Table of Contents
Introduction
Amit Chakraborty is one of the most promising footballers in West Bengal. The 29-year-old defender had already drawn the attention of the football fraternity through consistent performance in the National Games, held in Gujarat last year. Then he also impressed the specialists including Bengal’s one of the experienced coaches, former Indian international footballer Biswajit Bhattacharya exhibiting a dependable show in the recently-held qualifiers of the senior national championship for the Santosh Trophy this year. Amit has represented big clubs like East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Bhawanipur, and George Telegraph. Presently, Amit is representing Customs FC for the last one season.
Amit Chakraborty’s Struggling Journey
Amit hails from Uttarpara, Hooghly district. His father who worked in a private company is a retired person for around the last six years. Amit’s childhood began in his uncle’s house. He got attracted to football at the age of only five years. Amit Chakraborty’s first club was Uttarpara Netaji Brigade where Bastav Roy, a former footballer who played for East Bengal, and Mohun Bagan, was coach.
But it was almost impossible for Amit to get admitted to the club as his father was going through dire financial distress at that time. The fee for the admission to the club was a mere Rs 200. Still, Amit had to do a temporary job to accumulate the amount. He said,
“I worked in a meat shop for some days and manage to gather Rs 200 and got admitted to the club, my first football training center.”
The Attribute to the Coaches
Amit has enough experience in learning the game under several coaches. He used to learn the basics of the game under the guidance of Bastav Roy. While sharing his experience Amit Chakraborty mentioned Shankar sir’s name who was the man to have specifically guided him to start playing as a defender. Amit said,
“I cannot remember his title. But Shankar sir was the first coach who asked me to start playing as a defender. Otherwise, I used to play upfront initially.”
Then Amit practiced under experienced coaches like Manojit Chanda, Swarup Das, and Bikash Panji when he was playing for East Bengal’s junior team and had an impressive performance in the Manchester Cup, representing the East Bengal junior team. Then in the senior level Amit, during his stints with different premier Kolkata football clubs like George Telegraph came in close as one of the students of East Bengal’s former national coach Armando Colacco, former international Debjit Ghosh as well as Biswajit Bhattacharya also. Amit gave a mark of respect to all of his teachers saying,
“I have adopted the best from everybody’s style of coaching and I am still in a process of learning.”
However, Amit had a special appreciation for Biswajit Bhattacharya, the present coach of the senior Bengal team. Amit admitted,
“He can mix himself with us in such a friendly manner that none of the players hesitate while talking to him. He is a master of the man-management skill. He knows how to bring out the best of the game in a footballer. He is not only a coach but a teacher also.”
Cafu and Deepak Mondol
Amit Chakraborty, though plays mainly in the side-back position, can also play as a wing-half in football. He has the habit of going on overlaps during his team’s counter-attacks and likes to send the winning crosses from the flanks. That might be the reason legendary former Brazilian international Cafu is the favorite footballer of this Bengali lad. Amit commented,
“I often watch the training and match videos of Cafu. I try to learn a lot of things considering the technique and basic skill.”
In Indian football, Amit has a favorite defender, who is former Indian international Deepak Mondal. Amit expressed gratitude for he was in the same team of the red-and-gold brigade in 2014-15 where Deepak Mondal was one of the key men. Amit stated,
“I was a junior footballer that time. I could get an opportunity of participating in only two Kolkata Premier League matches that season. Still, I feel lucky to have got the opportunity to practice with Deepak Mondal every day. He used to give me valuable pieces of advice on how to improve and inspired me a lot.”
Amit Chakraborty on the Hunt for a Job
Amit Chakraborty dreams of representing the country. He also hopes to get a call from any ISL-playing club. Still, he is desperate to get a permanent job. Amit lamented,
“I badly need a job to run my family. A permanent job will also work as a great boost for me to improve my game. The money I get from Customs as a footballer is not at all sufficient.”
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