Kolkata: Former India’s legendary footballer and famous coach Subhash Bhowmik died on Saturday at a city hospital after prolonged illness. He was 72 years old. Former Indian midfielder Bhowmick was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in 1970. His family sources said that he was suffering from kidney disease and diabetes for a long time and breathed his last at 3.30 am.
“He was undergoing dialysis regularly for the past three and a half months. He also had bypass surgery about 23 years ago. Recently he was admitted to a private hospital in Iqbalpur due to chest infection. After retiring, Bhowmick pursued his career in coaching. He first joined Mohun Bagan as a coach and then went on to become the most successful coach of East Bengal.
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East Bengal won the ASEAN Cup title in 2003 under his coach. Under Bhowmick’s guidance, East Bengal won the National League titles. He then repeated the same success with this team when he joined Churchill Brothers as Technical Director. He was known as ‘Jose Marinho’ of Kolkata Maidan. Bhowmik started his career with the Rajasthan club at the age of 19. The right winger dominated national football for a decade due to his ‘dribbling’ skills. After spending a season in East Bengal, Bhowmik joined Mohun Bagan where he spent three years. After this he was again associated with East Bengal.
He also achieved some special achievements while playing for India. He was a member of the Indian team that won the bronze medal in the Asian Games 1970. He also represented the country in the Asian Games 1974. He scored a hat-trick against Philippines in the Merdeka Cup in 1971. His career was also surrounded by controversies as he was arrested and sent to jail after being found guilty in a bribery case in 2005.