In 1969, FIFA arranged its maiden 14-week Coaches’ Training Course for aspiring coaches in Asia under Dettmar Cramer. Among the 42 students...
In 1969, FIFA arranged its maiden 14-week Coaches’ Training Course for aspiring coaches in Asia under Dettmar Cramer. Among the 42 students assembled in Chiba, Japan, four were from India. Two of them received First Class degrees from the legendary German soccer guru.
One of the two, PK Banerjee returned to India to pursue the trade with considerable success for 40 years. The other, Chuni Goswami, carefully avoided any coaching assignment for the rest of his life.
While PK became a passionate coach – that brought him both bouquets and brickbats and made him a legend in his lifetime, Chuni remained soaked in glamour, the ultimate poster boy of Indian football. He briefly did his duty as a selector, manager and even as a commentator, but chose not to become a permanent feature in any of those roles.
Also read: PK Banerjee: Captain, coach, Indian football legend, but above all, a caring human being
It only shows the contrasting personalities of the two great men of Indian football. Jointly, they were an inseparable pair in the national team for 10 years and won many a memorable battle, the 1962 Asian Games gold medal included. But those who followed their careers closely knew there weren’t too many things common in...
