Baichung Bhutia says earning 100th India cap was special. “It feels just like yesterday that I started playing,” he told DNA on Monday.
For many, Baichung Bhutia and Indian football is synonymous. Over the last decade, Indian football has been mostly about Bhutia’s success story – be it he playing in the European league, winning a celebrity dance show and more recently, earning his 100th India cap on Sunday.
The last one, he says, was the most special. “It feels just like yesterday that I started playing,” he told DNA on Monday. “But seriously, it’s been a great journey. There have been many ups and downs but it has given me immense satisfaction.”
While Bhutia is content with his achievements, he says a lot is left desired when it comes to Indian football. “Since the I-League started a lot of good players have come up. But we can still do much better. To be honest not much has changed since I first started playing professional football. The clubs still need to be professional, infrastructure needs to improve, and the list goes on and on…” he said, adding that AIFF needs to be firm with the clubs not adhering to the AFC guidelines.
The 32-year-old feels the AIFF and the state federations need to take responsibility for their failure to provide players with good facilities, which is stunting the growth of Indian football. “The AIFF needs to play a more active role. It takes a lot of time in taking decisions regarding simple issues. It needs to speed up the process and be firm,” he remarks.
Bhutia has been embroiled with controversy with Bagan. So does he feel the players are not given the respect they deserve? “I don’t think players lack respect but surely they need to be given more importance. What’s happening right now is the needs of the players are given the least priority,” he said.
However, he is optimistic over the future considering the new changes in the administration and professionalism introduced by coach Bob Houghton. “Bob has done a great job, I feel. He knows how to get things done and is clear of what he expects. He is instilling professionalism in Indian football which we badly need,” he says.
But Indian football cannot progress only with one Bhutia, and he knows that. “We need players like IM Vijayan, who I feel is the best Indian player ever”.
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