Prasun Banerjee

Prasun Banerjee (Bengali: প্রসূন ব্যানার্জি) is a retired international footballer and an Arjuna Award Winner (1979) from Kolkata, India. Younger brother of the legendary Pradip Kumar Banerjee, Prasun had also captained the India national football team in international tournaments.^[1] Experts like Arun Ghosh, Pradip Kumar Banerjee consider the trio of Prasanta Banerjee, Prasun Banerjee and Parminder Singh as the best midfield of Indian Football team in modern era.^[2] He was included in the All Time Best-XI team of Mohun Bagan Club as a Central Defensive Midfielder.^[3] He was only the second Indian to play for Asian All-star XI. He also played two matches against Brazil for Asian All-star XI and played against Zico, Eder, Falcao, Socretes and others. He was included in the Limca book of record for representing India in 100 football matches.^[4]

In 2013, he won the bypoll to the Howrah Sadar parliamentary constituency on a Trinamool Congress ticket thus becoming the first professional footballer to be a Member of Parliament, India (Lok Sabha). He won the seat defeating his adversary, Left Front's Sridip Bhattacharya, by more than 27,000 votes.^[5][6] He was re-elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014.^[7]

Early life

Prasun is the younger brother of India’s player of the 20th century and former national coach, P.K. Banerjee. His father died when he was 2 years old and was brought up by his elder brother, P.K. Banerjee. He is married to Paramita Banerjee and has one daughter and one son. He is a graduate of the University of Calcutta.^[8]

Career highlights

Prasun Banerjee, an Arjuna Award Winner in 1979–1980, played for 9 years in Mohun Bagan (1974–1980 and 1982–1983). He became the Captain of Mohun Bagan in 1978 and lead Mariners to win the Calcutta Football League, IFA Shield and Federation Cup. In the final of the IFA Shield, Mohun Bagan clashed with Ararat of USSR, undoubtedly the best foreign team to have ever played in a competitive tournament in India; that match also ended in a 2–2 draw and the teams were declared joint winners.^[9]

Prasun Banerjee was a member of the Indian national team of 1982 which reached the quarter finals of the 9th Asian Games in Delhi. He scored the only goals of the match, two blistering left footed shots from outside the box, in order to grab a 2–0 victory over Bangladesh. In the group phase, he helped India beat Malaysia 1–0 and draw 2–2 with China. Playing in the 4–3–3 system, the hallmark of India’s display was their superlative midfield trio – Parminder Singh on the right, Prasun as the central holding midfielder and Prasanta Banerjee on the left. Experts like P.K. Banerjee and Arun Ghosh consider this trio as India’s best midfield in the modern era.

During his playing days with Mohun Bagan, he and Gautam Sarkar formed an effective combination in midfield and were considered the best in the country. Noted for silky skills and sublime passing, Prasun played a memorable role in his club Mohun Bagan’s four Durand triumphs in 1974, 1979, 1980 and 1982.

In the 1974 Durand final played at the National Stadium, Delhi, Mohun Bagan were the underdogs against JCT for whom striker Inder Singh was in prolific goal-scoring form. However, playing skillful, short passing, possession football, Bagan won the final 3–2 with a hat-trick by winger Ulaganathan, the first in the Durand final since Independence. Playing in his first Durand final, Prasun initiated many attacks with his subtle passing. He also combined effectively with forwards P. Kannan, Ulaganathan and Swapan Sengupta to harass the rugged JCT defence.

Five years later, he scored a memorable winning goal for Mohun Bagan against Punjab Police in the 1979 Durand final. Defending in depth, Punjab Police foiled many Bagan attacks and it seemed the match was drifting to extra time. However, in the 79th minute, Bagan earned a free kick some yards outside the 18 yard box. Prasun scored with a crisp, curling left footer, reminiscent of his favourite players, the great Brazilian midfielders Zico and Falcao of 1982 World Cup fame.

The 1980 Durand final was his finest hour, as a makeshift Mohun Bagan took on star-studded Mohammedan Sporting. With Pradip Chowdhury and other central defenders injured Bagan’s coach Arun Ghosh converted striker Shyam Thapa into a stopper back. Thapa and Subrata Bhattacharya had to control a lethal Mohammedan Sporting attack which included Surojit Sengupta, Mohammed Akbar, Shabbir Ali and Debashish Roy. That year Mohammedan Sporting had annexed the DCM tournament, the Rovers Cup and was on the look-out for a triple crown.

Both clubs had won their semi finals in contrasting styles. Mohammedan Sporting had easily overcome sturdy Border Security Force (BSF) 3–1 but Mohun Bagan had struggled to prevail over JCT in the penalty shootout after the match ended in a 1–1 draw. Prasun scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout. He was invariably trusted with the last kick because of his calm temperament.

The final, played on a wet and slippery Ambedkar Stadium surface was one of the finest games seen in the Durand tournament for many years. Both teams played entertaining, attacking football. It was a battle of midfield and Bagan wrested the initiative due to the sublime skills and ball distribution of Prasun and Gautam Sarkar. They won the duel with the Mohammedan Sporting duo of Victor Amalraj and Prasanta Banerjee. The winning goal came midway through the second half when Prasun’s deft through pass set winger Bidesh Bose free on the left. Bidesh cut in and scored with a rasping left footed angular shot.

The 1982 Durand final was played after the 1982 Asiad in January 1983 between arch rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. The clash of the titans ended in a goalless draw and they shared the trophy. From 1974 to 1983, Prasun figured in six Durand finals, winning four and losing two in 1978 and 1983.^[2]

Controversy

In the build-up to the 1982 Asian Games, there was much speculation about who would play as the left midfielder as both Prasun and Prasanta played in that position for their respective clubs. In some practice matches before the 1982 Asiad, Prasanta was sidelined. He often used the regional media to say that he was being dropped due to nepotism and that P.K. would never drop his younger brother. Amidst all this controversy, Prasun remained unruffled and never made provocative comments. His nascent political career had already started.

Gradually the Indian think tank, coach P.K. Banerjee, assistants Arun Ghosh, SS Hakeem, Ahmed Hussain and GMH Basha and foreign technical director Dietmar Pfeiffer (of erstwhile East Germany) worked out an effective compromise. Prasun was shifted to the central midfield spot and Prasanta played as an attacking, left sided midfielder. They ploy worked as Parminder was the midfield dynamo, Prasanta the creative player, and Prasun would link defence and attack with astute passes. All three were capable scorers and that’s what made them so effective.

He had a calm temperament and avoided controversy. However, Prasun could take a firm step when required. On 19 February 1981, just before the transfer season in Bengal 21 players, 19 from Bengal and one each from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, walked out of the national camp for the 1982 Asian Games in defiance of their parent body. Their loyalty lay with the lucrative club offers rather than the national team. Prasun was amongst the ring-leaders in this walk-out. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) used elder brother P.K. to influence Prasun and the deserters but of no avail.

Though labeled as “rebels” and “deserters” and condemned by Prime Minister Mrs. Gandhi and Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, the players remained defiant. The pragmatic Field Marshal Maneckshaw, president of the defunct All India Council of Sports, negotiated a compromise. He compelled the AIFF to compensate all players on national duty with Rs. 2,000 per month. Prasun used player’s power to ensure his team-mates got their dues.^[2]

Career Statistics

Indian National Team

Debut: 26 July 1974 vs Malaysia, in Merdeka Cup at Kuala Lumpur (Prasun Banerjee came in as a substitute for Gautam Sarkar).
No of Matches Played – 49
No of Matches played as a Captain – 5
Goals Scored – 3

International Tournaments

Asian Games – 1974, 1978, 1982.
Merdeka Cup (Kuala Lumpur) – 1974, 1981, 1982.
Pre Olympics – 1980 (Captain).
Nehru Cup – 1982.
Kings Cup (Bangkok) – 1977, 1981.
Presidents Cup (Seoul) – 1982.
Aga Khan Gold Cup (Dhaka) – 1977.

Other Achievements

Prasun Banerjee was the Joint Captain of the Indian Youth Team along with Sabbir Ali which became Joint Champions with Iran in Asian Youth Soccer Tournament at Bangkok.

Bengal

Santosh Trophy – 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (Captain), 1982.
Goals Scored – 3
Championships Won – 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (Captain) and 1982 (Joint) – 6 times

Clubs

• Mohun Bagan – 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 (Captain), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983.

Goals Scored – 24 goals (CFL – 14, Bordoloi Trophy – 4, IFA Shield – 1, Durand Cup – 1, Rovers Cup – 1, Federation Cup −2, Darjeeling Gold Cup – 1).

Trophies Won -

Calcutta Football League (4) – 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983.
IFA Shield (5) – 1976 (Joint), 1977, 1978 (Joint), 1979, 1982.
Durand Cup (5) – 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982 (Joint).
Rovers Cup (2) – 1976, 1977.
Federation Cup (3) – 1978 (Joint), 1980 (Joint), 1982.
Bordoloi Trophy (4) – 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977.
Darjeeling Gold Cup (4) – 1975, 1976 (Joint), 1979, 1982.
Nagjee Trophy (1) – 1978.

Total – 28.

• Mohammedan Sporting – 1981, 1984, 1985

Goals Scored – 4 (CFL – 1, Federation Cup – 2, Sanjay Gandhi Gold Cup – 1).

Trophies Won -

Calcutta Football League – 1981.
Federation Cup – 1984.
Sanjay Gandhi Gold Cup – 1981.
Stafford Cup – 1981 (Joint).
Nizam Gold Cup – 1984.
Nagjee Trophy – 1984.
Rovers Cup – 1984.
Darjeeling Gold Cup – 1984.
Bordoloi Trophy – 1985

Total – 9

Coaching

Prasun Banerjee has also coached Mohun Bagan for two months in the 1990–91 season.^[9]

References

Members of the 16th Lok Sabha from West Bengal 15th LS Members 17th LS Members GE 2014 Sisir Adhikary Suvendu Adhikari S S Ahluwalia Sultan Ahmed Idris Ali Subrata Bakshi Sudip Bandyopadhyay Abhishek Banerjee Kalyan Banerjee Prasun Banerjee Bijoy Chandra Barman Sugata Bose Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar Dev Dr Ratna De (Nag) Arpita Ghosh Anupam Hazra Choudhury Mohan Jatua Badaruddoza Khan Saumitra Khan Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury Mriganko Mahato Sunil Kumar Mandal Tapas Mandal Pratima Mondal Abhijit Mukherjee Mausam Noor Tapas Paul Aparupa Poddar Sandhya Roy Satabdi Roy Saugata Roy Md Salim Mamtaz Sanghamita Uma Saren Moon Moon Sen Renuka Sinha Babul Supriyo Kapil Krishna Thakur Dasrath Tirkey Dinesh Trivedi Bye-elections 2015 Mamata Thakur Pre-bye poll: Kapil Krishna Thakur - deceased Members of the 16th Lok Sabha from States: AP BH CT GA GJ HR HP JK JH KL KA MP MH OR PB RJ TN TG UP UT WB Northeast: AR AS MN ML MZ NL SK TR Union Territories: AN CH DN DD LD DL PY