Sudip Chatterjee (15 December 1959 – 18 September 2006), nicknamed ''Tulu'', was an Indian international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. He started his career as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and then moved to the

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

position before switching to the

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

role.The Hindu : Sport / Football : Sudip Chatterjee passes away
/ref> As a Midfielder, he was considered among the finest in Indian football.

Playing career

Sudip started his playing career with Howrah Sahajatri Club, where his skills were spotted by former India international Arun Ghosh. In 1981, he signed for

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 ...

1st Division league team Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) Club. After spending a season with BNR, he joined Kolkata giant

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 ...

in 1982. After two seasons with Mohun Bagan, Chatterjee moved to Bagan's arch rival

East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional Sports club, multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in t ...

in 1984. While at East Bengal, Sudip was shifted to Central Midfield by the then coach of the club,

Amal Dutta Amal Dutta (4 May 1930 – 10 July 2016) was a former Indian footballer, coach and football manager. Born in Calcutta, then Bengal Presidency, he is considered as the first professional football coach in the country. A finest thinker of the sp ...

. Sudip remained with East Bengal till 1987. During his stay with East Bengal, he was adjudged the player of the year by the AIFF in 1986. He joined Mohun Bagan again in 1988 and played for them in the corresponding two seasons. In 1990, he returned to East Bengal for a one-year stint. Sudip finally returned to Mohun Bagan in 1991 and retired at the end of 1992 season.

International career

After his 1982 debut with Mohun Bagan as a Central Defender, Sudip was included in the Indian Team for 1982

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. He was a very dependable member of the Indian Football Team till his retirement in 1992. Sudip represented India in Asian Games, Asia Cup, Pre-World Cup, Pre-Olympic,

Merdeka Cup Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

SAF 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 ...

and Nehru Gold Cup. He captained India in

(1985), Pre-World Cup(1986), Asian Games (1986),

(1986), Nehru Gold Cup(1985 & 1988) and Asia Cup(1988). 1992 Asia Cup was his last International tournament.

Personal life

Chatterjee used to live at Mandirtala,

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

, the twin city of

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 ...

. After his retirement from football due to ill health, he was subsequently also diagnosed with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. On 18 September 2006, a piece of

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

choked his respiratory tract and he suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. He was declared dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital. Chatterjee is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Honours

Player

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:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

; Bronze medal:

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

Mohun Bagan *

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 ...

: 1989 *

Sikkim Gold Cup The Sikkim Gold Cup, known as the Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup, is an Indian football tournament held in Sikkim and organized by Sikkim Football Association (SFA). Past champions include New Road Team of Nepal in 2007, Three Star Club of Nepal in ...

: 1989 *

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 ...

: 1989 *

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 ...

: 1992 East Bengal *

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 ...

: 1990 *

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 ...

: 1990 Bengal *

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 ...

: 1981–82, 1988–89

Manager

Bengal *

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98

Individual

*Awarded Player of the Decade by AIFF in 1994 *Awarded Player of the Year by AIFF in 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Sudip 1959 births 2006 deaths Indian footballers People from Howrah Footballers from West Bengal India international footballers 1984 AFC Asian Cup players East Bengal Club players Mohun Bagan AC players Calcutta Football League players Association football midfielders Indian football coaches Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India South Asian Games medalists in football South Asian Games gold medalists for India

Playing career

International career

Personal life

Honours

Player

Manager

Individual

See also

References