Name Monoranjan Bhattacharya Years Team Role Football player | 1977-1991 East Bengal Club | |
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Full name Monoranjan Bhattacharya Place of birth Kolkata, West Bengal, India | ||
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Monoranjan Bhattacharya Mentor
Monoranjan Bhattacharya, nicknamed Mona, born at Kolkata, India is an Indian Football international player and a club level Coach and Manager. During his playing career he represented the "Big Two" of Kolkata football East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC. He also represented India in various international tournaments from 1978 till 1989. He had an operation on his left leg in August 2016.
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Club career
Monoranjan joined East Bengal Club in 1977 and created a club record for continuously representing the club in a period spanning 14 years. He was one of the most successful defenders of his time and was known for his strong and skillful game. He captained the club in 1981 season. At the end of 1990-91 season he left East Bengal Club to join their arch-rival Mohun Bagan AC. After spending a couple of seasons with Mohun Bagan, Monoranjan returned to East Bengal in 1993 for his last season as a player.
International career
Monoranjan was a regular for Indian national football team between 1978 and 1989 and represented India in various football tournaments within the period.
Coaching career
Monoranjan is a qualified AFC Coach. He was the coach of East Bengal Club from 1996 to 1998 and again for the period of 2000-2001. Under his coaching, the club won its first National Football League title in 2000-2001. Due to East Bengal's poor showing in the inaugural I-League 2007-08, their coach Subrata Bhattacharya resigned and Monoranjan became the coach of East Bengal for the third time. He guided the club hanging in the relegation zone to a sixth-place finish in the I-League. After the league ended, he decided not continue in the post citing prior family engagements.