Amal’s "foot in mouth" gets him sack

CALCUTTA, Nov 2: Mohun Bagan has once again sacked coach Amal Dutta. This comes as an encore as last year also, Bagan had fired Dutta after ...

CALCUTTA, Nov 2: Mohun Bagan has once again sacked coach Amal Dutta. This comes as an encore as last year also, Bagan had fired Dutta after a match-fixing fracas during the Rovers Cup. Veteran coach PK Banerjee will take over as the Bagan coach from tomorrow.

The official reason for Dutta’s sacking, as put out by Bagan, is the football side’s recent poor performance. However, insiders say that Dutta’s “big mouth” is the main reason. Dutta has been speaking to the media despite objections raised by the club. That, it appears, is the prime reason for Dutta’s ouster.

Banerjee, a highly regarded coach, is currently taking a `vacation’ from coaching and was readily available. He will be taking over as the Bagan coach after nearly a decade. Banerjee was the technical director of the East Bengal football side last year.

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Recently, Mohameddan Sporting too sacked their football coach Mridul Banerjee. Although no official version has been put out, former player P Kanan has taken over as the Sportingcoach.

These sudden changes in coaches is not new to Calcutta. Last year, after Dutta was sacked from Bagan, TK Chathunni took over before the National League. Chathunni, who fell to the lure of Maidan glamour, had led Salgoacar to victory in the Federation Cup before joining Bagan. He then led the Calcutta giants to victory in the National League. In spite of that, he was left without a club as Bagan later dumped him for Dutta. Chathunni is currently without a club.

Another Calcutta giant East Bengal too were looking for a coach recently when the side was not doing too well under the current incumbent Monoranjan Bhattacharya. In fact, a deal was rumoured to have been finalised with national coach Syed Nayeemuddin. However, after the Indian football side was cleared for the Asian Games, Nayemuddin will surely find his present position more appealing.