Kolkata : Having ended their trophy drought after five years with I-League triumph, the football fraternity in unison hailed the efforts of unhrealded and low-profile coach Sanjay Sen, whose tactical acumen was largely responsible for national club’s crowning glory.
Sen was appointed after Subhas Bhowmick had to leave charge as he did not possess the required AFC A license which is a must in order to coach an I-League top tier club. But as it turned out, Sen’s appointment was a masterstroke as the city’s football fraternity heaped praise on the Indian’s achievement. “I am also extremely happy that an Indian coach — Sanjay Sen — steered Mohun Bagan to the summit. Undermining the success of the Indian coaches has become a kind of a fashion these days. I sincerely hope that more Indian coaches would be employed by I-League teams in the near future,” legendary footballer P.K Banerjee said.
“The victory of Sen’s boys at the Kanteerava Stadium should also be seen as a turnaround for Kolkata football. While Mohun Bagan won their previous league title 13 years ago, East Bengal, too, could never come on top since 2004. There was a feeling around that the city football had forever been finished and such suggestions always left me depressed.”
Former India defender Subrata Bhattacharya said.
“I don’t understand why we have fascination for foreign coaches.” —PTI
