Football great Subhash Bhowmick’s impact crossed generations

Subhas Bhowmick

Indian football lost an achiever of the highest class, in the passing away of Subhas Bhowmick, 71, in Kolkata on Saturday. A crack forward and canny coach at the Asian level is a rare combo. As a player, Bhowmick was full of style and steel, and then brought out the best in Indian and foreign players as coach in Kolkata (East Bengal) and Goa (Churchill Brothers).

India returned with a bronze in men's football at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, beating powerhouse Japan in a placings tie. The burly striker kick-started the tourney with two goals in the opener against Thailand. Some of the Mumbai-based stars in that squad, led by Syed Naeemuddin, were Amar Bahadur, Bandya Kakade, Jerry Bassi and PM Shivdas. In 2003, Bhowmick returned as Technical Director to plot EB's triumph at the Asean Cup, a feat Indian club football is proud of. Baichung Bhutia finished as top scorer.

‘Can never be forgotten'

S Brahmanand, a distinguished former India captain and goalkeeper, brought out the Kolkata great's football ability and beyond. "He [Bhowmick] can never be forgotten by those who watched him in Goa. He was well-built, speedy, had strong thighs and powerful shooting," said Brahmanand, who was in touch with Bhowmick during his coaching stint at Churchill, where he moulded Goan players his way. "He once asked me if I owned a car. When I said no, he pointed out that footballers need to be seen as successful for the sport to be accepted by youth," added former Salgaocar goalkeeper Brahmanand.

Ex-Orkay Mills forward Prakash Shetty recalled a goal by Mohun Bagan striker Bhowmick in a Rovers Cup tie against Leaders Club, Jalandhar. "Bhowmick brought the Cooperage crowd to their feet with a trap, turn and shot, all in one swift move. He had a special ability to shield the ball, going past defenders. Stealing the ball from him was tough," said Shetty.

Lost a good friend: Harish

Former Mahindra stalwart, Harish Rao, who went on to coach Mahindra United (MU), recalled a face-off with Bhowmick: "He was a good friend off the field, but we had our clashes on it. MU had won the Durand Cup 2001, and earned a reputation of defending in the then National Football League. East Bengal, under Bhowmick's guidance, drew with us in the first NFL tie at Cooperage. The return leg was at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata. And Bhowmick fired up the EB fans saying that MU had performed well in the first leg only due to crowd support. One lakh fans turned up at Salt Lake and made life difficult for us. Four of our players got yellow cards. After the loss, when Bhowmick came over, I told him that he should win using sporting methods."