Ex-East Bengal captain Shanto Mitra dead

Kolkata: Former Indian national team assistant coach and East Bengal captain Shanto Mitra died here on Sunday following a prolonged illness, club sources said.

Mitra, 75, leaves behind his wife and a daughter. Mitra defied his lean frame to acquire fame as left back in national football — a strong power of anticipation and receiving skills being his forte — in the 1960s and early 1970s.

He captained East Bengal when it beat Iran’s PAS Tehran club in a IFA Shield final in 1970. Besides East Bengal, Mitra plied his trade for Wadi FC and Bengal Napur Railway FC (BNR).