Bhaichung Bhutia’s walk into the sunset

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Watching Bhaichung Bhutia train in earnest before his final match against Bayern Munich of Germany, you can see easily why the man has been playing football at the highest level for close to two decades, no mean feat considering the physical duress a footballer’s body has to go through, and the kind of expectations on the Sikkimese Sniper’s broad shoulders.

The focus, the determination, the cheekiness combined with a fiercely competitive spirit, the indomitable confidence and the aura of a legend that surrounds very few players in world football, a fact recognised by Bayern Munich and it’s players.

Despite all the adulation and fame, Bhaichung retains impeccable manners and is humble to a fault at times, and it’s easy to forget that the man you’re speaking with is an Arjuna Awardee, a Padma Shri winner and quite simply the greatest Indian footballing icon in our cricketing times.

After 16 years of international football, numerous Cup triumphs and over a 100 matches for India (43 goals), is there an overall sense of satisfaction?

Well, obviously I would’ve been happy if we’d achieved much more. But yeah as a player, I would’ve wanted to go higher and become one of the top teams in Asia. But again, looking at the facilities and infrastructure of Indian football at the time I started, personally I would say there is a sense of satisfaction.

What memories do you have of your first international game against Uzbekistan?

I started off as a midfielder and had played there for most of my career prior to the match. It was my first international coach who put me in the strikers role, so it was an interesting switch which turned out to be pretty successful because I scored in that game against Uzbekistan (smiles).

What was the reaction of family and friends when you told them you’d decided to hang up your boots?

My family and close friends knew I would retire after Asian Cup 2011. When we qualified, I’d made myself mentally ready, had put all my post retirement plans in place but it didn’t really work out as I’d hoped. I got a bad injury (calf) and could only feature in the last 15 minutes of our final league game against South Korea. I had postponed the retirement as I wanted to play in that tournament and retire.

Would you say you’ve settled into ‘civilian’, normal life now?

Yeah I have, you know. In fact I’m more associated with football and more in touch with it than during my playing days. Through the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (a venture started in association with Carlos Quieroz and currently with centres at New Delhi and Mumbai) and United Sikkim, I’ve been in regular touch with youngsters starting out their careers and the league too.

So any plans to get into management sometime soon?

Oh no, no plans as of now. I’m focused on the BBFS and my club right now. But you never know... I’m currently managing and playing with United Sikkim, but to truly change the way Indian football is and to bring it to greater heights, I don’t think coaching would be the primary issue, even though it definitely is one. We need to focus on the structure and systems and the commercial aspects of the sport and change the way clubs are run.

Coming to United Sikkim Football Club, this is obviously a project very close to your heart. How is it going to be different from the other clubs in India?

United Sikkim can hopefully be a pioneer in a sense, because we are looking at making the club commercially successful, and a profitable self sustained entity. Doing it as a corporate social responsibility has not and will not be our aim. It’s a huge challenge, but if we’re successful, hopefully we’ll open the floodgates for investors to come into Indian football.

What is the club looking at doing to increase the supporter base for the club, not just in Sikkim, but across the country?

Plans are underway. We have massive demand for membership for the club, we have massive demand from merchandisers, and we are looking at all options. We have a strong fan base in Sikkim of course, and we’re looking to start the membership drive soon. I hope to make the club a nationally known club with an excellent set-up, and we’re confident it will happen in due course of time.

What about the BBFS? How has the response been to this venture?

Oh, it’s been extremely positive. In around 10 months, we’re training around 300 highly talented kids and have started a scholarship program. Two of my kids in the scholarship program recently became professional footballers, so it’s a great step forward.

Growing up in the ’90s, the only footballing icon and talisman we had was you, and to an extent IM Vijayan. Most Indians wouldn’t know more than two to three names if asked about the current Indian football team. Don’t you think we as a country need to market our best young players better today to set role models for kids interested in the sport?

Absolutely, we do need to. But let me say here that the country needs to produce players better than what BhaichungBhutia was. If we’re aiming at the top ten in Asia in the next few years, we need to produce more and more talent, and that’s just me being realistic. I cannot stress more on the importance of a proper youth development set-up for this purpose.

In terms of role-models, we have a number of highly talented professional footballers, and definitely a lot more figures to look up to than when I had started out! Now more and more people are realising that you can play professional football and make a living out of it, which wasn’t there before.

We do however need to bridge a gap which exists between people who watch the sport and the people who actually play the sport. Targeting the population which watches the best leagues in the world but then knows little about the Indian leagues is important.

Coming back to United Sikkim, what are the commercial options you are exploring in the future?

Well, first off, we would definitely want to look at a good title sponsor for us. We currently have good investors backing us, but would definitely explore the option of one, maybe two more investors.
The focus is to build a stable, financially sustainable system. We are looking at good infrastructure and a strong youth development program.

In the recent past, we’ve seen more and more European clubs turning their eyes eastward for commercial reasons. With Bayern Munich coming and more clubs looking to play in India in the future, do you think we should be optimistic about further investment into the sport in India or be a little cautious at the interest?

I think it will be a win-win situation for both the club and for our country. With Bayern at least, they have a previous association with football in the country. They’ve come previously to Kolkata with the youth team and for a charity match so it wasn’t like it was the first time that they were here.

I think they have been very serious about helping Indian football, and of course there are commercial advantages for both, but they’re not just focused on selling their jerseys.

Who would you say is the best player you’ve played, with and against?

IM Vijayan, both with and against.

Which club do you follow at an international level?

Arsenal and Barcelona. I do have to say though, that I enjoy watching the Bundesliga. I find it more entertaining and of a higher quality that the Premier League at times.

Of all your cup triumphs, which one do you treasure the most?

I would say the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Challenge Cup, which got us through to the Asian Cup 2011. (Bhaichung was Player of the Tournament at the AFC Challenge)

So, can we expect you back on television anytime soon as an expert?

Those options are open, yes, so you never know (smiles).