Karuna Sankar Bhattacharya (1909–1979) was a former Indian footballer who represented and captained the India national football team and Mohun Bagan, a football club in Kolkata.[1][2] The Karuna Bhattacharya Award is given to the best player of Mohun Bagan in every season. On 11 July 2015 Mohun Bagan conferred the "Mohun Bagan Ratna" to Karuna Bhattacharya.[3] He was the first captain of the India national football team during their first officially recognised match in the international tour of Australia against the Australia national football team in 1938.[4][5][6]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karuna Sankar "Habla" Bhattacharya | ||
| Date of birth | 1909 | ||
| Date of death | 1979 | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928–1930 | Aryan | ||
| 1930–1938 | Mohun Bagan | ||
| International career | |||
| 1938 | India | 5 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Mohun Bagan | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Football career
editBhattacharya represented Mohun Bagan for nine consecutive seasons from 1930 onwards.[7][8] He played alongside Gostha Pal,[9][10] Syed Abdus Samad,[11] Umapati Kumar,[12] Balaidas Chatterjee,[13][14] Sanmatha Dutta, Bimal Mukherjee, R. Lumsden,[15][16] Satu Chowdhury, and many others during that time. The period from 1933 to 1939 was a golden era for Mohun Bagan,[17] and they won 29 trophies during this time. In these 7 years, Mohun Bagan was virtually invincible in derby losing only 1 match that period to an East Bengal. From 1938 onwards, he did play few years in Customs.
After brushing up his skills under the coaching of Dukhiram Majumder,[18][19] Bhattacharya started his career in Aryan before joining Mohun Bagan in 1930.[20] He was scouted by Dukhiram Majumder in Berhampur, and was signed by Aryan in 1928.[21] Bhattacharya debuted for the club in Rovers Cup.[21]
He joined Mohun Bagan in 1930. With the club, he scored several important goals in his football career while playing as the right-in in the 2–3–5 formation. He was one of the most vital players in the team when Mohun Bagan won their first ever league title, winning the Calcutta Football League in 1939.[22] He also played few exhibition matches in Bangladesh with IFA XI in 1930.[23]
In July 1938, Bhattacharya went on to play an international charity match against an 'all European team' in Calcutta, where they were defeated by a solitary goal. He was the captain of the Indian team, managed by Pankaj Gupta,[24] that went to Australia in 1938 after the invitation from Australian Football Association.[25] He was one of the stars during the Australia tour, scoring a brace against Queensland and the Australia National Team.[26] He was also part of the Indian team that played against the Olympic team of China in 1936. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.
Bhattacharya also was part of several Indians vs. Europeans football matches from 1931 to 1939. During this period, he played against the Europeans in 1932 (5–0), 1933 (2–0), 1935 (5–0), 1937 (1–0), 1938 (0–1), and 1939 (2–2). In this series which was held once a year, Karuna Bhattacharya scored in 1932 (2 goals), 1935 (2 goals), 1939 (1 goal). He also was part of the IFA XI side that went to Ceylon and South Africa tour in 1933 and 1934 respectively. IFA XI won 4 matches in Ceylon (3–2, 4–1, 1–0, 2–0) while the other match ended in a 1–1 draw. Out of the 19 games played in South Africa, IFA XI won 18 (6–0, 6–1, 6–1, 2–0, 2–0, 7–1, 9–0, 6–1, 3–1, 4–1, 6–1, 8–1, 1–0, 2–1, 4–1, 2–0, 2–0, 5–0) and lost just 1 match (1–3).[27] Under the captaincy of Bhattacharya, the Indian team played 15 games, out of which they won 6 (6–1, 5–2, 5–2, 4–1, 6–4, 3–1), drew 2 (4–4, 3–3) and lost 7 matches (2–4, 4–6, 1–2, 3–5, 4–5, 4–6, 1–5).[27]
Post-playing career
editAfter retiring from football, he became the football secretary of Mohun Bagan in 1955 and 1961, and also worked as the tennis secretary in 1954.[3] He later became manager of the "green and maroon brigade" in several tournaments including their tour of Indonesia in 1956, tour of East Africa in 1961, and tour of Sri Lanka in 1968.[3] As manager of Mohun Bagan, Bhattacharya along with club officials Sailen Manna and Chuni Goswami went with team to newly independent Bangladesh in May 1972, where they defeated Dhaka Mohammedan in first match but lost the second match to Shadhin Bangla football team.[23]
International statistics
edit- Scores and results list India's goal tally first.[5]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 1938 | Royal Agricultural Show Ground, Sydney, Australia |  Australia |
3–5 | Friendly |
| 2 | 10 September 1938 | Royal Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane, Australia | Australia |
4–4 | Friendly |
| 3 | 17 September 1938 | Newcastle Sports Ground, Newcastle, Australia | Australia |
4–1 | Friendly |
Honours
edit- Coochbehar Cup: 1931, 1935, 1936
- Lakhsmibilas Cup: 1937
- Trades Cup: 1938
Individual
Legacy
editMohun Bagan Athletic Club began giving the "Karuna Sankar Bhattacharya Memorial Award for best footballer" in memory of him.[33][34]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Kapadia, Novy (7 June 2015). "Mohun Bagan: Blaze of Glory". indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2008). "Football in Bengali culture and society: a study in the social history of football in Bengal 1911–1980". Shodhganga. University of Calcutta. p. 35. hdl:10603/174532. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ a b c IANS (12 July 2015). "Mohun Bagan to honour legend Karuna Bhattacharya | Business Standard News". Business Standard India. Business-standard.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "1938 Indian Tour of Australia". ozfootball.net. Australian Online Football Museum. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ a b Greg Stock; Thomas Esamie; John Punshon. "Socceroo Internationals for 1938". ozfootball.net. OZfootball. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Matches 1938". fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Era of Legends – 1930 to 1939". Mohun Bagan Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Mohun Bagan to honour legend Karuna Bhattacharya". Business Standard. 12 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "Gostha Pal – IFAWB: biography". ifa.org. Indian Football Association. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ Sengupta, Somnath (24 April 2012). "Legends Of Indian Football : The Pioneers". thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Mohun Bagan Ratna — Late Balaidas Chatterjee to receive the award posthumously". www.mohunbaganac.com. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ "Balai Das Chatterjee is Mohun Bagan Ratna 2013". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Balaidas Chatterjee". themohunbaganac.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Indian's first ever International tour to Australia – 1938 (Part 1)". eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "Indian's first ever International tour to Australia – 1938 (Part 2)". eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ Majumdar, Rounak (22 April 2019). "The Golden Years of Indian Football". www.chaseyoursport.com. Kolkata: Chase Your Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ Webdesk, Xtratime Bangla (21 April 2020). "ভাইপোকে পোস্টে বেঁধে লাথি মেরে ছিলেন স্যার দুখিরাম মজুমদার…" [Sir Dukhiram Majumdar tied his nephew to a post and kicked him...]. xtratimebangla.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Xtratime Bangla. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Mitra, Atanu (9 October 2017). "A 19th century visionary: The legend behind one of India's first football scouts". scroll.in. Kolkata: Scroll. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Mondal, Avik (4 December 2020). "শিবদাস ভাদুড়ী, গোষ্ঠ পাল সকলেই তাঁর ছাত্র, বাঙালি মনে রাখেনি বাংলার ফুটবলের প্রথম কোচ দুখীরাম মজুমদারকে". banglaamarpran567383012.wpcomstaging.com (in Bengali). Bangla Amar Pran – The glorious hub for the Bengal. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
- ^ a b Dasgupta, Biplab (11 October 2020). "প্রসঙ্গঃ স্যার দুখীরাম মজুমদার" [Context: Sir Dukhiram Majumdar]. justnews24x7official.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Just News 24×7. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Karuna Sankar Bhattacharya - Mohun Bagan Athletic Club". Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ a b Alam, Masud (19 April 2022). "৭ কোটি মানুষের জন্য ভালোবাসা নিয়ে ঢাকায় এসেছিল মোহনবাগান" [Mohun Bagan came to Dhaka with love for 7 crore people]. www.prothomalo.com (in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Daily Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, (in Bengali), p. 279, ISBN 81-85626-65-0.
- ^ "History in Timeline of Indian Football". the-aiff.org. All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ "1938 Indian Tour of Australia". Ozfootball.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ a b Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Sabuj Maroon Swapno | THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY : 1889–1903". sabujmaroonswapno.in. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Countrywide success – 1920 to 1929". Mohun Bagan Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Mohun Bagan Ratna – The Jewels of Mohun Bagan". mohunbaganac.com. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Mohun Bagan Day 2015 celebrated — Mohun Bagan News". 17 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Mohun Bagan Ratna 2015 — Karuna Sankar Bhattacharya (posthumous) — Mohun Bagan News". 17 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Balaidas Chatterjee posthumously awarded Mohun Bagan Ratna". www.business-standard.com. Kolkata: Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ "Balaidas Chatterjee posthumously awarded Mohun Bagan Ratna". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Kolkata: The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
Bibliography
edit- Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
- Sen, Dwaipayan (2013). "Wiping the Stain Off the Field of Plassey: Mohun Bagan in 1911". In Bandyopadhyay, Kausik; Mallick, Sabyasachi (eds.). Fringe Nations in World Soccer. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-99810-5.
- Sen, Ronojoy (2015). "The Empire Strikes Back: The 1911 IFA Shield and Football in Calcutta". Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-16490-0.
- Mitra, Soumen (1 January 2006). In Search of an Identity: The History of Football in Colonial Calcutta. Kolkata: Dasgupta & Co. Private Ltd. ISBN 978-8182110229. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022.
- Martinez, Dolores; Mukharjiim, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
- Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score. Routledge. ISBN 9780415348355. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021.
- Bolsmann, Chris; Vahed, Goolam (2 November 2017). "'They Are Fine Specimens of the Illustrious Indian Settler': Sporting Contact between India and South Africa, 1914–1955". Journal of Southern African Studies. 43 (6): 1273–1291. doi:10.1080/03057070.2017.1379689. ISSN 0305-7070. S2CID 148862123. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
- Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
- Basu, Jaydeep (2003). Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 9788174764546. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022.
Further reading
edit- "The passage of football in India". ifawb.org. Kolkata: Indian Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- Ahmed, Rasel (1 February 2019). "জাদুকর সামাদ: বাংলার একজন অতিমানব" [Magician Samad: The Wizard from Bengal]. roar.media (in Bengali). Dhaka: Roar Media News. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- Dutta, Prasenjit (22 May 2022). "ময়দানের তৃতীয় নয়ন" [The Third Eye of Kolkata Maidan]. prohor.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Prohor News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2022.