Bhaichung Bhutia is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a forward for the India national team and is best known for his time at clubs like Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. Bhutia is considered the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena and is nicknamed the “Sikkimese Sniper” because of his shooting skills in football. He has also captained the national side and currently plays the role of manager at the Sikkim state football club.

Early Life

Bhutia was born on 15 December 1976 in Tinkitam, Sikkim. Both of his parents were farmers in Sikkim and were originally not keen on Bhutia's interest in sports. His father died in his childhood but after encouragement from his uncle, Karma Bhutia, he started his education at St. Xaviers School, Pakyong, East Sikkim.

He won a football scholarship from SAI to attend the Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok at the age of nine. He went on to play for several schools and local clubs in his home state of Sikkim, including the Gangtok-based Boys Club. His impressive performances at the 1992 Subroto Cup brought him to the notice of the football establishment.

His talent was spotted by former Indian goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly and helped Bhutia move to West Bengal where he would play most of his career.

Club Career

Bhaichung Bhutia made his club professional debut in 1993 for Calcutta-based East Bengal where he would make nine appearances, scoring 4 goals in the league. His debut for the club would mark the beginning of a career that mostly wandered from Mohun Bagan and back to East Bengal.

He then moved to East Bengal, one of the most successful clubs in Indian football history. He played for East Bengal for several seasons and helped the team win several trophies, including the National Football League, the Federation Cup, and the ASEAN Club Championship.

In 1999, Bhutia became the first ever Indian player to sign a professional contract in Europe when he signed for Manchester-based side Bury, where he would spend 3 seasons. He made 37 appearances for them in the league and managed to score only 3 goals. After the failure in Europe, Bhutia decided it was best for him to return to India, once again to East Bengal.

In Malaysia, Bhutia played for Perak FA on loan from Mohun Bagan, and then played for Selangor MK Land. He scored a total of 5 goals in 13 appearances for both sides. In his split career at East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, Bhutia scored 52 goals from 97 games and 25 goals from 56 games respectively.

In 2012, Bhutia signed for United Sikkim, where he would make only 3 appearances owing to injuries. He was made interim manager of the team in the same year, which marked Bhutia’s managerial debut. Bhutia then played his last club match at United Sikkim in 2015, which marked the end of his glorious career.

In his club career, he has scored over 100 league goals in 226 appearances.

International Career

Bhutia made his debut for the Indian national team in 1995 against Thailand. He soon became a regular member of the team and was named captain in 1999. He led the team to several victories and was instrumental in India's triumphs in the South Asian Football Federation Cup in 1997 and 2005.

One of Bhutia's most memorable moments for the Indian national team came in 2008 when he scored the winning goal against Myanmar in the AFC Challenge Cup final. The victory secured India's place in the 2011 Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years.

Bhutia also represented India in the 2002 Asian Games and the 2010 Asian Cup. He retired from international football in 2011, having played in 104 matches and scored 42 goals.

Records

In 1999, Bhutia became the first Indian footballer to play abroad when he joined Bury FC, a club in the English Football League. Bhutia is also the only Indian footballer to have played in the English professional leagues.
Bhutia holds the record for the most number of goals scored in the National Football League (now known as the I-League), with 89 goals.
In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Bhutia became the first Indian footballer to score a goal in the Olympics.

Personal Life

In addition to his football career, Bhutia is also involved in various philanthropic activities. He is the founder of the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, which aims to promote football in India and provide opportunities for young players to develop their skills. Bhutia has also been associated with various charitable organizations and has been actively involved in promoting sports and education in underprivileged communities. He currently manages the Sikkim state football team.

International Goals
 

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	29 March 1995	Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo	Sri Lanka	1–0	2–2	1995 SAFF Championship
2				2–0
3	6 March 1996	National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lampur	Malaysia	2–5	2–5	1996 Asian Cup qualifier
4	11 April 1997	Nehru Stadium, Cochin	China	1–2	1–2	1997 Nehru Cup
5	7 September 1997	Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu	Bangladesh	3–0	3–0	1997 SAFF Championship
6	9 September 1997	Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu	Maldives	1–0	2–2	1997 SAFF Championship
7	13 September 1997	Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu	Maldives	2–0	5–1	1997 SAFF Championship
8	26 April 1999	Fatorda Stadium, Margao	Pakistan	1–0	2–0	1999 SAFF Championship
9				2–0
10	29 April 1999	Fatorda Stadium, Margao	Maldives	1–0	2–1	1999 SAFF Championship
11	1 May 1999	Fatorda Stadium, Margao	Bangladesh	2–0	2–0	1999 SAFF Championship
12	15 April 2001	Bangalore Stadium, Bangalore	Yemen	1–1	1–1	2002 World Cup qualifier
13	20 May 2001	Bangalore Stadium, Bangalore	Brunei	3–0	5–0	2002 World Cup qualifier
14	10 December 2005	Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi	Bhutan	1–0	3–0	2005 SAFF Championship
15	17 December 2005	Jinnah Sports Stadium, Islamabad	Bangladesh	2–0	2–0	2005 SAFF Championship
16	18 February 2006	Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai	Hong Kong	2–2	2–2	Friendly
17	17 August 2007	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Cambodia	2–0	6–0	2007 Nehru Cup
18	20 August 2007	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Bangladesh	1–0	1–0	2007 Nehru Cup
19	26 August 2007	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Kyrgyzstan	1–0	3–0	2007 Nehru Cup
20	3 June 2008	Rasmee Dhandu Stadium, Malé	Nepal	2–0	4–0	2008 SAFF Championship
21	22 July 2008	Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad	Malaysia	1–0	1–1	Friendly
22	3 August 2008	Gachibowli Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad	Turkmenistan	1–0	2–1	2008 AFC Challenge Cup
23				2–0
24	13 August 2008	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Tajikistan	2–0	4–1	2008 AFC Challenge Cup
25	14 January 2009	Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai	Hong Kong	1–1	1–2	Friendly
26	23 August 2009	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Kyrgyzstan	1–0	2–1	2009 Nehru Cup
27	26 August 2009	Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi	Sri Lanka	1–0	3–1	2009 Nehru Cup

Awards and Achievements

Other careers

Entertainment

Bhutia with then Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal K. K. Nohwar at the release of souvenir of 52nd edition of the Subroto Cup Football Tournament in November 25, 2011.

Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa

In 2009, partnering with choreographer Sonia Jaffer,[95] he won the third season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the Indian version of the international series Dancing with the Stars. Bhutia earned Rs. 4 million for winning the competition, beating Karan Singh Grover and Gauahar Khan in the final. Bhutia donated half of the prize money to charity and the other half was shared with his choreographer; he also said some money would go towards areas hit by Cyclone Aila. It was reported that an "SMS Voting Frenzy" allowed him to win after many organisations in Sikkim conducted mass voting events (this involved participants buying mobile cash cards so they could vote via SMS) to increase Bhutia's chance of winning the trophy. This performance put Bhutia's relationship with his club Mohun Bagan in jeopardy, as he missed a friendly, as well as practice sessions, due to his participation in the reality show.

Politics

In 2014, Bhutia joined the All India Trinamool Congress and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Indian general election from Darjeeling constituency. In 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election he supported Left Front in favor of Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Ashok Bhattacharya.

Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools

On 28 October 2010, he started Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi in partnership with Carlos Queiroz. BBFS also entered into partnership with United Sikkim and Garhwal FC for opening up coaching camps with grassroot framework in hilly areas of Sikkim and West Bengal in 2013.