 2-2 in an exhibition match starring Pele in 1977.
We lost legendary footballer & brilliant football mind P K Banerjee today. 2 time Olympian, Arjun Award winner #PKBanerjee scored 65 Goals for India in 84 matches. He was 83 and was suffering from prolonged illness.
We salute his contribution to Indian Football pic.twitter.com/BnFIWQdMm4— Kaustav Chatterjee (@kaustav7947) March 20, 2020
The star of Indian football when the sport was at its peak, Banerjee never played for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, representing Eastern Railways all his life.
“Chakri charle khabo ki (What will I eat, if I quit),” was Banerjee’s famous answer to not playing for the ‘Big Two’.
Having started off his Kolkata club career with little success at Aryan FC, Banerjee was rejected by Mohun Bagan after a “disastrous” exhibition match against the legendary T Aao-led Manipur.
In Aryan too, he was an “outcast” and then coach Dasu Mitra would shower him with the choicest of abuses, something, Banerjee said, had played a part in shaping his career.
“I was seriously thinking of leaving Kolkata and returning to Jamshedpur when Bagha Shome, one of the most respected coaches then, offered me a job in the Indian Railways and an opportunity to play for the Eastern Railway.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
A FIFA-certified coach, Banerjee had a coaching career as illustrious as his playing one, beginning with Bata SC and Eastern Railway.
PK Banerjee is no more
Massive loss to the footballing fraternity in India. Rest in peace, sir pic.twitter.com/smfBuUXxlx
— Aniket Mishra (@aniketmishra299) March 20, 2020
Having struck gold as a player, a young 35-year-old Banerjee was made a joint India coach with G M Basha, and they delivered a bronze at the Bangkok Asiad in 1970.
Within a year at the helm, Banerjee guided India to a joint triumph at the Singapore Pesta Sukan Cup in 1971.
East Bengal won five CFL titles on the trot under his tutelage.
He also delivered at Mohun Bagan, guiding them to a treble of the IFA Shield, Rovers Cup and Durand Cup in 1977.
He was coach of the Mohun Bagan that famously held the then Soviet Union team, Ararat Yerevan, in the 1978 IFA Shield final.
Back at East Bengal, Banerjee oversaw their famous 4-1 win over the arch-rivals in the 1997 Federation Cup semifinal.
(With PTI inputs)