| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Biplob Bhattacharjee | ||
| Date of birth | 7 January 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Bangladesh | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Abahani Limited | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–2003 | Arambagh KS | ||
| 2004 | Brothers Union | ||
| 2005–2006 | Mohammedan SC | ||
| 2007– | Abahani Limited | ||
| National team | |||
| 1997– | Bangladesh | 16 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Biplob Bhattacharjee (born 7 January 1981), sometimes called Biplob Bhattacharya, is a Bangladeshi professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Abahani Limited. He also plays for the Bangladesh national football team and since making his debut at the age of 18, he has won 16 caps for his country.
In 1997, Bhattacharjee joined Arambagh KS who played in the Dhaka League at the time. Three years later he became a full-time footballer when Arambagh were one of the founder members of the Bangladesh Professional Football League. He spent six years with the club before leaving at the end of the 2003 season.[1] He signed for Brothers Union in time for the 2004 campaign but left the side after the season ended. Bhattachargee was signed by Mohammedan Sporting Club for the 2005–06 season but again moved on after one campaign. In 2007, he joined Abahani Limited, where he still plays as of February 2010.[1]
Bhattacharjee's performances for Arambagh in his first season led to him being called up to the Bangladesh national football team in early 1997 for their 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. He made his international debut at the age of 18 in the 0–3 defeat to Saudi Arabia on 27 March 1997.[2] In the following four days he made two more appearances for the team, keeping goal in the 2–1 win over Taiwan and the 0–1 loss to Malaysia.[2]
It was another six years before Bhattacharjee was called up to the Bangladesh team again, when he was named in their squad for the 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup. He was included as a back-up to first choice goalkeeper Aminul Hoque although he did play in the 3–0 win against Bhutan on 15 January 2003.[3] Bhattacharjee remained second choice behind Haque, playing one match in 2005 and two the following year. However, in 2007, he regained his place in the Bangladesh side and won six caps, playing in all of Bangladesh's matches that year.[1] He has not played another game for the team since. He was included in the preliminary 30-man squad to participate in the 2009 South Asian Football Federation Cup, 2010 South Asian Games and the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.[4] However, when national coach Dido was dismissed from his post, Bhattacharjee was one of seven players excluded from the final squad.[5]