He was ruthlessly thrown into the darkness of the night. Also had to watch close friends drift away from him. Shankarlal Chakraborty, the Indian assistant coach of ISL club Punjab FC, has tried to provide valuable mental support to the devastated, distraught East Bengal-Mohammedan fans from his own experience. His diacritic message to the spectators of the two Calcutta Giants was, "Don't be afraid when you see the clouds, the sun smiles behind them." After losing six consecutive matches in the ISL, the Red and Gold brigade are severely slumped at the bottom of the points table. On the other hand, The Black Panthers are now ebbing in number eleven. The former Calcutta League Championed MB Head Coach, a veteran of many wars, says, “East Bengal-Mohammedan Sporting are the Legendary Clubs of the Asian confederation. How many traditions they have. It is very disappointing for me to witness them within a bumbling ambience. I firmly believe they will make a magnificent comeback”.
The former I-League championed Bengali Assistant Coach witnessed both the ups and downs of his life. He also succeeded in his disintegrated life through a tremendous come back. Nigerian Chima broke his leg in a clash with Okorie in a highly emotional match. Even after a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, the former East Bengal footballer did not regain his rhythmic playing style. It is usually said that, ‘behind every successful man there stands a woman’. Shankarlal started his coaching career with the encouragement of his wife Poulami. Successfully, the Bengali veteran started surpassing his destinations one after another. Working together with Sanjay Sen brought Mohun Bagan to the I-League after a long wait. He had taken over the Green and Maroon remote control in a single hand. Like a Midas king, he is constantly producing gold in whatever he catches. Even in
At the final footballing podium of Reliance Foundation Development League, his mastermind forced EB to surrender in front of Roundglass Punjab boys. Shankar's coaching prowess has also been reflected on British soil. His Young Turks prostrated the International famed Aston Villa and Everton.
Shankarlal has pointed out that "Success always depends on our team game. We have reaped the benefits of well-planned grassroots and youth systems. An unimaginable effort of our Technical Director Nicholas strikingly contributed to this matter. One thing must be said, The boys who have played in our youth system are very talented, first rated and dedicated. Their tactical cum scientific footballing sense is very much polished. We went from undefeated to Development League champions, conceding only three goals within 17 matches. This substantiates the strength of the team, the unyielding attitude of the boys”.
Shankarlal also added "I went to play with one thing in mind. We are not only the representatives of Punjab. I went to represent the country. Before going to England, I took a month of preparation. I decided not to play attacking football from the beginning. We got the benefit of the plan. If we had jumped from the very beginning, we would have had a miserable result like the other two clubs in India”.
He is quite an introvert, always trying to keep his mind cool, calm and composed during the days of intense battles into the green field. The Dutch legends Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola's coaching styles motivated him to take a foothold. He never forgot to give a grand salute to his mentor Subhash Bhowmick (the then National League and ASEAN championed Football manager). "Success doesn't come overnight," the wise Shankarlal said. A lot of hard work, a lot of planning is the result of success. I dreamed of coaching abroad and winning. I will not defend with ten people. Before going to the Next Gen Cup, I showed the movie “The Maidan of the Boys”. According to them, all the footballers brought honor to the country. Along with technical-tactical knowledge, these also motivate the players.
