Former Indian football captain Carlton Chapman dies of heart attack

Former India football captain Carlton Chapman, who had formed a deadly trio in club football with Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan within the 1990s, died on Monday following a attack in Bengaluru.

He was 49. Chapman was hospitalised on Sunday night at a hospital in Bengaluru and gave up the ghost early this morning.

“I got a call from Bengaluru from one among his friends that Chapman is not any more. He gave up the ghost early this morning. He was a happy-go-lucky man, always smiling and prepared to assist others,” Chapman’s one-time India team-mate Bruno Coutinho told PTI from Goa.

A creative midfielder, Chapman played for India between 1995 and 2001 and therefore the country won the 1997 SAFF Cup under his captaincy. At the club level, he had two successful spells with East Bengal and one with now-defunct JCT Mills.

A product of the Tata Football Academy in early 1990s, Chapman joined East Bengal in 1993 and scored a hat-trick in his team’s 6-2 win against Iraq club Al Zawra during a first round match at the Asian Cup Winners Cup that year.

But his best came after moving to JCT in 1995. Chapman won 14 trophies with the Punjab-based club, including the inaugural National league in 1996-97, and formed a formidable combination with Vijayan and Bhutia.

Chapman later joined now-defunct FC Kochin. But after one season, he returned to East Bengal in 1998 and therefore the club won the NFL under his captaincy in 2001. He announced his retirement from football in 2001.