Subrata Pal

Mohun Bagan

A graduate of the Tata Football Academy, Paul started his senior career with Mohun Bagan in 2004. During the 2004 Federation Cup final against Dempo on 5 December 2004, Dempo forward Cristiano Júnior lost his life after he and Paul collided. Following the incident, lack of facilities and medical professionals during the game was highlighted, leading to significant changes in the I-League.

East Bengal

Subrata was signed by local rivals East Bengal in 2007. He was an important figure for his team during the time he spend for the Kolkata-based club and was adjudged the I-League's best goalkeeper in 2007 for his outstanding shot-stopping abilities, an example of which was in East Bengal's Federation Cup winning campaign of 2007, resulting in his team qualifying for the AFC Cup 2008. Subrata appeared 31 times in the league for East Bengal and was the first choice 'keeper for the Kolkata-based team.

Pune

On 2 June 2009, Subrata joined Pune FC. In the middle of the I-League 2009-10 season, Subrata had a trial stint with Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps in the summer of 2010. Subrata expressed his desire to play abroad in the professional leagues of North America, Europe and Asia. He later said that "There was no offer coming from any club agent of any country during the Asian Cup. But I am looking for any offer to play abroad. Europe is the best place to play. But I am game to go to countries like South Korea, Japan, Australia and even the…

Subrata has played for India at all age groups. He rose to prominence with the Under-23 team in the Pre-Olympic qualifiers where he pulled off 3 saves in a crucial penalty shootout against Myanmar hence enabling India to qualify for the Group stage. In the group stages his goalkeeping abilities helped India pull off an unexpected draw at home against the formidable Iraq. In 2007, he replaced Sandip Nandy as the Indian Senior Team's number 1 for the Nehru Cup in 2007 where he was adjudged the best goalkeeper in a competitive field which included the likes of Mosab Balhous.

Nehru Cup 2007

Paul was noted for his sharp goalkeeping as part of Baichung Bhutia's successful Indian team of the Nehru Cup 2007. His saves were noted in the semi-finals against Kyrgyzstan, which enabled India to reach the finals of this tournament for the first time. In the final, India faced Syria, against whom they had lost an earlier group stage match. In this match, he staved off wave after wave of attack by the Qasioun Eagles. India defeated Syria by a 1–0 margin to win the tournament for the first time. Coach Bob Houghton said that "Subrata was splendid in goal", while The Hindu wrote:

India owed the triumph immensely to an impeccable performance under the bar by Subrata Paul. His anticipation in cutting off Syria’s aerial forays was the most striking feature of the contest.

AFC Challenge Cup 2008

He was part of the victorious India national football team in the AFC…

Club

As of 24 May 2022

International

Statistics accurate as of 16 June 2017

India

AFC Challenge Cup: 2008 SAFF Championship: 2015; runner-up: 2008, 2013 Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009, 2012 Tri-Nation Series: 2017 Individual

Arjuna Award: 2016 East Bengal "Player of the Season Award": 2008