Indian football legend PK Banerjee passes away
Former footballer, Pradip Kumar Banerjee, popularly known as PK Banerjee breathed his last this Friday afternoon in Kolkata, leaving behind a vast legacy in Indian football. He had been suffering from respiratory problems due to pneumonia along with Parkinson’s, which he developed before.
One of the greatest Indian footballers to have graced the field, PK Banarjee was born in Moynaguri, a small town in North Bengal. His first break came at the age of 15 when represented Bihar in the Santosh Trophy, following which he headed for Kolkata and joined Aryan FC. Since then, it was no looking back. He led Eastern Railway to a Calcutta Football League win, back in 1958, ahead of favourites like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting Club.
The forward donned the national jersey in three consecutive Asian Games and was an instrumental figure in India’s gold medal triumph during the 1962 Jakarta Asiad. The Indians were a regular entrant in the Olympics back then and PK Banerjee featured in the showpiece event for the first time in 1956. He captained the ‘blue tigers’ in the 1960 Rome Olympics during which he scored an infamous goal against football giants France to equalise and kept the scoreline 1-1 till the end.
The Arjuna awardee had pretty successful coaching stints as well, starting with Kolkata giants East Bengal. Following which, he shifted his loyalties to Mohun Bagan and guided the historic club to the Indian treble, winning the Rovers Cup, Durand Cup and IFA Shield. His next assignment began in 1972 when he was selected as the Indian National team coach, which he continued till 1982.
PK Banerjee was named as the Indian Footballer of the 20 century by IFFHS along with Padma Shree and the Arjuna Award. In 2004, PK Banerjee was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit - the highest honour awarded by FIFA.
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