Sharing the stage with his childhood coach was a ‘special moment’ for Subhashish Bose
Sudeep Pakrashi Subhasish Bose, the defender and captain of ISL Cup and Shield-winning Mohun Bagan Super Giants (MBSG) this season does not hesitate to declare winning the ‘best defender’s award of the season at the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) awards ceremony in Bhubaneswar on Friday was the greatest honor so far he has achieved. Bose also sounded thrilled to have been aware of the statistics that after a span of 12 years a Bengali footballer won ‘best defender’s award from the AIFF. When asked for his feelings, the 29-year-old defender mentioned sharing stage with one of his childhood coaches Ranjan Chowdhury in the award ceremony function was a special moment for him. “Ranjan Chowdhury is one of my childhood coaches and he also received special award from AIFF for his contribution as a coach to Indian football on the same day. I became quite excited that we shared the same stage while receiving awards. It was a special moment for me.” Bose, an ardent fan of legendary Italian defender Paolo Maldini, dedicates this award to the whole of his football society. “I used to start playing the game watching my father. He was my first coach. Then I came across several coaches from my early days, especially Biswajit Halder. So, everybody has a major contribution to the rise of Subhasish Bose. My family, my club coaches, officials, and obviously the club’s passionate fans-I dedicate this award to each and everybody,” exclaimed Bose. Despite being a defender Bose has scored six goals in the recently-concluded ISL and amidst the 80 percent accurate passes he made in the ISL 20 chances were created. Bose revealed this award will inspire to win the ‘best defender’s award every year in future. He said, “I have been trying to win this award for my last 10 years of mainstream football. Every year, I mentally start preparing myself at the beginning of the season. The dream finally came true this season. I am determined to increase the hard-work to achieve the award frequently.”
Ranjan Chowdhury remembers Md. Habib after receiving the special award as coach
Ranjan Chowdhury who was presented ‘lifetime’ award for his contribution to Indian football as a coach by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday in Bhubaneswar, was remembering late Mohammed Habib as his mentor at the Tata Football Academy. Chowdhury worked as the TFA for more than two decades, helping the academy to produce 127 India internationals. Speaking over phone from Chennai Chowdhury, said, “TFA was the most memorable phase of my coaching career. Not only I got the world class infrastructure at TFA, I got the teachers like PK Bannerjee, Chuni Goswami, and Mohammed Habib there. I learned a lot about the game from game.” When asked about his idol as coach the 68-year-old coach did not hesitate to make Habib’s name. “I had two idols. Habib was one and the other one was a German coach Rote Muller. I learned discipline, how to motivate and create tenacity among the footballers from Habib.” Chowdhury also remembered Pune FC academy infrastructure adding, “After TFA I remember Pune FC academy where we had modern infrastructure and facilities and that is reason many footballers including Amrinder Singh and Ashique Kurniyan earned prominence later.” Chowdhury has been in charge of the youth development program of Gokulam FC since the last season and when asked about the prospect, explained, “A lot of young potential footballers are there but they will take time to get mature. The club needs to build up its own infrastructure for the quick progress of its youth development program.” Chowdhury seems willing to work in Bengal again. He said, “I was in East Bengal and I helped them to produce several footballers also like Mehtab Singh. So, If I get opportunity again to work in Bengal, I can be back.”
Love for RCB? Or a new business approach? Content creator’s entertaining poster across Bangalore; ‘Donate Rs 10 for RCB’
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) remains one of the most talked-about franchises, with a massive fan base and some of the biggest names in cricket. Still, the franchise has yet to win an IPL title, and its struggle has become both a rallying cry and a meme. Riding that wave of fandom and humor, content creator Sarthak Sachdeva devised a social experiment that quickly went viral. He printed QR codes linked to his payment account with the words “Donate Rs.10 for RCB Goodluck” and pasted them across public places, walls, poles, and random street corners. The video starts with Sarthak quietly sticking the QR codes around the city. What begins as a seemingly silly idea takes a surprising turn as people actually start noticing the codes, scanning them, and making payments, all for the love of RCB or perhaps just for the laugh. By the end of the day, he had received Rs.1,200 from random strangers. The quirky video racked up 3.5 million views online. Many took to the comments section to react. A user wrote, ‘Naya business idea.’ Another added, “Iske baad agr RCB na jeete toh ro dungi” RCB is currently second on the points table with 7 wins from 10 matches, all of which have come in away games, a testament to their ability to perform under pressure. However, their only losses this season have been at home, raising concerns as they enter the final stretch of the league. With four matches left, including three at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB will need to overcome their inconsistent home record to maintain momentum.
