Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay
I-League Media Team

GUWAHATI: Satyajit Chatterjee is one of the rarest breeds of Indian footballers who have represented only one club throughout his career. The Mariner by heart, who holds the Football Secretary post of the century-old club now, has notched up 6 Federation Cups before hanging his boots. The ball player, who first tasted the victory in 1986, triumphed over the Federation Cup in 1998 for the last time.

On the eve of the 19th Federation Cup final for the Mariners, the artistic midfielder spoke at a length with www.i-league.org on the six Federation Cup wins, current league of Indian footballers and much more.

EXCERPTS:

Did the urge to emulate Bablu Da’s feat of winning 6 Federation Cups provide any added motivation to you after winning the fifth Federation Cup in 1994?

(Laughs), why only 6? We wanted to win even more. A footballer always loves to win a trophy, whatever it’s. In our time, we used to play almost 3-4 tournaments a year and generally we as well as East Bengal were the frontrunners to win them at a canter. But, Kerala Police, JCT, Salgaocar were the surprise packages and they used to triumph over us a few times. Finally, we won it again after 4 years.

In 1987, Mohun Bagan achieved a humongous feat of winning the Federation Cup without conceding a goal.

(Interrupts) Is it? Frankly speaking, I was not aware of it at all. In the 80s, even 90s, we were not used to high-scoring matches. If we could poke 1 goal or 2 goals, the job was almost done. Coming back from a 2-goal deficit didn’t happen so often. In Kolkata League also, if we had conceded a goal, fans were almost onto us (laughs) for the sin of conceding the goal. The atmosphere was like that only.

Coming to the Federation Cup, we had a terrific team then. It was nothing less than a well-oiled machine. Subrata Bhattacharya led the defence and he was supported by Amit Bhadra, Krishnendu Roy, Alok Mukherjee. In the half line, I took over the responsibility to keep the supply line unscathed along with Prasanta and finally the intimidating attacking third comprising of Maninder Singh, Sisir Ghosh, Babu Mani. As I remember, Sisir & Maninder scored a goal apiece in the final against Salgaocar to get the job done.

You have won 3 successive Federation Cups during 1992-94. How do you justify IM Vijayan’s role behind the Himalayan feat?

Obviously, we can’t ignore him, but he was a pawn, just like us. At the end of the day, it was a collective team effort. Sudip Chatterjee, Debashish Sarkar and I were there in the midfield, then the belting attacking lineup Chima Okorie, IM Vijayan and Sisir Ghosh- what agony the opponent defenders had trying to tame them down! Sanjib Dutta was there in 1992, a young fella, who succumbed to death later while playing in the Santosh Trophy (Sighs).

In 1993, Vijayan had cracked his skull and the national team coach had asked him to refrain from playing anymore. We had a severe predicament while deploying our strategies sans him. Still we beat Kerala Police in the semifinal, almost whole the state poured into the stadium that day. Bernard scored the winner for the Mariners and we were in the final where we beat Mahindra & Mahinda, thanks to the solitary strike by Satyen.

The next edition was the most difficult one, according to me at least. Jo Paul Ancheri joined us that season and he was one of the finest players whom I played with. The immaculate coordination amongst Christopher, IM Vijayan and Ancheri scripted the win for us. In fact, we walked a tightrope playing with mere 14-15 players throughout. I still recollect, we were practically playing with 9-men in the final against Salgaocar FC. Ancheri was shivering in fever and one player was limping, but still the gaffer couldn’t afford to replace him, such was the plight for us. By God’s grace, eventually, we took the match to the tiebreaker and won over the Greens.

Do you feel that the level of Indian players has gone down now?

In the 70s or later, there were so many Indian footballers across the nation plying their trade. Bereft of the foreigners, we used to scale newer heights. JCT, Salgaocar FC, Dempo SC had a myriad of Indian footballers who cast their names in the history book of Indian football. Now, there are good quality players too who are playing for the clubs but the benchmark, set by the yesteryear heroes, is quite high and the present lot definitely have to toil to attain it.

Does it cause more dependency on the foreigners recently?

If you look back, foreigners in the likes of Majid Bhaskar, Jamshid Nassiri, Chima Okorie mesmerised us during the 80s and the 90s. But while Chima was ramming with the ball, defenders akin to Subrata Bhattacharya, Monoranjan Bhattacharya was there to pounce on him, to negate him. The clash between the foreigners and the home-grown ball players was a sight to behold. But now the picture has changed completely. Although I don’t want to take the credit away from our players, the foreigners are playing the game-changing roles more often now.

After losing out the Hero I-League, did the players’ motivation to win the Hero Federation Cup soared up?

Losing out the Hero I-League was catastrophic and none but us could be blamed for us. You know, it happens with teams and they only have to shoulder the added responsibility to overcome the barrier. After losing out the Hero I-League, our players regrouped well and they have executed the plan on the pitch. Now it’s onto the last humdinger to sign off with the trophy, which has been the Mariner’s forte always.

You are facing the same Aizawl FC who smeared your unbeaten run in the Hero I-League. Had it been Bengaluru FC, would it be a little easier to set the focus before the final?

It’s a completely psychological game. Had it been Bengaluru FC, they would have had the pressure to win the final. None would have been tagged as the clear favourites. Aizawl FC have overwhelmed all of us and they have already won our hearts. Definitely, they won’t have anything to lose now and if they better us in the final, it would be the biggest day of their football history.

On the other hand, our team has showcased a valiant brand of football till now and if they continue to do so, hope to see them winning the title tomorrow.

Jose Barreto has recorded maximum goals (7) in one edition of Federation Cup. Jeje Lalpekhlua has already scored 6 goals this season. How would you rate both on a scale of 10?

(Laughs), I’m not good in mathematics, you know. Joke apart, Barreto had been an exemplary figure for Mohun Bagan, let alone Indian football. Mohun Bagan were really privileged to have a generous player like him. Jeje is a raw talent and he has to push his limits more. This is the key phase of his career and he has to keep his focus right.

But one thing I could say without any hesitation, Jeje is the best Indian striker at the moment. He just has to keep his head over his shoulders and carry out his duties.

Picture Courtesy- Debu Dutta