Is Bengal Football getting a new lease of life?

Last year, the Indian men's national football team went into a tournament without a single Bengali player or someone hailing from the state. This was perhaps the first time such a thing happened since the 1980s.

There used to be a time when Bengalis or locals of West Bengal dominated Indian Football. Names like PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Samar Banerjee, and many more have been etched in gold in the country's history books.

In the past few years, however, the football in the state has been in sharp decline. Representation in the Indian team has been restricted to the two full backs Pritam Kotal and Subhasish Bose. The number of Bengalis in the ISL have dipped to the 20s - there were 26 in ISL 2021.

The fall can be attributed to a multitude of reasons. During the 'golden age of Indian Football' in the 60s, football was the sport to watch in India. Even in the succeeding decades, stellar players from the state kept donning the national jersey and gracing the pitches around the country. It's likely that after the 1983 World Cup win of the Indian men's cricket team is when the eyeballs shifted from football to cricket. Since then, the beautiful game has never really been the same.

Legendary defender Subrata Bhattacharya told The Times of India that a decrease in the footballing culture as well as in the quality of spectators have contributed to the sport's fall in the state. "People in Bengal, who were mad about football, were swayed by the success of the Indian cricket team that we footballers could not deliver," he said.

It doesn't help the cause that the 'Big Three' of the Kolkata Maidan; East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and Mohamedan SC, have been in poor form in the national leagues, at least before the creation of ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League.

A second coming for Bengal

However, Bengal football's 'Second Coming' might be around the corner. In the ongoing Indian Super League 2022-23 season, there have been a number of Bengali/from Bengal footballers, young and experienced, who impressed a lot in the league stage.

Overall, there are 35 players from West Bengal spread across the different teams. FC Goa, Kerala Blasters and Odisha FC are the only three teams to not have any Bengalis in their squads.

Ever since Debjit Majumder received a red card and Devansh Dabas was not up to the job, 22-year-old Samik Mitra was entrusted with the job of protecting Chennaiyin FC's goal. He featured in the final 10 games for the Marina Machans and even kept clean sheets against Kolkata sides ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

Interestingly, he was with the East Bengal's U16s for a few years before joining Chennaiyin FC.

Pritam Kotal, now easily a veteran of Indian Football, is one of the few experienced players who have shown their maturity throughout the season. The local of the Perua village in West Medinipur district of West Bengal featured in all 20 league games and played all 1800 minutes for the Mariners.

Young prospects

Winger Ritwik Das has been another revelation this season after he scored some important goals for Jamshedpur FC. While the defending league shield winners didn't have a desirable campaign, Das is one of the few bright sparks from the side.

The speedster netted six times this season, which included a brace against Chennaiyin FC. Das has seen it all when it comes to Bengal football. Hailing from Burnpur, Asansol, a teenaged Ritwik had moved to Kolkata to further his sporting dream.

From the Mohun Bagan academy to Jamshedpur, through a couple of CFL (Calcutta Football League) sides, the 26-year-old may well find his way into Igor Stimac's national squad sooner or later.

Another youngster under the Marina Machans' wing is 19-year-old Sajal Bag. The Santosh Trophy is usually a competition for amateurs to shine, but for Bag, the 2022 edition was one to forget.

After missing a crucial penalty for Bengal in the final against Kerala, the Garia lad has come a long way since then. Sajal has orchestrated his redemption quite well after he bagged the winner against NorthEast United FC in Chennaiyin FC's 4-3 win over the Highlanders.

In the same game, Ichapur local Rahim Ali had scored for Thomas Brdaric's team as well. Having been part of that U-17 Indian team which played the FIFA World Cup in 2017, Ali too has shown glimpses of promise throughout the season.