GUWAHATI: Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia considers Northeast a dominating force in Indian football but expects more soccer clubs to emerge from the region and raise the bar further in the years to come.
“The Northeast is dominating Indian football today. Be it ISL or I-League there are more players from the region representing clubs in these leagues. Today we have top clubs like Shillong Lajong FC, NEROCA (Imphal), Aizawl FC and NEUFC from the region who are making their mark. But I expect more clubs to emerge from the region, particularly from states like Assam and Nagaland in the future,” Bhutia who was here on Monday afternoon to launch a FIFA accredited football collection, said.
Expecting Indian football to improve in the years to come, the 41-year-old soccer legend said, “The prospects are good indeed and we have won the Inter-Continental Cup in Mumbai on Sunday. Our ranking has improved (97th) as well.”
Bhutia further heaped praise on Indian captain, Sunil Chhetri for taking his goal scoring tally to 64 on Sunday to join Argentine star Lionel Messi as the second highest international goal scorer among active players.
“We are proud of him. We hope more Sunil Chhetris will emerge in the days to come,” he said.
On the FIFA World Cup in Russia which gets under way on Thursday, Bhutia said he was eagerly waiting for the quadrennial spectacle.
“I am very excited as Word Cup comes once in four years. I will definitely watch all the matches as I am covering them for a TV channel,” he said.
Asked which team he is rooting for, Bhutia said he wanted Argentina to win because he was a fan of Lionel Messi.
“Messi has come very close to winning the Cup for his country. So I expect that he does well and hope Argentina triumphs,” he said.
Bhutia also interacted with budding players from the SAI academy and state academy at the SAI regional centre ground here. He passed on some ball control and passing tips to the youngsters as well. “I must compliment SAI NE centre for maintaining the ground and its infrastructure,” he said.
The former striker, who launched his political party, Hamro Sikkim, in April this year, however ducked a question regarding the political situation in the country. “This is not the platform to talk politics,” he said, as he cut short the interaction with a smile.
