Subrata Bhattacharya is set to join Bhawanipore FC as the head coach for the upcoming season. It was rumoured that Bhattacharya would join Tollygunge Agragami, but the former Mohun Bagan player took a dramatic turn and instead chose to sign for Bhawanipore as he was being offered better remuneration and amenities.
"I am joining Bhawanipore instead of Tollygunj. They are offering me a better package so I decided to join them. The management has agreed that the team would practice in Kalyani instead of Kolkata. So from the first week of June, we will start preparing for the season in Kalyani," confirmed the National Football League (NFL) winning coach to Goal.
Bhawanipore FC’s top official Srinjoy Bose also confirmed the same.
On the current situation in Mohun Bagan
Three years ago Bhattacharya fought against Satyajit Chatterjee for the post of football secretary in Mohun Bagan club's election. He was defeated by more than 2000 votes during that time. Now months before the election, the club is once again in the midst of an administrative crisis as the rift between general secretary Anjan Mitra and financial secretary Debashish Dutta has come to the fore. But Bhattacharya chose to steer clear of any controversy.
"I will not comment on the current situation in Mohun Bagan. They have never called me for anything, so it is better to not comment," said the Arjuna awardee.
On queried whether he was going to fight elections once again he said, "No chance of contesting any election. Since common members do not have any say in the day to day functioning of the club, I am not going to that place. I led Mohun Bagan to the championship and as a reward, they sacked me as the coach. On April 14 we became champions and on April 15, which is the Bengali new year day, they fired me. Now a coach gets to continue even after conceding four goals in a national tournament."
The 65-year-old holds a stellar record as a tactician. He led Bagan to national glory twice in three years at the start of the 21st century. He is coveted for his exceptional match reading quality in Kolkata Maidan.
He has also managed East Bengal, Southern Samity and Prayag United as a coach. In 2014, under his tutelage, Tollygunge Agragami were on the brink of winning the Calcutta Football League (CFL) but fell short of champions East Bengal by just three points.
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