Jahar Das is a popular name in Indian football. It is not a secret anymore that this experienced coach was the anchorman behind Aizawl FC’s maiden I-league triumph. Das was in charge of the grassroots and youth development programme of the Mizoram outfit for consecutive three years and under his tutelage, Aizawl FC could rope in most of the talented senior Mizo footballers who played important roles to help their team win I-League under the coaching of Khalid Jamil.

Peerless FC that shone in promoting itself from second division to Kolkata Premier division under the coaching of former Indian international Shabbir Ali in the early 90s is almost on the verge of creating history in Kolkata Premier League, under the coaching of Jahar Das, at least officially. East Bengal must have to win by a margin of seven goals in its concluding Kolkata Premier League tie to snatch the title from Peerless FC. The history is made after a gap of 61 years after Eastern Railway, under the captaincy of legendary Pradip Banerjee won Kolkata League in 1958.

Peerless FC is almost on the verge of creating history in Calcutta Football League, under the coaching of Jahar Das.

On Tuesday, while speaking to The Bridge, the first thing that Das said that P K Banerjee’s blessing has been the most precious gift he has got in last two days after Peerless defeated George Telegraph in their concluding match to secure the title. Das, who had gone to P K Banerjee’s house on the day, said:

“Pradip da blessed me for the success and advised me to continue the hard work. The lessons that he had given to all the footballers of our generation who has been coaching nowadays was a big boost for me.”

Das took over the charge of Peerless FC from Biswajit Bhattacharya on 12th June 2019, and by that time, the club officials had already constructed the team. He explained, “I must thank three persons initially for the team’s success. They are Sonai Chand, Ashoke Dasgupta — the two club officials who had retained most of the last season’s footballers and the third one is Biswajit Bhattacharya, the previous season’s coach. He made the foundation work of the boys so well that I did not have to begin from zero.”

When asked about his preparation with the boys this season, Das gave an interesting view explaining:

First of all, from the beginning of the season, I had doubt whether East Bengal and Mohun Bagan would be able to clinch the title this season. The key reason is most of the footballers in East Bengal and Mohun Bagan this season are Spanish. I knew they would be in great difficulty to perform their best on the slushy and muddy field in maidan in this rainy season. On the contrary, the African footballers of our team are habituated in playing on this tricky kind of field with their last one or two years’ experience. So I was not much worried about East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Das clarified, he gave importance to the improvement of footballers’ individual skillset and the combination among them along with the development of their fitness level. The coach revealed, “I was rather anxious about Bhawanipore. They were consistent this season. I will not hesitate to say that winning against them was our turning point.”

Jahar Das Das is now looking forward to coaching at the second division of the I-League

Das is now looking forward to coaching at the second division of the I-League. He added, “If Peerless takes part in I-League second division, then I will continue with the team. I have already submitted my proposals to the club management. Let us see. But if the team does not take part, then I will have to search for another team.”