A finest thinker of the sport,[4] Dutta had a rivalry with Pradip Kumar Banerjee during his coaching days in Kolkata club football.
[9] Dutta made his full-time professional club football debut in the CFL, in early 1950s, appeared with East Bengal in three consecutive seasons from 1953 to 1956.
[9] On 25 October 1953, Dutta made his national team debut against Pakistan in Rangoon during the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, which was his only appearance for India.
His first Kolkata Derby match against Mohun Bagan ended in a 3–0 defeat in CFL, and in the return leg, East Bengal bounced back and clinched a 2–0 victory.
[26] With Mohun Bagan, Dutta won multiple trophies including a "double" in 1969 (IFA Shield and Calcutta Football League).
[28] He then utilized an innovative 3–4–3 "Diamond System", with Abdul Khaliq and Okerie in the front, the club played offensively, which was rare in Indian football.
At the 1997 Federation Cup, one of the most anticipated matches in Indian football history, Dutta managed the club against Banerjee's East Bengal in front of the recorded 131,000+ spectators at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
[38] In September 2006, Dutta was roped in as head coach of Chirag United in place of Belgian manager Philippe De Ridder.
[26] He managed noted Indian club Dempo in 1981–82 and helped the team clinching Goa Senior Division League title in 1981.
[42] In his coaching career, he managed the India national football team and helped them clinching gold at the 1987 South Asian Games, held in Pakistan.
During his early days with the "red and gold brigade" as head coach, he felt that 2–3–5 formation is outdated and wanted to try a three-man defence influenced by the Soviet Union.
[46] He brought the iconic Brazilian 4–2–4 system in Mohun Bagan despite opposition from club legends including Sailen Manna, and later used the bold 3–4–3 formation.
[11] As chief coach of India, Dutta introduced the 4–4–2 formation at the Football at the 1987 South Asian Games, in which they won gold defeating Nepal.
[46] In his working career before entering into coaching, Dutta was employed in both Bengal Nagpur Railway and Income Tax Department of India.