Amal Dutta (4 May 1930 – 10 July 2016) was a former Indian footballer, coach and football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. Born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, then

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

, he is considered as the first professional football coach in the country. A finest thinker of the sport, Dutta had a rivalry with

Pradip Kumar Banerjee Pradip Kumar Banerjee (23 June 1936 – 20 March 2020) was an Indian professional footballer who played as a striker for the India national football team. He also captained the national team and later on became the coach of the national ...

during his coaching days in Kolkata club football. Known for introducing the "diamond system" in

football in India Association football, Football in India has historically been among the top 3 most popular sport in terms of players participation and TV viewership, together with long time number one cricket and re-emerging kabaddi. India's current top domest ...

in the late 1970s, Dutta is author of several books including ''Football Khelte Hole''.

Playing career

Dutta made his professional club football debut in the early 1950s, and played for

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

in 1953, 1955 and 1956 seasons. During his playing days with both East Bengal and India, he played two of the country's legendary coaches, Bagha Som and

Syed Abdul Rahim Syed Abdul Rahim (17 August 1909 – 11 June 1963), popularly known as Rahim Saab, was an Indian football coach and manager of the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963, and a former player. He is regarded as the architect of ...

. In his first season with the club, he was part of the team that toured

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and participated in

World Youth Festival The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

, and

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1953. In that year, the club played against German side

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs in ...

and Soviet team

Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (russian: link=no, ФК "Торпедо" Москва, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow that was founded in 1924 and returned to the Russian Pre ...

. On 25 October 1953, Dutta made his

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

debut against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in Rangoon during the Quadrangular Series, which was his only appearance for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Managed by

Balaidas Chatterjee Balaidas Chatterjee (10 March 1900 – 1974) was a former Indian football player and was the first head coach the India national football team during the 1948 Summer Olympics. During his playing days, Chatterjee played for Mohun Bagan in various ...

, they won the tournament. He was also a member of Indian squad in the 1954 Asian Games in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Coaching career

After retirement as a player in the early 1960s, he left his job in the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

to become a full-time coach. He then went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for a one-year FA coaching course paid for from his own finances, where he was taught by renowned football administrator

Walter Winterbottom Sir Walter Winterbottom (31 March 1913 – 16 February 2002) was an English football player and coach. He was the first manager of the England national team (1946–1962) and Director of Coaching for The Football Association (the FA). He ...

, who was first manager of

. Dutta was influenced by legendary Indian coach Sir

Dukhiram Majumder Dukhiram Majumder (born Oomesh Chandra Majumder, also Mazumdar; 1875 – 16 June 1929) was an Indian footballer, football manager, scout and club official, who is regarded as the first football coach in the country. He first understood the impo ...

. After returning to India, Dutta started a coaching camp in

Bally, Howrah Bally ( bn, বালি) is a neighbourhood in the city of Howrah of Howrah district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).

. His first major assignment was to coach Railways in 1960 for the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

, and later managed Odisha twice in the same tournament. Dutta later managed

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is off ...

club

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

from 1960 to 1962 and guided players like Asim Moulick. His first assignment with a big club was in 1963 with

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

midway through the

. His first

Kolkata Derby The Kolkata Derby (locally known as "Boro Match"; bn, বড় ম্যাচ) is the football match in Kolkata, between East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan (Mohun Bagan till 2019–20). In January 2020, the owners of a Kolkata based Indian Su ...

match against

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

ended in a 3–0 defeat in CFL, and in the return leg, East Bengal bounced back and clinched a 2–0 victory. He remained as coach of East Bengal in 1964 but a year later, after gaining coaching course abroad, the first-ever in India and a feat for which, he received little recognition. Leaving his job from the Indian Railways to become a full-time coach, was a bold step in the then amateur football scene of the country and it is the reason behind his nickname, the 'first professional coach of India'. In his long coaching career he was associated with premier football clubs of India, and also became coach of

. Dutta coached all the 3 big clubs of the

Kolkata Maidan The Maidan (; bn, ময়দান), also referred to as the Brigade Parade Ground, is a large public park and urban green space in the center of Kolkata, India. With a total area of , it is the largest urban park in the world. It is a va ...

. With East Bengal, he won the CFL (twice), IFA shield (twice),

Rovers Cup The Rovers Cup was an annual football tournament held in India, organized by the Western India Football Association. It was the second oldest tournament in India after Durand Cup. History Rovers Cup was incorporated by some British football e ...

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

Darjeeling Gold Cup All India Darjeeling Gold Cup, also known as All India Brigade of Gorkha's Gold Cup Football Tournament, or simply GTA Chairman's Gold Cup, is an Indian association football tournament held in Darjeeling and organized by the Indian Darjeeling Go ...

, Bordoloi Trophy, Airlines Gold Cup, Sanjay Gandhi Gold Cup and ATP Shield. He had more success with Mohun Bagan whom he coached to 4

titles, 4

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield tourn ...

titles, 3 Federation Cups, 2 Durand Cups and also wins in

DCM Trophy The Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy, known simply as D.C.M. Trophy, was an invitational football tournament in India. It was held annually in New Delhi and was organised by the local Delhi Football Association. It was India's first football tournament ...

All Airlines Gold Cup The All Airlines Gold Cup was a domestic football tournament organised by the Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the state of West Be ...

, Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and Nehru Trophy. In a single season with Mohammedan Sporting in 1980, Dutta won Rovers, DCM and Sikkim Governors Gold Cup titles. With Mohun Bagan, Dutta won multiple trophies including a "double" in 1969 (

and

). He guided the team clinching

consecutively from 1970 to 1972 while players like Bhabani Roy were flourished under his tenure. After managing ''the mariners'' in 1969–1971 and 1985–1987, Dutta returned to the club again in 1989. He then utilized an innovative 3–4–3 "Diamond System", with Abdul Khaliq and Okerie in the front, the club played offensively, which was rare in Indian football. At the 1997 Federation Cup, one of the most anticipated matches in Indian football history, Dutta managed the club against

Banerjee Banerjee or Bandyopadhyay is a surname of Brahmins originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent and from Bangladesh. Lineage and ancestry Banerjees are from the ancient Shandilya Gotra, which means all Banerjees are descended fr ...

's East Bengal in front of the recorded 131,000+ spectators at the

Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan The Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK; ), commonly known as the Salt Lake Stadium, is an all-seater stadium, all-seater multi-purpose stadium located in Bidhannagar, with current capacity of 85,000 spectators. Named after Swami Vivekan ...

. Despite of a 4–1 defeat, fans lauded Mohun Bagan's impressive style of play under his "Diamond System". Dutta has also managed another

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

-based NFL side

Tollygunge Agragami Tollygunge Agragami Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Tollygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1943, the club primarily competes in the Calcutta Football League, Calcutta Premier Division L ...

from 1999 to 2000. In September 2006, Dutta was roped in as head coach of Chirag United in place of Belgian manager

Philippe De Ridder Philippe De Ridder (born 6 August 1964 in Brussels, Belgium) is a Belgian coach, football administrator and a former football player. He is currently the co-owner and CEO of Chevsa Sports Marketing & Management, a Kolkata based sports marketing ...

. He also managed

India national football team The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Indian team, which was once cons ...

and helped them clinching gold at

1987 South Asian Games The 1987 South Asian Games, officially the 3rd South Asian Federation Games were a multi-sport event, held in Kolkata, India from 20 November to 27 November 1987. It was the largest sporting event ever to be held in Kolkata, and West Bengal as ...

held in Pakistan. In 1967–68, and 1980–81, he managed

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, and also worked as technical director of India while Syed Nayeemuddin was head coach.

Tactics

Dutta was renowned for his bold and innovative tactics and formation, Diamond system. Popularly known as the "Diamond Coach" of Indian football for utilising the 3–4–3 diamond formation, he was one of the key figures who shaped the

rivalry between

and

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

. During his early days with the "red and gold brigade" as head coach, he felt that 2–3–5 formation is outdated and wanted to try a three-man defence influenced by the

. His proposal to acquire the three-man defence tactic was denied by then

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

manager Jyotish Chandra Guha. He brought the iconic Brazilian 4–2–4 system in Mohun Bagan despite opposition from club legends including

Sailen Manna Sailendra Nath Manna ( bn, শৈলেন মান্না; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly p ...

, and later used the bold 3–4–3 formation. As chief coach of

, Dutta introduced the 4–4–2 formation at the

Football at the 1987 South Asian Games Men's football took place at the 1987 South Asian Games in Calcutta, India. India won its second title by defeating Nepal in the final and became the first team to defend the title successfully. Participating nations Fixtures and results Gro ...

, in which they won gold defeating

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The 3–4–3 diamond formation was popularly used by

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. Being a stickler for discipline, Dutta revolutionized

football in Kolkata Football is one of the most popular sports in Kolkata, West Bengal. East Bengal, ATK Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan are the heart of Kolkata football. The rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is one of the fiercest in the world and is conside ...

Death

Dutta died on 10 July 2016 at the age of 86. He is survived by a son and a daughter.

Legacy

In July 2016, Utpal Ganguly, president of

Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers association football in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the oldest Football Association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was form ...

, announced that the best coach of every

season will be awarded with Amal Dutta Trophy, as IFA's tribute to Amal Dutta. A multipurpose stadium named "Amal Dutta Krirangan" in

Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Etymology During the 19th ...

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...

, was built in honour of Dutta, which was inaugurated by sports and

PWD In Unix-like and some other operating systems, the pwd command (''print working directory'') writes the full pathname of the current working directory to the standard output. Implementations Multics had a pwd command (which was a short name of ...

minister

Aroop Biswas Aroop Biswas is an Indian politician and the present Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Power in the Government of West Bengal. He is also an MLA, elected from the Tollyganj in the 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, ...

in March 2020.

Honours

Player

India *

Colombo Cup The Colombo Cup was an annual football tournament first held in Colombo, Ceylon. It was also known as Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. Established in 1952 by the Ceylon Football Association as a part of the Colombo Fair, teams from India, Pa ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

East Bengal *

: 1956 *P. K. Nair Gold Cup: 1956

Manager

East Bengal *

: 1965, 1976, 1981, 1983, 1984 *Federation Cup: 1978, 1980 *

: 1978, 1982 *

: 1977, 1982, 1985 *

: 1980 *

: 1983 *

Bordoloi Trophy The Bordoloi Trophy, also known as the Bharat Ratna Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Trophy, is a premier annual Indian football tournament held in Guwahati and organized by Guwahati Sports Association (GSA). The tournament was first started in 1952 ...

: 1978 *Darjeeling Gold Cup: 1976, 1981, 1982, 1985 *Stafford Cup: 1981 *Sanjay Gandhi Gold Cup: 1984 *Trades Cup: 1976 *William Younger Cup: 1976 Mohun Bagan *

: 1969 *

: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1985 * Federation Cup: 1986, 1987 *

: 1985, 1986 *

: 1986 India *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

Gold medal:

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Chirag United *

Trades Cup The Trades Cup (also known as the Trades Challenge Cup or IFA Trades Challenge Cup) is an Indian football tournament held in Kolkata and organised by Indian Football Association. Incorporated in 1889, it is the second oldest football tournament i ...

: 2007; runner-up: 2006 Individual * East Bengal "Lifetime Achievement Award": 2014

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *Bandyopadhyay, Santipriya (1979). ''Cluber Naam East Bengal'' .

: New Bengal Press. *Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (2017). ''Mohun Bagan–East Bengal'' .

: Parul Prakashan. * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Amal 1930 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Kolkata Indian footballers India international footballers Footballers at the 1954 Asian Games Mohun Bagan AC managers East Bengal Club managers India national football team managers Association football midfielders Asian Games competitors for India Indian football managers Indian football coaches Tollygunge Agragami FC managers

Playing career

Coaching career

Tactics

Death

Legacy

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

Bibliography

External links