Professionalism pays

There8217;s one way to get Subhas Bhowmick all riled up. Ask the East Bengal coach if his team8217;s recent, and current, successes are du...

There8217;s one way to get Subhas Bhowmick all riled up. Ask the East Bengal coach if his team8217;s recent, and current, successes are due to the big money pouring in. 8216;8216;Are we talking professionalism or what8217;8217;, an exasperated Bhowmick replies.

That8217;s what the former Maidan star seems to have done to the club he once played for. Whether it8217;s detailed planning, boosting morale or perfecting man-management, Bhowmick hasn8217;t left anything to chance.

One hallmark of his reign 8212; the second with the club in his coaching career 8212; is the fact that he is his own master. 8216;8216;Interference of any sort is the bane of production8217;8217;, he believes, and his bosses at the club have given him the freedom.

That8217;s an unusual trend among Indian clubs, where the preferred practice is for the management to interfere. But assistant manager Swapan Bol says: 8216;8216;It was left to Bhowmick alone. He said and we did.8217;8217;

The winning was in the planning, says football legend PK Banerjee. 8216;8216;Things rarely have been so business-like. Not even the national team went about their job in such a manner8217;8217;, he says, referring to their pre-season training.

If the success can be put down to one tanguble reason, his name is Kevin Jackson. The South African fitness trainer became the first of his kind when he joined East Bengal a few months ago, on 1,000 a month, at Bhowmick8217;s initiative.

8216;8216;It was important,8217;8217; the coach had said, explaining that Indian footballers were known to last for just 60-65 minutes in international matches. 8217;8217;With no fitness, it was no sense in having an aim.8217;8217;

Story continues below this ad

Today, the team is fit to operate at near-full steam for at least 80 minutes. 8217;8217;A vast difference,8217;8217; opines Vasco SC coach Derrick D8217;Souza.

Jackson8217;s work has come in for praise from the club8217;s biggest star, Bhaichung Bhutia, whose own role in east bengal8217;s fortunes can8217;t be overestimated. 8216;8216;A fitness trainer is what ever Indian club should have,8217;8217; he said.

Indeed, Bhutia8217;s return to form 8212; he had a miserable run last season 8212; was said to have been sparked off by a counselling session with Bhowmick. It8217;s helped that he8217;s playing alongside foreigners Suley Musah and Douglas D8217;Silva, who have helped him raise his game.

And that8217;s what East Bengal are doing to the Indian game. Jakarta is the first step, hopefully the pack is following.