Sailen Manna

Sailen Manna
Personal information
Full name Sailendranath Manna
Date of birth (1924-09-01)1 September 1924
Place of birth Howrah, Bengal, British India
Date of death 27 February 2012(2012-02-27) (aged 87)
Place of death Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1940–1942 Howrah Union
1942–1960 Mohun Bagan
National team
1948–1956[1] India 14[1]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Sailendra Nath Manna (1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian International Footballer and is considered to be one of the best defenders India has ever produced.[2] He has represented and captained India in different international competitions including Olympics and Asian Games. He also has a record of playing for Mohun Bagan, one of the best clubs in India, for a continuous period of 19 years.[3] He is the only Asian Footballer ever to be named among the 10 best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953.[4]

Education

He graduated from the Surendranath College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta. He worked for the Geological Survey of India.[5]

Club career

Manna started his playing career for Howrah Union, then a club in the 2nd Division Kolkata Football League, in 1940.[3][6] After turning out for the club for a couple of seasons, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1942 and continued playing for the club for a period of 19 years, till his retirement in 1960. During this period, he was the Captain of Mohun Bagan from 1950 to 1955.[3] It is to be noted that during his 19 years career in Mohun Bagan, he reportedly earned only Rs.19[7] (roughly USD 0.5 based on existing exchange rates). As a defender, he was known for his anticipation, covering and a strong free kick.[7]

International career

Sailen Manna was a part of the Indian Football Team for the 1948 London Olympics, where Indian lost to France by a margin of 1-2.[7] Under Manna's captaincy, India won the Gold Medal in the 1951 Asian Games and also won the Quandrangular Tournament for four consecutive years from 1952 to 1956.[3] In 1953, the England Football Association rated him among the 10 best skippers of the world in its yearbook.[4] Manna was also the captain of the Indian team in 1952 Olympics[8] and a member of the 1954 Asian Games.

Honours and awards

  1. Included in the list of the 10 best Captains of the world by English FA in 1953.[4]
  2. Awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 by the Government of India.[3]
  3. Awarded the "Footballer of the Millennium" by All India Football Federation in 2000.[9]
  4. Awarded "Mohun Bagan Ratna" in 2001.[10]

Death

After being unwell for quite some time, Manna died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Monday, 27 February 2012. He was 87 years old and was survived by his wife and daughter.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Padmashree Sailendranath Manna
  2. ↑ Calcuttaweb - Sports Personality : Sailen Manna
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 INDIAN LEGENDERY FOOTBALL PLAYERS PROFILE:Kolkatafootball.com
  4. 1 2 3 India's greatest footballer
  5. ↑ "Sailen Manna". The Economist. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Sailendra Nath Manna
  7. 1 2 3 Harmony
  8. ↑ "Sailen Manna Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  9. ↑ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Sport Tribune
  10. ↑ "Manna conferred Mohun Bagan Ratna Award-The Times of India". Archived from the original on 27 March 2008.
  11. ↑ Manna, Sailen; Press Trust of India. "Soccer legend Sailen Manna passes away". Tribute to Sailen Manna. NDTV.com. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.