Krishanu Dey

Krishanu Dey
কৃশানু দে

Personal information
Date of birth	14 February 1962
Place of birth	Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Date of death	20 March 2003 (aged 41)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1979–1980	Calcutta Police	?	(?)
1980–1982	Calcutta Port Trust	?	(?)
1982–1984	Mohun Bagan	?	(?)
1985–1991	East Bengal Club	?	(?)
1992–1993	Mohun Bagan	?	(?)
1994	East Bengal Club	?	(?)
1995–1997	Food Corporation of India F.C.
National team
? – ?	India	14	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Krishanu Dey (Bengali: কৃশানু দে; 14 February 1962 – 20 March 2003) was an Indian footballer from Kolkata, India. He was an attacking midfielder and was known as the "Indian Maradona" among his fans due to his footballing skills and playing style.¹

Club career

Krishanu began his professional career in the Kolkata League with the Calcutta Police Team in 1979 and shifted to Calcutta Port Trust Team in 1980. After spending a couple of seasons there, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1982. He played for Mohun Bagan till 1984 and then joined their arch-rival East Bengal Club in 1985. He played for East Bengal continuously for a period of 7 years before returning to Mohun Bagan in 1992. Krishanu again returned to East Bengal in 1994 for a season before joining his employer Food Corporation of India's football team in 1995. He played for them till his retirement in 1997. He also coached Food Corporation of India and Kalighat Club after retirement.^{2 3} He was one of the highest paid Indian footballers of eighties and along with his close friend and fellow midfielder Bikash Panji formed a lethal combination on the field.⁴

International career

Krishanu represented India in 10 list 'A' matches and scored 7 goals⁵ including a hattrick in Merdeka Tournament in Malayasia, 1986.⁶ He took part in Asian Games (1986), Merdeka Cup, Pre-Olympics, SAFF Games and Asian Cup as a member of the Indian team. He was the captain of the Indian team in 1992 Asian Cup.⁷

Personal life

He died on 20 March 2003 following a pulmonary disorder and multi-organ failure in a Kolkata hospital. He is survived by his wife and a son.⁸ The Indian Football Association has named their under-19 football league in his memory.⁹

References

• ¹, ⁶ – Krishanu Dey's Profile at Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club official site
• ², ⁷ – rediff.com coverage on Krishanu Dey's death
• ³, ⁵ – Indianfootball.com, Hall of Fame
• ⁴, ⁸ – Times of India coverage on Krishanu Dey's death
• ⁹ – The Telegraph, India

External links

• Krishanu Dey – FIFA competition record
• Article on Krishanu Dey
• PROFILE