Indian football legend Pradip Kumar Banerjee is critically ill

Legendary Indian football player and coach Pradip Kumar Banerjee is critically ill and fighting for his life. He suffered a cerebral stroke and has been admitted to Kolkata's Medica Superspecialty Hospital since 2 March 2020. He is presently on life support system and according to his family, his health has deteriorated.

Pradip Kumar Banerjee's career as a footballer

PK Banerjee played for Eastern Railways FC and Aryan FC (Picture courtesy: Khelupdates.com)

The 83-year legendary Indian footballer is one of the greatest players the country has ever produced. He was chosen as the Indian footballer of the 20th century by International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). He represented the national team in 45 matches and scored 14 goals.

His most famous goal came against France in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He is till date the only Indian footballer to be awarded the International Fair Play Award by the Olympics Committee. He achieved his success as a player by playing for smaller clubs like Eastern Railways FC and Aryan FC and never played for any of the two giant clubs of Kolkata - East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Pradip Kumar Banerjee's career as a football coach

PK Banerjee's legacy as coach is even greater than that as a player

PK Banerjee is one of the greatest and longest serving coaches of India. His coaching stint began with the East Bengal. He coached both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal multiple times in his coaching career achieving immense success.

He has also been the longest serving coach for the Indian national football team. He was the national coach for 15 years, from 1972-1986. However his performance as a club coach was better as compared to when he was the national coach. Banerjee was very famous among his players for his pep talks and was called 'Alex Ferguson of Indian Club Football'.

All the Indian football fans would be praying that the legend will get cured and come out victorious in this battle for life, like he has always done on the football field.

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