Bhaichung Bhutia - an honest tribute

As the curtains get drawn on the career of one of India’s greatest footballers, tributes are being written left, right and center in both electronic and print media. Having found most of them to be off the mark by varying degrees, I decided write one myself. One that gives an accurate portrayal of the legendary player; instead of waxing eloquent (like sports journalists) or being unfairly cynical (like some ex-players).

One of the main reasons I attempt to write this piece is because I have seen Bhaichung right from the start of his playing career – as a chubby cheeked 16 year old signing on for East Bengal – to the time he struggled with his fitness to make it to the playing eleven in the Asia Cup 2011. This piece is divided into two parts: the first is a technical appreciation of his game, while the second is non technical, largely off-field. Some of the articles written about him since he announced his retirement have left me bemused. All of them make more or less the same claims – ‘he is the best Indian footballer ever’, ‘the most gifted Indian footballer’ (this one’s from Goal.com), etc. This is far from the truth. Bhaichung is neither the best ever, nor the most technically gifted. What makes Bhaichung’s game special are two stand-out features that I haven’t found in any other player in my two decades of watching Indian football.

Baichung Bhutia to play his farewell match as the Bavarian giants come to India

The first is explosive pace. Put more accurately, it is what football coaches term as acceleration. In the first 10-20 meters, Bhaichung was probably the fastest in India. As fast as any 100-meters sprinter in the country. This is a highly precious attribute for an attacking player, and coaches love to have an attacker like that in the team. Those who have watched Lionel Messi or Arjen Robben from the stands (not on TV), or the great Brazilian Ronaldo, would appreciate what I am saying. After pushing my memory to the limits, I can think of only two contemporary Indian players with that kind of explosive pace: Sabir Pasha and Bruno Coutinho. There would be several who would be faster in a 100 or 200-meter stretch, but in a 20-meter sprint, none was as quick as Bhaichung in his prime.

The other key attribute in Bhaichung’s game was his courage in front of the goal. On so many occasions, we have seen Bhaichung fearlessly throw his body in the line of the defender’s boots or in the way of an onrushing goalkeeper to meet a ball that nobody thought he could even get to. Most successful strikers are clinical in front of the goal, who rarely have a bad first touch inside the box, and shoot and head the ball with precision. They are also like ghosts, hiding from their markers inside the box. Today’s Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua, both have some of these attributes. But Bhaichung was different because of his fearlessness inside the box. He was easily the deadliest striker that India has ever had. His fodder was the loose balls in the box that the defenders haven’t covered. Any crosses, diagonal balls or through passes – doesn’t matter at what pace or at what height they were coming – would mean serious danger with Bhaichung around. He was a sharp shooter with both feet and a good header of the ball. But the icing on the cake was his incredible striking ability with bicycle kicks, where he could lift his body in the air to volley almost head-high balls in the back of the net. In fact, an incident as late as the 2008-2009 season comes to mind in an I-League game for Mohun Bagan against Chirag (now Prayag) United. Bhaichung then well into his ‘30s lifted himself in the air to meet a cross more than 5 feet high and essayed a bicycle kick that went inches over the bar.

That said, in terms of skill or ability on the ball, he was definitely not the best ever. Among contemporary India players, I.M. Vijayan, Krishanu Dey and Alvito D’ Cunha were way more gifted than Bhaichung, a fact I am sure Bhaichung himself would acknowledge, having played with all of them in his career. If we go back to the ‘60s or ‘70s, I am sure there would be many more who were more gifted than him, including the likes of Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Prasun Banerjee and Parminder Singh. Just to digress a bit from the topic, a little know player now, Hardeep Singh Sangha, a former JCT and India U21 international was the most gifted left foot since Krishanu Dey that I have seen. Those who have followed Punjabi football through the years would know what I am talking about. Pity he didn’t have a long playing career, but he too was more gifted than Bhaichung. In terms of scoring rate too, Sunil Chhetri is ahead of Bhaichung, and will probably finish his career with more international goals than anyone in India. But none of these players were more deadly inside the box than Bhaichung. That’s the on-field legacy that will survive Bhaichung Bhutia’s playing career.

Off the field, Bhaichung’s legacy is unparalleled in the history of Indian football. For a decade and a half, he was the face of Indian football not just to the outside world, but also to majority of his own countrymen. This is an incredible achievement for a boy from the quaint little village of Tinkitam in North Sikkim, who wore the East Bengal shirt against Mohun Bagan even before he finished school. Obviously his boyish looks, relatively fairer skin, ability to speak English and carry himself in public life laid the foundations of this legacy. Over the years, Bhaichung became increasingly aware of this legacy, and supplemented it with a carefully crafted public persona. He did this without the help of any image management agency, who till today continue to be blind-eyed towards Indian footballers. He was the only real superstar Indian footballer outside Bengal, and among all sections of the society, a fact that made his predecessors not only jealous, but also cynical and in some cases vindictive towards him. Unfortunately and distastefully enough, some of them – who were household names in Indian football – spitted venom on him through local Bengali dailies when he announced his retirement last year.

Bhaichung throughout his career, made as many friends as enemies. But he hardly cared. It was not his job to be generous to everyone he met on the way. His job was to stay true to his shirt and score goals and win matches. Moreover, wherever he went, his place in the team was always secured, and he knew that well enough. On many occasions, this drove him to put his foot down and demand his pound of flesh, be it the rift he had with a few fat, pot-bellied Mohun Bagan officials or be it the formation of FPAI, or be it his unrelenting – and sometimes stubborn – support for Bob Houghton and his methods. Indian football is an unfair place for the players. Every player throughout the history of Indian football knows this well enough, but it was only Bhaichung who showed the guts to stand in the way, rallying his teammates with him. He was a true leader both on and off the field, who has left behind a very difficult legacy for anyone in the next generation to follow.

Having said this, I think Bhaichung Bhutia’s greatest contribution to Indian football is yet to come. That will happen once he hangs up his boots. His post retirement activities around Indian football, I believe, will define his contribution to the game. The work has already begun with the FPAI, United Sikkim Club and his soccer schools. Soon, he will come up with a top class academy in North Bengal, the land for which has already been given to him by the government. In this regard, Bhaichung is unmatched by any former player, however great or gifted he may be. Most of the former players have simply done their cushy day jobs and indulged in leisurely activities in the evening, without bothering to give anything back to the game once they retired. In this aspect, Bhaichung stands on the highest pedestal among all players in the history of Indian football, many of whom were better players than him. Fans of Indian football should be thankful to God that among all the have-nots, He has sent us one Bhaichung Bhutia. As for Bhaichung, we simply can’t thank him enough.