No pretensions to being a master tactician

SUBRATA BHATTACHARYA is having the last laugh. Four years ago, his stint as the Mohun Bagan coach had ended on an acrimonious note. But in his second innings, he has courted success; guiding the famed Calcutta club to its pinnacle of glory in Indian football - the National football league title - and that too just after taking over the reins of the club before the start of the IFA shield in November last.

The 47-year-old Subrata's achievement is something which his predecessor Syed Nayeemuddin had failed to deliver with the star studded team and the twin successes, in the space of four months, for Subrata should now stop tongues from wagging.

When he took over, the fortunes of Mohun Bagan had gone into a tailspin. It had failed to win the Calcutta Super division league and confidence among players was at an ebb. To add salt to its wounds was the suspension of its Nigerian stalwart Chima Okerie. But in a short time Subrata was able to transform the struggling side into a crack outfit.

The rehabilitation came in the IFA Shield when Mohun Bagan stole a march over the other Calcutta teams to win the title and suffice to say the triumph was a morale booster for the side before the start of the fourth edition of the NFL.

Subrata does not have any pretensions of being a master tactician, but he firmly believes that the key to success is in keeping the players motivated. Subrata did not complicate things for the players and his remedy was rather simple. ``I just pointed out the mistakes they committed in the previous season and minimised the errors in defence. I really worked hard to improve the fitness of the players. It is important for the players to be mentally strong before major assignments and I took care to see most of them were in the right frame of mind before the start of the league,'' the coach said.

The green and maroon brigade played attractive and aggressive soccer, the proof of which can be gauged from the high percentage of wins the team recorded in the league. However, Bagan did not enjoy huge success in the early part of the league and the turnaround came only after the tough Goan leg.

All teams, especially those from Calcutta, dread playing in Goa and consider it as the most difficult of the hurdles they have to surmount. But the Calcutta powerhouse did exceptionally well in its Goan leg, defeating both Dempo (3-2) and Salgaocar (1-0) besides holding Churchill Brothers to a 1-1 draw.

``Yes, the transformation came after the Goan leg. To get seven points from three matches was a great achievement indeed. The players started believing in themselves and in their ability and thought and they could pull it off,'' the coach said.

Bagan finished the first phase with 22 points, a point behind then table-toppers Churchill Brothers. A string of victories at the start of second leg saw the side pull away from rest of the field. What acted as a catalyst in the team's success was the inclusion of Uzbek Igor Skvirin and Brazilian Jose Baretto before the start of second phase. They joined the team just before the Calcutta side's tie against ITI in Bangalore and the difference they made was there for all to see.

The duo gave more bite to the Bagan attack as the side struck a purple patch in the second leg. Perhaps the only blot in its copy book was the 0-1 loss to FC Kochin at home. Igor Skvirin found the target with amazing regularity, averaging nearly a goal per match while Baretto played a vital role in the midfield.

``Baretto is the best among the present crop of overseas players in the country. He is crafty and skillful and makes the whole team tick,'' says the coach. But is quick to acknowledge the support of Stephen Abrowei, Sammy Omello and other senior players during the first phase of the league.

Coaching a cosmopolitan team can be problematic but it is where Subrata succeeded. He got the best out of his players and more importantly kept them focussed throughout the weary three-month affair. ``The players knew the roles they had to perform and did it superbly. Both Baretto and Igor had fallen back to help the defence in times of need and it was the collective effort of the individuals which did the trick for us,'' he said.

His observations on the 12-team NFL: ``The National football league is a severe test on the perseverance of the players. A team has to be consistently good for at least three months to win the title. Upstarts and teams without proper bench strength tend to fade out once the going gets tough. Teams from Calcutta who habitually play 60 to 70 matches a year have better chance of faring well in the league. Teams like State Bank of Travancore and Border Security Force have struggled because they did not have proper replacements for their injured players.''

On his preferred style of play, Bhattacharya, turned vocal: ``I don't follow a set pattern. I experiment and change the composition of the team according to the situation knowing fully well that I am responsible for all the decisions I take. Coaches are always on the firing line. Bouquets if you win and brickbats if you lose,'' he says.

Subrata who had a long and fruitful career as a player with Mohun Bagan (1974 to 1990) would like to taste more success as a coach. The triumphs in the IFA Shield and NFL has made his second stint as Bagan coach an eventful one laced with a personal triumph for himself. How could he stop laughing at his detractors, then?

M. R. PRAVEEN CHANDRAN

Thiruvananthapuram

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