Sailen Manna
Sailendra Nath Manna (; 1 September 1924 – 27 February 2012), known popularly as Sailen Manna, was an Indian football player who represented the India national team between 1948 and 1956. Predominantly played as a left-back, Manna is considered as one of the best defenders the country has ever produced. He has represented and captained India in different international competitions, including the Olympics and Asian Games. He also has represented Mohun Bagan in club football, one of the oldest clubs in India, for a continuous period of 19 years. Manna was the only Asian footballer to be named among the ten best Captains in the world by the English FA in 1953. Education Manna graduated from the Surendranath College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta. He worked for the Geological Survey of India. Club career Manna started his playing career with Howrah Union, then a club in the second Division of the Kolkata Football League, in 1940. After turning out for the club for a couple of seasons, he joined Mohun Bagan in 1942 and continued playing for the club till his retirement in 1960. Between 1950 and 1955, he featured as the club's captain. During his 19-year association with the club as player, he reportedly earned only 19. Speaking to Sportstar in 2006, he reasoned that he "played out of love for the sport and was happy with the salary I got from my employer, the Geological Survey of India." As a defender, Manna was known for his anticipation, covering and a strong free kick. He also represented Bengal football team in Santosh Trophy and played alongside Sheoo Mewalal, winning the tournament in 1953–54 season defeating Mysore 3–1 in final. He was also part of Bengal's multiple Santosh Trophy wins under coaching of Balaidas Chatterjee. International career Manna was part of the India national team managed by Balaidas Chatterjee that participated at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He went to Europe with the national team in July to play preparatory matches against English teams like Pinner F.C., Hayes F.C. and Alexandra Park FC before the main tournament. In the Olympics, their first match was against Burma, and it was a walkover. Then, they played their one and only match against France, and was defeated by a margin of 1–2 with Indian goal coming from Sarangapani Raman. Manna played in the tournament in bare feet; their bravery earned admiration of Princess Margaret of England. With India, he later went on to play few friendly matches with captain Talimeren Ao in their Nederlands tour, where they went down to Sparta Rotterdam but won 5–1 against Ajax Amsterdam. Under his captaincy, India won the gold medal in the 1951 Asian Games, and also won the Quadrangular Tournament for four consecutive years from 1952 to 1956. In 1953, the England Football Association rated him among the ten best skippers of the world in its yearbook. Manna was also the captain of the Syed Abdul Rahim managed Indian team in 1952