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#1 Bhaichung Bhutia
Bhaichung Bhutia is perhaps the most famous footballer to have played for India. For long periods of time in the late 90s and 2000s, Bhutia was the lone torch-bearer of Indian football. Especially so after the retirement of Vijayan in 2003.
Till then, Bhutia and Vijayan were a deadly combination up top for India. In fact, in Vijayan’s words, Bhutia was ‘god’s gift to Indian football’. Such was his shooting prowess, he was dubbed the Sikkimese Sniper.
Bhutia began his professional career with East Bengal and made his debut for India in 1995 at the age of 19. He has since played over 100 matches for India though the official count as per FIFA stands at 84 and scored around 40 goals.
His footballing skills earned him such fame that English 2nd division side FC Bury signed him in 1999, making him the first Indian footballer to sign a contract with a European club and only the second to play professionally in Europe, after Mohammed Salim. Bhaichung made over 30 appearances for Bury before being released after the club went bankrupt. He also had a couple of spells in Malaysia with Perak FA and Selangor MK.
His international footballing honours include winning the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, SAFF Championship three times and the AFC Challenge Cup. But the best achievement for him in an Indian jersey was the Nehru Cup in 2009 where he was named the Player of the Tournament after India overcame a superior Syria in the final.
The tournament also saw him win his 100th cap. After serving the country exemplarily for so long, he bid adieu in 2011. But for being synonymous with Indian football for so long, a farewell match was organised for him on 10 January 2012 against Bayern Munich at New Delhi.
