PK Banerjee passes away after 51 years of football
Kolkata, March 20: Pradip Kumar Banerjee, a footballing colossus of his time and a raconteur for life, died here on Friday aged 83, having dribbled and dazzled for a good part of his mind-boggling 51 years of service to the game.
He was suffering from respiratory problems due to pneumonia and had an underlying history of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and heart problem. Banerjee, who was on life support at a hospital here since March 2, breathed his last at 12.40 pm.
He is survived by daughters Paula and Purna, who are renowned academicians, and younger brother Prasun Banerjee, a sitting Trinamul Congress MP.
Born on June 23, 1936 in Moynaguri on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, Banerjee’s family relocated to his uncle’s place in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand (then Bihar) before partition.
The 1962 Asian Games gold-medallist’s best days as a player coincided with Indian football’s golden era. PK, as he was known, scored
65 goals in 84 appearances for the national team.
His contribution was duly 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.
From his debut for Bihar in the Santosh Trophy as a 16year-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
● From his debut for Bihar in the Santosh Trophy as a 16-yearold in 1952 to a stint as Mohammedan Sporting coach 51 years later, Banerjee was one of India’s greatest.
● He was captain of the Indian team that last played the Olympics in Rome
1960.
● He retired as a player in 1967 and 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. He was a practical coach who had a knack of explaining the strategy in a detailed manner. He was the one who handed me the captaincy at Mohun Bagan in the 1980s, I can never forget that. PK da was also the coach of the Indian team when I played for the national side.
— VICTOR AMALRAJ ex-Indian football captain I am very sad that Indian football has lost a legend. The Telangana Football Association expresses its condolences.
— G. P. PALGUNA TFA secretary It was so much fun to be around him, to listen to his stories. He was always cool and composed.
— BHAICHUNG BHUTIA ex-Indian football captain Heartfelt condolences on the passing of the great Indian footballer PK Banerjee! Have fond memories of meeting him on a few occasions and the positivity he spread. May his soul Rest In Peace!
— SACHIN TENDULKAR Former Indian cricketer Lost a very dear person today .. someone who I loved and respected enormously.. someone who had so much influence in my career when I was a 18 year old boy .. his positivity was infectious .. may his soul rest in peace.
— SOURAV GANGULY BCCI president
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. 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.
Having struck gold as a player, 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 — 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. —