Sailendra Nath Manna popularly known as Sailen Manna , was an international footballer from India and is regarded as one of the best defenders India has produced. He has a record of playing for Mohun Bagan , one of the best clubs in India, for a continuous period of 19 years.

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Education
2 Trajectory
3 International Race
4 Honors and awards
- 1 Death
- 2 Source

Education

He graduated from Surendranath College , an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta . He worked for the Geological Survey of India.

Trajectory

Manna began his playing career for Howrah Union , then a club in the Calcutta Football League 2nd Division , in 1940 . After attending the club for a couple of seasons, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1942 and continued to play for the club until his retirement in 1960 .

Between 1950 and 1955 , he was the captain of the club. During his 19 years of association with the club as a player, he reportedly only won 19. Speaking on behalf of Sportstar in 2006 , he reasoned that “he played for the love of the sport and was happy with the salary. I got it from my employer, the Geological Survey. of India “ .

He was a fantastic defender who stood out for his hierarchy and leadership skills. He also stood out for his ease of getting the ball played and the power of his shot from set pieces, he was, saving the distances, something like Bobby Moore on the other side of the Commonwealth.

International career

Sailen Manna was part of the football team of India for the Olympic Games in London in 1948 , where India lost to France by a margin of 1-2. Manna under the captaincy, India won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951 and also won the Tournament Quandrangular for four consecutive years from 1952 until 1956 . In 1953 , the Football Association of EnglandHe classified him among the 10 best patterns of the world in his yearbook, this distinction meant a great leap in quality since it was not usual for players who were not European or South American to appear on that list.

He was captain of the Indian team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in which they received a serious correction (10-1) against the powerful Yugoslav team of Beara, Zebec, Boskov and Mitic and a member of the 1954 Asian Games . He used to keep a photo of the goddess Kali, the barefoot conquest of demons, hidden in his pocket. Two of his biggest regrets in life are: (1) missing the first penalty against France at the London Olympics, and rejecting the second penalty because he feared to miss again, (2) India had not gone to the World Cup in 1950 in Brazil , with him as captain, because the Indian Football Federation had not realized his importance.

He closed his international career in 1954 and hung up his boots for good in 1960 . He never received a single rupee from football so he combined his passion with his work at the Geological Institute of India. He was named Padmashree (senior civilian rank in India) in 1971 and Player of the Millennium by the Indian Football Federation in 2000 .

Honors and awards

Included in the list of the 10 best captains in the world by the English FA in 1953 .
Awarded the Padma Shri in 1971 by the Government of India.
Awarded “Footballer of the Millennium” by the All India Football Federation in 2000 .
Awarded “Mohun Bagan Ratna” in 2001 .

Death

After a long illness he died in hospital in Calcutta on 27 of February of 2012 while in his own words still waiting ” to see India win a selection of Asian Cup as I managed” .

Sailen Manna