He strode the penalty area like a king. It was his domain. “Yes, I was the king of the penalty box,” Bhaskar Ganguly, now 58, says with a smile. The once-packed Ambedkar Stadium is sparsely dotted with football fans. Ganguly, reflecting on the glory days of the game and the venue, can only wistfully glance around, looking for a familiar face from the past. There is none.
As a goalkeeper, Ganguly was a picture of perfection. A fearless man, he was not at all averse to discard his post and meet the marauder at the top of the box.
Such was his confidence. He would mostly intercept the attacker, leaving him frustrated. Such was his anticipation. One hardly saw the ball slip out of his grip. He would pluck it in a flash making corner kicks a hopeless exercise for the opposition.
To beat Ganguly under the bar was a dream for some; an illusion for many. He gave little chance. “You think so?” he asks.
“I conceded four goals against East Bengal,” he quips. Well, that was in 1975, in the IFA Shield final, when Ganguly was a fresh face in Calcutta’s fiery field of football. It was nothing short of scripting your football epitaph — Mohun Bagan goalkeeper giving away four goals to East Bengal. “I couldn’t step out of the house for three months,” he recalls.
Turning pointIt was unthinkable mortification. Career over for most! But not for Ganguly. “It was the turning point of my life. I became Bhaskar Ganguly the goalkeeper that day.”
The following season he crossed over to East Bengal and three years later represented India at the Asian Games. He led the country at the Asian Games held in Delhi.
A goalkeeper is a lonely man despite being the watchdog of the team. He is feted only when he wins a tie-break.
“Goalkeeping is a very prestigious job. He is the last line of defence and first line of attack. Behind him lies only the net and abuses (from the crowd) when he fails.
“The striker has the midfield and defence has the goalkeeper as back up. But not the goalkeeper. His life changes in the fraction of a second. He has to be supremely fit. Not gymnasium fit but gymnastics fit. I call it acrobatic fitness,” says Ganguly. He pointed out how India goalkeeper Gurpreet Sandhu had a stiff waist that affected his work under the bar.
How did he view the trend of goalkeeping coaches? “Times have changed but I would prefer former goalkeepers to be the coaches because their experience would count.
“One of the top Kolkata Clubs strangely has a former striker as a goalkeeping coach,” he chuckles.
A modern trend that disturbs Ganguly, who is in Delhi as a talent spotter for the Subroto Cup, is goalkeepers preferring to punch the ball to gripping. “They lack confidence I think. Even straight balls are punched. Strange.”
Why did he never get an award? “Maybe because I did not run after it. But leading India at the Asian Games was an award I treasure.” His mobile number ends with four zeroes.
“The number of goals I conceded in the IFA final,” Ganguly’s laughter sums up the unsung custodian.
He has no complaints against anyone.
