Shankarlal Chakraborty comes across as a mild-mannered, unassuming man, quietly going about supervising his team on the field or in practice, measured with his words in press conferences, quite the polar opposite of his predecessor Sanjoy Sen.

Graduating from the Tata Football Academy in 1996, he joined Mohun Bagan with other giants of the domestic game such as Renedy Singh and Kalyan Choubey. He would join East Bengal the next season but his career would never hit the same heights as his fellow cadets.

“I saw darkness in the light of day (when injured). But I don’t deal with the past while interacting with my players. I don’t give them history lessons, we talk about the present,” says the 42-year-old, speaking over the phone from Bhubaneshwar where Mohun Bagan are due to face Churchill Brothers in the Super Cup on Sunday.

My wife convinced me to take up coaching

The Kolkata derby of August 2, 1997, is most famous for the horrific injury that Shankarlal suffered as the young Bengali had to be carried off on a stretcher. Chima Okorie’s knee-high lunge would break Shankarlal’s shin bone and that was it, a career snuffed out in an instance.

He never completely recovered from that injury and despite playing a pivotal role in Shylo Malsawmtluanga’s goal which would hand East Bengal a 2-1 win in a 2002 derby, he would retire later that year a depressed young footballer at 27.

Having sat on the sidelines for four years, first under Subhash Bhowmick and then under the outspoken Sen, Shankarlal finally had his moment in the sun, as his Bagan team tactically outclassed East Bengal in the derby, 2-0. It could have been five or six after East Bengal went into the match as overwhelming favourites.

“After retiring in 2002, I was depressed, frustrated. I used to shuttle between work and home, and that’s it. My wife, who is also a football lover, told me to take up coaching. I started earning my licenses and joined the Indian Football Association (IFA) Academy,” says Shankarlal.

Despite the third place finish, Shankarlal is pleased with his team’s progress. “When I took over, we were fifth in the table and inconsistent in the league. We finished the season strongly and hopefully we can carry this momentum onto the Super Cup.”

Pressure to win

Three identical defeats of 1-2 to Chennai City, Minerva Punjab and Gokulam Kerala at home derailed Bagan’s campaign however. “It’s true that those losses affected us. But this is football, you have to be realistic. We can’t win every match.”

Injuries haven’t helped the Mariners either. Talisman Sony Norde made a mid-season exit and hero of the first derby, Yuta Kinowaki, was out for a major chunk of the season. “When a player like Sony leaves, it is always hard to replace him. It’s not just him, Yuta also suffered an injury as did (Arijit) Bagui. But I am happy with how the local players responded. They are young and responded positively.”

So how does he compare himself to Sen? Are their management styles the anti-thesis of each other much like their personas? “Personally, I don’t believe in saying anything in public. I believe that anything untoward that I say will hurt Mohun Bagan more than it hurts me. Bagan is an institution, and our words and behaviour are scrutinised. If we don’t have discipline, then we create a problem in society.”

Shankarlal believes the I-League has been competitive this season, as four teams reached the final day with a chance to win the title. Minerva won it, but there is always pressure on Bagan to lift the trophy, “It was a very unique situation where four teams could win it. It is definitely competitive, and there’s always pressure on the two Kolkata clubs to win it. The budgets are high, the teams are prepared meticulously and it’s a football crazy city.”

Need one league now

The Bagan head coach refuses to get drawn on the ISL vs I-League discussion for now. Chakraborty doesn’t get into the details, “We won’t know until we play them. Right now, we face Churchill. That’s our first match.”

He believes that it is the right time to have one league running for six-seven months. “I think the time is ripe for a merged league, with more teams. We need more regions playing football. There are some states where they don’t play the game at all. It can’t always be Bengal, Kerala or Goa.”

The former Calcutta State Transport employee, who has led Bagan in their last two Calcutta Football League seasons believes that the domestic league is still strong and attracts crowds, “More matches should be played at the Maidan. I saw a festive atmosphere for all of our games with dhols and giant screens with full houses.”

Tough man as he is, Chakraborty doesn’t want anything taken for granted. “For me, the catch is to sustain at this level. I am 42, nothing in the coaching stakes, where they consider a 60-year-old to be mature. I have taken up this challenge (of being Bagan head coach) for now, and I have to keep continuing this.”