Still striking

There’s also a plastic bag in his hand — for his room mate Subhash Singh. Singh,at 19,is the youngest member of the squad and this is his first brush with the big league. Five-star food hasn’t been going down too well,so Bhutia’s hand-delivering a packet of momos for him.

As a 16-year-old,Bhutia had taken his first step into the limelight. Representing Tashi Namgyal Academy in the 1992 Subroto Cup,his first major event,he was named the Player of the Tournament. Last Monday,at 33,he bookended his career so far with another Player of the Tournament trophy.

In between,it’s been a blur of firsts. Fourteen years ago,he etched his name in history as the youngest to score for India; he’s the only player to get a hat-trick in Kolkata’s famous East Bengal-Mohun Bagan derby’s 83-year history (in East Bengal’s 4-1 win against Bagan in the 1997 Federation Cup semi-final in front of 1,31,000 spectators at the Salt Lake Stadium); he’s the first Indian to ply his trade in the English League; the only Indian to make 100 international appearances and,with 43 goals against his name,the national goal-scoring record holder by a distance.

There were thoughts of retirement in 2006,he says,but they passed on quickly enough. As for the records,they are a reward for his longevity. “As a player,you don’t think of playing 100 matches or scoring 50 goals,especially since we play so few international matches every year. I was still surprised that I was the first Indian though,” he told The Sunday Express.

So,through all the years,all the goal-poaching,the highs and the lows,has Bhaichung Bhutia the footballer changed at all? His team mates say he hasn’t,that he keeps his feet on the ground and makes those around him feel special. Bhutia feels the youngsters around him have helped him mature.

Unattractive,effective
Bhutia has played alongside a clutch of Indian legends — IM Vijayan,Bruno Coutinho,Carlton Chapman,Jo Paul Ancheri — all more flamboyant perhaps,all well into retirement now. His oldest friend in this team is Renedy Singh,alongside whom he has kicked a ball since their under-12 days.
Renedy agrees that Bhutia isn’t the most attractive striker to have played the game here,but adds that he’s undoubtedly the most effective. “You will not see him making his way through the defence,but we wingers have a very small duty — just make the cross — and we know somebody is there to do the rest. He can score from the only chance he gets. I haven’t seen this killer instinct in any other Indian striker,it’s rare.”
Steven Dias agrees. “His game is very unattractive for a striker. But he’s still the most dangerous Indian in the opponent’s box. He makes the most of even 50-50 chances.”
Every member of the team says they’ve learnt a lot from him,not least his humility. Bhutia,in turn,says the young bunch has taught him a lot. “They have helped me mature. I used to react to situations earlier which don’t affect me now. I don’t think my game itself has changed too much,though,” he says.
India defender Gouramangi Singh disagrees,partially. “He’s still an opportunist,but what he does now is irritate the opposition defenders with false movements. He draws them with him,bringing other players into the game. Of late,we have scored many goals using this strategy.”

EB vs Bagan
Bhutia moved from the Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok — which he had joined as a nine-year-old — to Kolkata giants East Bengal in 1993. Since then,he has had four separate stints with them,and two others with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan. That,Bhutia admits,has been his biggest challenge. “It’s very difficult to win the hearts of people who hated you until the last season. Changing loyalties,and living up to the expectations every year,is something I had to do all along my career. I didn’t find anything more difficult.”
Talk of the Kolkata rivalry brings him back to the present,and the current stand-off over a contract dispute that sees him without a club for the first time in 14 years. Bhutia had missed an exhibition match for Bagan because he was participating in a reality dance show (which he won,incidentally). The club suspended him for six months. Bhutia lashed out,and quit. East Bengal jumped in to sign him. But Bagan have refused the let him off the roster.
“I feel frustrated looking at the affairs of Indian football. They (Mohun Bagan) want to destroy my career for not playing an exhibition match. I try and not get affected by it while playing. But it returns as soon as I step off the field. The Nehru Cup victory suppressed it for a while,but the feeling has already returned,” Bhutia says.
His troubles have affected the mood in the national team as well,says Renedy. “He’s tackled the problem on the field like a big player,by not showing it in the way he plays. But when he’s not happy,the players are not happy.”
“If this is the fate of the country’s most respected player,” asks Dias,“what will happen to us?”

A sum of many parts
The names Nallapan Mohanraj,Govin Singh,Anwar Ali,Jagpreet Singh and Baldeep Singh Jr may not sound familiar,though they were all part of India’s successful Nehru Cup campaign. So unfamiliar are they,in fact,that a few of them were mistaken for the unruly public by the cops after India’s victory over Syria in the final.
So is this a team built around Bhutia and a few other stars? Bhutia thinks not,going as far as to say that this is the best team that he has been part of. “I have played with great individuals,but for the first time in my life,I felt like a part of a unit.”
The credit for that,he says,goes to coach Bob Houghton. “The concept of overseas camps has been the key. In India,there are a hundred ways to get distracted. By attending camps in Portugal or Barcelona we profit. Bob has taken the example of the junior teams,whose performances have been phenomenal as they stay together for three-four years.”
They still seem to need Bhutia to find the back of the net though. “You have to back the players you have,” Bhutia insists,brushing off the argument that there really are no replacements. “There’s quality,but strikers need time to understand each other,as (Sunil) Chhetri and I had. I’ve always maintained that Vijayan was the most complete striker I have played with,but Chhetri has been my best strike partner.”

The future
He also shrugs off any mention of retirement. He asserts that he has retained the hunger of the nine-year-old boy who left tiny Tinkitam behind him in 1987. “I thought the 2007 Nehru Cup would be my last,but I ended up playing this year’s too. Now,the Asian Cup in 2011 is a definite target,” Bhutia says.
He has spoken of changes required to help Indian football,but one dream he keeps to himself is the development of his birthplace. Situated in the lap of Himalayas,Bhutia thinks Tinkitam has a lot of potential to be a tourist attraction,despite its inaccessibility. “Being close to Ravangla,Tinkitam can grow. The government is trying hard. You don’t have to trek there any more. I see things changing each time I visit.”
That’s for later,though. For now,he’s happy to be part of a team that he believes is growing with each game. “Don’t expect us to play like the Europeans,we have our own style. It is boring,but we have stopped higher-ranked teams.
“At the same time,we’re not in a position to play Japan or Korea right now. We can only improve by playing against countries such as Syria and Lebanon,where the difference in quality isn’t as wide as the gap in the rankings suggests. That’s why we chose to play against third division sides in Barcelona. Had we played bigger clubs,we would have lost and there’s no fun in losing,even to famous opponents.”

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