[22] In 1953, he joined Jamshedpur FA and made his debut against Hindustan Aircrafts [sic] Limited in IFA Shield.

[24][25] Later he went on to represent Eastern Railway,[26][27] and played under coaching of both Bagha Some and Sushil Bhattacharya, who guided them winning CFL in 1958.

[33] He made his international debut for India at the 1955 Quadrangular tournament in Dacca (presently Dhaka), East Pakistan (now capital of Bangladesh) at the age of 19.

[59] As one of the finest coaches in the history of Indian football, Banerjee came to be known for his inspirational pep talk to players termed as "vocal tonic" before games.

[60] He managed India national team at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand and led them clinching bronze medal.

[61][62][63] In that tournament, he had players like captain Syed Nayeemuddin, Sukalyan Ghosh Dastidar, Shyam Thapa, Mohammed Habib, Magan Singh.

The next year in 1971, he gave India an international title, winning Pesta Sukan Cup in Singapore.

[64] Banerjee began his coaching career in Bata SC, and then went on to manage his older club Eastern Railway.

[72] Under his guidance, Mohun Bagan's performance against the American club featuring Pelé, Carlos Alberto Torres and Giorgio Chinaglia, earned popularity worldwide.

That 9–0 result against the Maldivian outfit is still the biggest margin of victory by an Indian team over any foreign opponents.

[80] His one of the finest Kolkata Derby games as head coach of East Bengal was the semi-final of 1997 Federation Cup, one of the most anticipated matches in Indian football history, in which he guided the club in front of 131,000+ spectators at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan,[81][82][83] a 4–1 win against Amal Dutta's Mohun Bagan.

He had also won the International Fair Play Award from the Olympic Committee, a feat that is yet to be repeated by any Indian footballer.

[99][100][101][102] On 12 May 2023, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) declared Banerjee's birth anniversary as "AIFF Grassroots Day", keeping in line with the strategic roadmap named Vision 2047, which seeks to increase grassroots' participation in the country, to engage 35 million children in football by 2026 and up to 100 million by 2047.