Theodore Roosevelt said that in Life, as in Football, the principle to follow is to ‘Hit the Line Hard’. Going with that principle, bulging the net with a powerful shot or a well-placed header is a feeling which cannot be described - ask any footballer.
Football is incomplete without goal-scoring, with important components like defending and distribution to complete and compliment.
Strikers are a different breed they say, and here, we reveal it. The Indian Football team has been a sleeping giant on the football scenario and here we take a look at the flag-bearers of attacking flair for the Blue Tigers.
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Let us take a look at India’s finest strikers, who’ve won it all at the club level and made the country proud at the International circuit with their exploits in front of the goal.
#5 Prasun Kumar Banerjee
The first lethal striker Indian football ever produced, PK Banerjee or PK, as he was fondly called, is regarded as one of the finest players to grace the pitch in Indian football. Born and brought up in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, PK started his career playing for the Bihar State Football team as a right winger.
PK represented the state at an age of 15 in the Santosh trophy and moved to Bengal at the age of 18, signing for Aryan for a short stint. Soon, he moved to Eastern Railway and caught the eye of the national selectors.
PK was called onto the National Team at just 19 years of age when he was selected to play in the Quadrangular tournament in 1955. PK represented India in three Asian Cup tournaments from 1958 to 1966, winning the gold medal in the 1962 edition. PK was part of the team which took part in the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. Such was the growth of this talisman that he led the nation at the next Summer Olympics, in Rome in 1960. His equalizer against France in a 1-1 draw is one of the most important goals in Indian football history.
Recurring injuries and poor medics in the country forced the goal-scoring machine to retire at an early age of 31 in the year 1967. PK has scored 65 goals for the nNational team in just 84 appearances, at a whopping strike rate of 0.77.
Agonizingly, FIFA calculates just some of those matches as official and the tally drops down to 19 goals from 36 matches, with a strike rate of 0.53, still better than Ian Rush and Alan Shearer of international fame.
His poaching instincts and powerful presence in the box was a terrible sight for defenders. His positioning sense was praise-worthy and he was known to carry a swagger about him on and off the field.
Accolades
He has been awarded the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004, which recognizes PK as India’s best footballer of the 20th Century. PK is also the only Indian to be awarded the Fair Play award by FIFA, and has been bestowed with the Arjuna Award, the highest civilian award in sports in India.
He’s also been awarded the Padma Shri in 1990, one of the highest civilian awards in India.
#4 Shabbir Ali
There are dark-horses, there are fighters against all odds, and then there’s Shabbir Ali. Shabbir began his professional career at the Tata Football Academy in Mumbai in the 1970s. His performances made people’s heads turn and East Bengal, thus, came calling in the late 70s.
Shabbir played as a striker who could do anything with the ball. He was a sharp-shooter, an able header of the ball and a poacher in the box, which means he had all the attributes to be a complete striker. He’s regarded as India’s best player of the 1970s and 1980s.
Shabbir got a call-up to the India U-19 squad in 1974. In the Asian Youth U-19 Cup, India emerged joint victors with Iran, Shabbir scoring 5 goals. He got the call-up to the National Team in the same year and went on to become one of the most prolific scorers in Indian football history.
In the 1976 Merdeka football tournament, Shabbir scored a hat-trick against Indonesia in just 35 minutes, which stands as a national record! Shabbir played 100 matches for the nation, scoring 35 goals. FIFA statistics notify that the striker played 72 matches for the country, scoring 23 goals.
On the club scene, Shabbir left East Bengal for Mohammedan SC, where he rose to the top of his game. The club had one of its most successful stints under him, winning 9 back-to-back tournaments in 1983-84, which included two Federation Cups.
Accolades
Shabbir won the Dhyan Chand Award in 2011, awarded by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, Government of India, for which he was nominated before.
Strangely, he never won the Arjuna Award, for which he was nominated thrice. Shabbir has a steely resolve, a fighter’s attitude and nerves of a warrior.
#3 IM Vijayan
IM Vijayan just took 3 more seconds to score a goal in an International match, than what Usain Bolt took to complete a 100-metre dash. Born in Kerala in 1969, Vijayan is one of the finest players India has ever produced.
The tall and lanky striker played for Kerala Police and was later snapped by Mohun Bagan. Vijayan kept growing in stature and class throughout his journey, getting better every season.
Vijayan was first called up for India in 1989 and he represented India in a number of tournaments. With Baichung Bhutia, Vijayan formed one of the deadliest forward lines the Indian football team has ever seen, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The 3rd fastest ever goal came in the 1999 SAF games against Bhutan, when he managed the feat in just 12 seconds. Only David Gualtieri and Hakan Sukur have managed to better this record.
By the time Vijayan hung his boots, he had already rocketed to 40 goals in 79 appearances for the Blue Tigers. Vijayan has won the 1999 SAFF Cup with the Indian National Team and has always been known to score important goals at critical junctures of the game.
From a soda seller at a stadium to winning the hearts of the nation, Vijayan has come out a long way in his journey, which has been breath-taking. Vijayan has set up a training academy in his hometown and has been grooming players ever since he retired.
Accolades
The striker has won the Indian player of the Year award in 1993, 1997 and 1999, being the first footballer to win the award multiple times. To complete a brilliant career, IM Vijayan was chosen for the Arjuna Award in 2003.
#2 Baichung Bhutia
Arguably the best Indian footballer to ever grace the pitch, IM Vijayan called Baichung Bhutia ‘God’s gift to Indian football’. Known as the Sikkimese Sniper for his shooting prowess, Bhutia could possibly do anything on the football pitch.
Bhutia was also regarded as a natural leader who had the instinct to win. Bhutia caught the eye of clubs in India when he won the ‘Best Player’ at the 1992 Subroto Cup, and was subsequently signed by East Bengal FC in 1993.
On the national front, Baichung formed one of the finest partnerships up front with IM Vijayan, leading India to SAFF Cup titles in 1997 and 1999. India also won the 2007 Nehru Cup, Bhutia playing a critical part in the final.
Bhutia captained the India side to victory in the 2005 SAFF Cup, winning the Most Valuable Player and the Fair Play trophy. In the 2009 Nehru Cup, Bhutia earned his 100th National Cap, becoming the first Indian player to do so.
Bhutia hung his boots after the dismal 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and played his testimonial match against Bayern Munich FC on 10th January, 2012. Bhutia has scored 40 goals in 104 International appearances.
Bhutia became the first Indian footballer to have played for an European club when he signed for Bury FC in 1999.
Accolades
Baichung won the Arjuna Award in 1998. The sharp-shooter was anointed the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award in 2008. Bhutia was awarded the Banga Bhushan Award in 2014.
The only Indian to feature in the AFC Hall of Fame, Bhutia was included in the coveted list in 2014. He became the first Indian player to play against Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
#1 Sunil Chhetri
The baton-bearer from IM Vijayan and Baichung, Sunil Chhetri is the most celebrated and successful Indian footballer of all time. Chhetri started his professional career at Mohun Bagan in 2002-03.
Chhetri also played for East Bengal and Dempo and was linked to a number of foreign clubs, including Leeds United, DC United and Queen Park Rangers. In the 2007 Nehru Cup, Chhetri scored four and created a few goals in India’s victorious campaign. India won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup owing to Chhetri’s hat-trick in the final against Tajikistan.
Chhetri led the National Team in the 2012 Nehru Cup, scoring three crucial goals and won the trophy for the Blue Tigers. Chhetri has scored 50 goals in just 90 appearances for the Blues. Playing anywhere in the attacking third, Chhetri has always been a goal-scoring threat throughout the world. With a knack of scoring important and impossible goals, Chhetri has bailed the National team out of danger on a number of times.
Chhetri signed for MLS club Kansas City Wizards in 2010, becoming the 3rd Indian to play outside South Asia and the 1st to ply his trade in the US. Chhetri played a friendly against Manchester United, becoming the second Indian player to do so.
In 2012, Chhetri signed for Portuguese side Sporting Clube De Portugal to play with its reserve team. The striker plays for the Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League and Bengaluru FC in the I-League. He is the first Indian player to score a hat-trick in ISL.
Accolades
Chhetri has been the AIFF Footballer of the Year in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014. He has also won the AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player in 2008. Chhetri has been the top-scorer at various International tournaments, like the Nehru Cup and the SAFF Championship, both in 2011.
He was also awarded the SAFF Championship Player of the Tournament in 2011.
