Baichung Bhutia believes Stephen Constantine needs time to develop team India

This is not the right time for the merger between I-League and ISl according to Baichung Bhutia

Former Indian footballer and captain, Baichung Bhutia has urged fans across the country to be patient with team India. The Blue Tigers have just one win to their name in five World Cup qualifying matches. Their latest loss at the hands of Iran dented even the most optimistic hopes of the Indian national football team’s World Cup qualification for 2018. But the Sikkimese Sniper believes it is too early to comment on team India’s performances.

“Constantine has a new and young team at his disposal. He has hardly had any time to train his players effectively. One cannot compare India to the likes of England and Spain. The players there play at a very high level and hence can easily gel into the squad quickly.

“Whereas with regard to India, the coach needs to spend more time with the players. When I retired (2011), a host of other players too left. We are going through a transformation phase right now,” Bhutia said.

The most capped Indian player stressed that working on the technical aspects of the game is of utmost importance for India.

About an ISL and I-League merger

Bhutia also expressed his opinion on talks about merging the ISL and the I-League – “Now is not the right time to merge the two leagues. The ISL is at a good level right now. The I-League must reach that level before any talks of merging the two leagues transpire”.

The 38-year old cited the likes of Qatar and UAE as good models that India can learn from.

He said: “Countries like Qatar and UAE have started attracting top talents recently. I just read yesterday that Xavi (former Barcelona skipper) made his debut for Al Sadd (Qatar).”

Need for better infrastructure

Lastly, the striker touched upon the lack of quality football infrastructure in the country.

“Football has considerably picked up in India but this interest must result in better infrastructure at the ground level. Today if a kid wants to take the sport professionally, there are hardly any proper training facilities that he can take advantage of. Players like Messi and Ronaldo didn’t just pop out of nowhere. They were part of great youth academies.”

Baichung founded the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) in 2010 along with former Real Madrid manager, Carlos Queiroz. The youth development programme trains talented players aged 5-15 under the tutelage of coaches from Portugal.