For Bengal the long wait is over having won the coveted Santosh Trophy after 11 years. It was not champagne football all the way but gritty Bengal overcame adversity to win the title for the 30th time. In the final, they missed three key players due to injuries, winger Subash Chakraborty, and dashing strikers Shanker Oraon and Nilendra Dewan but still dominated and won.
Their former international striker Tariff Ahmed was also off colour and was replaced by attacking midfielder Souvik Chakraborty in the 36th minute. Coach Shabbir Ali’s shrewd substitution paid dividends. Bengal altered their game-plan and played in a 4-5-1 system, with the burly 20-year-old Robin Singh as the target-man.
Such versatility and mental toughness, a tribute to Shabbir’s coaching enabled Bengal win. In both the semi-finals and final, they trailed opponents Goa and Punjab respectively by a solitary goal but came from behind to win. Winning after a long lapse was beneficial as Bengal’s triumph led to lucrative cash awards. The West Bengal Government announced a Rs. 5 lakh reward. Kaustav Roy the Chirag United boss and IFA Secretary Utpal Ganguly also announced similar sums as rewards. The Tower Group, main sponsors of the Bengal squad promised an all expense paid holiday trip to Malaysia for the entire squad.
Some of the legendary past players like Surojit Sengupta (the victorious 1976 squad skipper) and Satyajit Chatterjee (the 1988 wining team captain ) were quite envious that during their years of domination, they never got such lucrative rewards. In March 1996, Bengal won the Santosh trophy for three years in a row, beating hosts Goa 2-0 in Margao. Bengal’s coach Syed Nayeemuddin became the first coach in Santosh Trophy history to guide a state team to three successive triumphs. Yet the reward for all this glory was a paltry sum of Rs. 25,000 per player. Bengal benefited from other states not utilising the domicile rule properly. The charismatic Robin (who equalised against Goa) was born in Delhi but he categorically stated that he received no call from his home state and so accepted Shabbir’s request to play for Bengal. Similarly crafty midfielder Denson Devadas, who scored both goals in the final represented Kerala in the 2006 Santosh Trophy but this time was ignored by his state. So Delhi and Kerala’s loss was Bengal’s gain.
In the sixties and seventies all players considered the Santosh Trophy the most important tournament in India. The selection of the India team was based on the performance of players in the senior national championships. Santo Mitra, the victorious 1969 Bengal squad skipper also got a chance to play for India after performing well in the Santosh Trophy in Nowgong. Santo recalled that not playing well in the Santosh Trophy diminished your chances of playing for the country.
The Santosh Trophy’s value has been diluted over the years and it is now mainly a breeding ground for young talent. Creditably in the recent 64th Santosh Trophy many lesser known players like striker Milagres Gonsalves and midfielders Adil Khan and Cavin Lobo(Goa), Gurwinder Singh striker Balwant Singh and defender Mandeep Singh (Punjab), Denson, Robin and skipper Snehashish Chakraborty (Bengal) enhanced their reputations.