Known for introducing the "diamond system" in
football in India in the late 1970s, Dutta is known as "Diamond Coach".[7][8]
Playing career
Earlier career
Dutta began his playing career in Friends Club of
Jorasanko.[9] He then went on to play for numerous clubs of lower divisions, Subarnon, Sporting Union,
Aryans and
Bengal Nagpur Railway respectively.[9]
East Bengal and Mohun Bagan
Dutta made his full-time professional club football debut in the CFL, in early 1950s, appeared with
East Bengal in three consecutive seasons from 1953 to 1956.[9] During his playing days with both East Bengal and India, he played under two of the country's legendary coaches, Bagha Som and
Syed Abdul Rahim.[10] In his first season with the club, he was part of the team that toured
Romania and participated in
World Youth Festival, and
Soviet Union in 1953.[11][12][13] In that year, the club played against German side
Kickers Offenbach[14] and Soviet team
Torpedo Moscow.[15]
He also played for
Mohun Bagan, arch-rival of East Bengal, for a short period of time and represented the club in
Rovers Cup.[9]
Dutta also appeared with the Indian team against numerous visiting European teams in exhibition matches, including a 1–0 defeat to
Allsvenskan club
AIK at
CC&FC Ground in Kolkata on 10 December 1954.[19]
Coaching career
Dutta hanged-up his boots after his playing career cut short due to injury at the age of 29.[20] Soon in the early 1960s, he left his job in the
Indian Railways to become a full-time coach.[11] He then went to
England for a one-year
FA coaching course paid for from his own finances, where he was taught by renowned football administrator
Walter Winterbottom, who was first manager of
England.[21] Dutta was influenced by Indian coach Sir
Dukhiram Majumder.[22]
After returning to India, Dutta started a coaching camp in
Bally, Howrah. His first major assignment was to coach Railways in 1960 for the
Santosh Trophy, and later managed Odisha twice in the same tournament. Dutta later managed
Calcutta Football League club
Aryan from 1960 to 1962 and guided players like Asim Moulick.[23] His first assignment with a big club was in 1963 with
East Bengal midway through the
Calcutta Football League. His first
Kolkata Derby match against
Mohun Bagan ended in a 3–0 defeat in CFL, and in the return leg, East Bengal bounced back and clinched a 2–0 victory.[11] 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.[11]
I am known as a Harley Street specialist. When the patient (losing football club) has been treated by all doctors and not recovered, they come to me.
— Dutta on his coaching days, in an interview with
Novy Kapadia.[11]
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'.[24] In his long coaching career he was associated with premier football clubs of India, and also became coach of
India.[25] Dutta coached all the three big clubs of the
Kolkata Maidan. With East Bengal; he won the CFL (twice), IFA shield (twice),
Rovers Cup,
Durand Cup,
Darjeeling Gold Cup, Bordoloi Trophy, Airlines Gold Cup, Sanjay Gandhi Gold Cup and ATP Shield. He had more success with Mohun Bagan whom he coached to 4
Calcutta Football League titles, 4
IFA Shield titles, 3 Federation Cups, 2 Durand Cups and also wins in
DCM Trophy,
All Airlines Gold Cup,
Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup and Nehru Trophy.[26] In a single season with
Mohammedan Sporting in 1980, Dutta won Rovers, DCM and Sikkim Governors Gold Cup titles.[26]
With Mohun Bagan, Dutta won multiple trophies including a "double" in 1969 (
IFA Shield and
Calcutta Football League). He guided the team clinching
Rovers Cup consecutively from 1970 to 1972 while players like Bhabani Roy were flourished under his tenure.[27] After managing the mariners in 1969–1971 and 1985–1987, Dutta returned to the club again in 1989.[28] 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's East Bengal in front of the recorded 131,000+ spectators at the
Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.[29][30] Despite a 4–1 defeat, fans lauded Mohun Bagan's impressive style of play under his "Diamond System".[31][32][33][34]
Dutta has also managed another
Kolkata-based NFL side
Tollygunge Agragami from 1999 to 2000.[35][36] He helped the team reaching final of the 105th edition of
IFA Shield in November 1999.[37] Tollygunge also played in the Calcutta Football League under his short spell of coaching.[38] In September 2006, Dutta was roped in as head coach of
Chirag United in place of Belgian manager
Philippe De Ridder.[39][40][41] Dutta also managed teams like
BNR, Titanium SC, Bhatri Sangha.[26] He managed noted Indian club
Dempo in 1981–82 and helped the team clinching Goa Senior Division League title in 1981.[42] In his coaching career, he managed the
India national football team and helped them clinching gold at the
1987 South Asian Games, held in Pakistan.[43][44] In 1967–68, and 1980–81, he managed
Odisha in
Santosh Trophy, and also worked as technical director of India while
Syed Nayeemuddin was head coach. He also managed another Kolkata-giant Mohammedan Sporting.[45] A rough and tough behavior coach in local and national level teams, and highly controversial character on and off the pitch, Dutta is known as the first Indian professional coach, who gave Bengali youngsters their first taste of world football by showing them video clippings of famous Brazilian players of that time.[26]
Tactics
Dutta was renowned for his bold and innovative tactics and formation, Diamond system.[46] 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
Kolkata Derby rivalry between
Mohun Bagan and
East Bengal.[43] Dutta is India's first ever licensed coach, who is credited to have employed modern methods in domestic football, before those became popular in the country.[20]
Amal Dutta's 4–2–4 line-up for Mohun Bagan against East Bengal at the 1969
IFA Shield final.
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
Soviet Union.[43][46] His proposal to acquire the three-man defence tactic was denied by then
East Bengal manager Jyotish Chandra Guha.[46] He brought the iconic
Brazilian 4–2–4 system in Mohun Bagan despite opposition from club legends including
Sailen Manna, and later used the bold 3–4–3 formation.[11] As chief coach of
India, Dutta introduced the 4–4–2 formation at the
Football at the 1987 South Asian Games, in which they won gold defeating
Nepal. The 3–4–3 diamond formation was popularly used by
Johan Cruyff's
FC Barcelona. Being a stickler for discipline, Dutta revolutionized
football in Kolkata.[43][11]
Personal life
Dutta was born in
Calcutta, brought up in Shikdarpara Lane.[9] Noted Bengali poet and writer
Akshay Kumar Baral was his maternal grandfather.[9] In his earlier days, Dutta learnt
Tabla playing from Radheshyam Dutta.[9] He was married to Arati Dutta.[9] The 1946 riots in Bengal changed Dutta's life for a while.[46] In his working career before entering into coaching, Dutta was employed in both
Bengal Nagpur Railway and
Income Tax Department of India.[9] He also worked in
Rifle Factory Ishapore, also coached the institution's football team.[46]
He is author of several books including Football Khelte Hole (
lit.'If You Play Football'),[7] and his autobiography Jotodin Bnachi (
lit.'So Long As I Am Alive').[46] Dutta died on 10 July 2016 at the age of 86.[47]
A multipurpose stadium named "Amal Dutta Krirangan" in
Dum Dum,
North 24 Parganas, was built in honour of Dutta, which was inaugurated by sports and
PWD minister
Aroop Biswas in March 2020.[7][50] The stadium also hosts matches of Calcutta Football League.[51][52][53]
^Bhattacharya, Nilesh (23 July 2016).
"Diamond Touch". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
The Times of India.
Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
^
abcdefghi"মুছে গেল হীরকের দ্যুতি" [The light of the diamond disappeared]. eisamay.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Ei Samay Newspaper. 11 July 2016. Archived from
the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
^
abcdChakraborty, Ratan (11 July 2016).
"চলে গেলেন বাঙালিকে বিশ্ব ফুটবলের স্বাদ দেওয়ার জনক" [The father who gave Bengalis a taste of world football has passed away]. anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Anandabazar Patrika. Archived from
the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
^Wadwha, Arjun (19 May 2008).
"History of Football in India". thesportscampus.com. TheSportsCampus. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
^Ganguly, Shovan (7 March 2020).
"কিংবদন্তি কোচ অমল দত্তের নামে স্টেডিয়াম" [Stadium renamed after legendary football coach Amal Dutta]. amarbangla.co (in Bengali). Kolkata. Archived from
the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
^Ghoshal, Amoy (23 November 2016).
"All time Indian XI". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from
the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
Further reading
Bibliography
Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House.
ISBN978-0-143-42641-7.
Moitra, Parijat (24 June 2020).
"ইস্টবেঙ্গল ক্লাবের প্রথম বাঙালি বিদেশি ফুটবলার" [The first foreign Bengali player of East Bengal Club]. facebook.com (East Bengal Samachar) (in Bengali). Archived from
the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
Bhattacharya, Ayan (10 September 2023).
"বাংলা ভাগের ক্ষত কিভাবে বিষিয়ে দিল মোহনবাগান আর ইস্টবেঙ্গলকে?" [How did the wound of the partition of Bengal poisoned both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?]. inscript.me (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনস্ক্রিপ্ট বাংলা নিউজ. Archived from
the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.