I thought of quitting, but not anymore: Bhutia

By Invitation
Bhaichung Bhutia

Last year was the year of the World Cup, the biggest sporting event. Nothing this year can match the hype and spectacle that was Germany 2006.

Nevertheless, club football will be as exciting as ever in 2007, especially the English Premier League. It has become a two-horse race for the title, between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Predicting a winner would be difficult. The Red Devils have picked up pace but writing off Chelsea at any stage is never a wise thing to do. I am keenly following this battle.

I think the UEFA Champions league is going to be the one event to watch out for. Like in 2005, I think we might see an English winner. Chelsea look very strong, and no matter what they do in the Premiership, I see them do very well in the Champions League, probably even lift the trophy.

In Didier Drogba they have a world-class striker. Michael Ballack is also doing well for them, and we shall definitely see him dominate more in the European competitions than we did in the English Premier League.

Another player to watch out for in the New Year will be Manchester United’s winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

He is a changed player since the World Cup. His ball control is superb and now he is scoring some outstanding goals — a very attractive footballer to watch.

On the domestic front, 2006 hasn’t been a good year for Indian football. From being ranked 117 in the beginning of the year, we dropped to 157 at the close. Like the critics said, this despite the money pumped in by Zee Sports and a new foreign coach.

However, I believe 2007 will definitely see us doing better than the year gone by. Last year Bob Houghton (coach) was asked to pick players from a shortlist given to him, because there was such little time, as, soon after he came in we had very difficult international assignments.

This year he will have more time on hand and will watch a lot of domestic tournament and will be able to work with players he sees potential in. There is some young talent also coming up.

NS Manju, Chitra Singh and Sushil are the players for the future and are really shaping well under Bob.

For me personally, it has been a good year. I did well in domestic tournaments, won the player of the National Football League (NFL), plus winning the Federation Cup was a big high.

Internationally too, I did well in the SAFF Cup and helped the team win. However, there was a point last year when I felt I couldn’t go on and announced my retirement.

That stage has passed and I am really looking forward to doing well for India this year. I am positive that we can do well.

As told to Ankita Pandey
A look ahead into the football stars
likely to rock 2007