In death, Amal Dutta unified the football fraternity in the city which has so long debated his methods. Dutta, 86, breathed his last on Sunday evening after a battle with Alzheimer’s.

Hundreds of football fans from across the state came to pay their last respects to Dutta who introduced many unknown facets of modern football to his charges over a career spanning more than five decades.

Knowledgeable and astute

“I regard him the most knowledgeable and astute coach I have ever seen. It is sad that his peers and many of the players he coached could not appreciate the immenseness of his knowledge and ability,” said former international Satyajit Chatterjee, who is now Mohun Bagan’s football secretary.

Dutta turned to coaching quite early in his life after having played as a midfielder with considerable success for teams like East Bengal. He also had short stint with the national team, turning out for India at the 1954 Manila Asian Games.

At a time when most of the coaches in the country were rooted in traditional methods, Dutta travelled to England to secure a coaching licence from the Football Association.

“It is a mystery that he never received the Dronacharya Award. Perhaps he never aspired for official recognition. But there are countless players for whom he was the real Dronacharya,” said another former international Surojit Sengupta.

Dutta, who introduced the now-famous ‘Diamond System’ employed so successfully by the Dutch teams of yore, rose to the peak of his popularity in the 1990s.

As coach at Mohun Bagan, Dutta had a spectacular rivalry with P.K. Banerjee, another legendary player and coach, who was in charge of East Bengal.

“He was a true fighter, and that reflected as much in his coaching methods as in his life. I am greatly saddened by his death,” said Banerjee, in tribute to his friend and professional rival.

Dutta also briefly coached the Indian football team, which went on to win the SAF Games crown in 1987. He later became the technical director of the National team for the Nehru Cup in 1988.

Goswami’s praise

Another legendary footballer from the city, Chuni Goswami, heaped praises on Dutta saying that his innovative thinking spoke a lot about his depth of knowledge of the game.

“His passing away fills me with grief. He is the one who introduced modern football techniques to our country,” Goswami said.

Scores of present and former footballers came to pay their last respects to Dutta, whose mortal remains were kept at Rabindra Sadan for the public to offer their tributes.

Dutta was cremated in the evening with full State honours.

Mamata’s tribute

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Dutta a true legend and said her government would consider immortalising him by naming a stadium or a street in the city after him.

Dutta rose to the peak of his popularity in the 1990s

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – July 12th, 2016