Subhash Bhowmick was an Indian football player and manager. During his playing career,he represented the "Big Two" of Kolkata football,East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. He also represented India in various international tournaments between 1970 and 1985.
Brahmanand Sagoon Kamat Sankhwalkar is an Indian former footballer and a captain of the Indian team from 1983 to 1986,who played as a goalkeeper. Considered one of India's best goalkeepers,he had 25-year playing career. He played for Panvel Sports Club,Salgaocar,Churchill Brothers,Anderson Mariners at the club level,that included 17 years with Salgaocar,and for Goa state team in the Santosh Trophy. Playing for Goa,he led the team to two consecutive wins at the Santosh Trophy;in 1983 and 1984. Having maintained a clean sheet of 576 minutes in the 1984 tournament,he holds the Indian record.
Pradip Kumar BanerjeeFIFAOM was an Indian professional footballer 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 52 official matches and scored 16 official goals for the country. He was one of the first recipients of Arjuna Award,when the awards were instituted in 1961. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 1990 and was named Indian Footballer of the 20th century by IFFHS. In 2004,he was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit,the highest honour awarded by FIFA.
The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India,organized by the Western India Football Association. Incorporated in 1890,it was the third oldest tournament in India after Trades Cup.
Syed Nayeemuddin,known as Nayeem,is an Indian football coach and former player. He played for and captained the India national team. He later managed Mahindra United,Brothers Union,Dhaka Mohammedan,and Bangladesh national team.
Sudip Chatterjee,nicknamed Tulu,was an Indian international football player and coach. He started his career as a centre back and then moved to the right back position before switching to the midfielder role. As a midfielder,he was considered among the finest players in Indian football. He also managed Bengal in Santosh Trophy and won the 1998–99 edition.
Havildar Peter Thangaraj was an Indian football player and a non-commissioned officer in the Indian Army. Thangaraj played for the Indian national side at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. He was voted Asia's best goalkeeper in 1958. Thangaraj was a recipient of Arjuna Award for the year 1967.
The West Bengal football team,also known as IFA Bengal football team or earlier the Bengal football team,is an Indian football team representing West Bengal in Indian state football competitions including the Santosh Trophy. They were the second Indian team to participate in the continental top tier tournament –Asian Champion Club Tournament,by playing in the 1970 edition following Mysore in 1969.
Shabbir Ali is an Indian football manager and former player. He was awarded the Dhyan Chand Award,the highest award in Indian sports for lifetime achievement,given by Government of India in 2011. He is the first footballer to be named for the Dhyan Chand Award.
Prasanta Banerjee is an Indian football midfielder who played for India national football team in the 1984 Asian Cup. He is one of the few players who has captained and won trophies in all three big clubs viz. East Bengal,Mohun Bagan,and Mohammedan Sporting.
Subrata Bhattacharya is an Indian football manager and former professional footballer. He primarily played as a defender for India national team and spent seventeen years playing for Mohun Bagan. He was the stopper back for Mohun Bagan during 1975 IFA Shield final when East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan 5–0,the biggest ever margin in the Kolkata Derby. He won Indian National Football League for two times as a coach of Mohun Bagan. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1989.
Football is one of the most popular sports in Kolkata,West Bengal. East Bengal,Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan are the heart of Kolkata football. The rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal,originating from the Calcutta Football League as the Kolkata derby,is one of the fiercest in the world and considered among the flagship events in the Indian footballing calendar. Kolkata is known to be the Mecca of Indian football,with the two most supported teams in the city of Kolkata –Mohun Bagan and East Bengal,whereas Mohammedan Sporting having a pan India fan base. The city is also home to the biggest football stadium in India,the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan,which as of 2015 has a capacity of 85,000. The record attendance of 131,781 came in a match between the said two teams in the semifinal of the 1997 Federation Cup.
Narayanswami Ulaganathan is an Indian former footballer. He played for Mohun Bagan in three spells,East Bengal,Mohammedan and the India national team primarily as a winger,during his 12-year career as a professional footballer.
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 later went on to manage the Nepal national football team.
Jarnail Singh Dhillon was a former Indian football player,who played as a centre-back. He was the captain of the India national football team from 1965 to 1967. He was given the Arjuna Award in 1964 for his achievements as a football player. He also competed in the men's tournament at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Considered as one of Asia's best defenders in the 1960s,he spent most of his career in Mohun Bagan.
Mohammed Habib was an Indian footballer who played as a forward for the India national team which he also captained. He is also considered by many Indians as one of the best footballers the country has ever produced. He was popularly known as Bade Mia in the Indian football world.
Arun Ghosh is a former Indian football player who represented India internationally. He also played club football for both the Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal Club. He later managed the India national team.
Surajit Sengupta was an Indian footballer who played as a winger.
Association football is two most-popular sports in West Bengal,the others being Cricket. East Bengal,Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan are the heart of West Bengal football. The rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal,originating from the Calcutta Football League as the Kolkata derby,is one of the fiercest in the world and considered among the flagship events in the Indian footballing calendar. West Bengal is known to be the Mecca of Indian football,with the two most supported teams in the country being based within the city –Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Mihir Bose,is a retired Indian professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for the India national team,representing the country in the 1981 Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur and the 1982 Nehru Cup in Kolkata. In a domestic career spanning twelve years between 1977 and 1989,he had represented all three of Calcutta's football clubs,East Bengal,Mohun Bagan,and Mohammedan Sporting. Bose won twenty-four trophies while representing the big three of Kolkata.
