Baichung Bhutia,the icon of Indian Football has been the face of it for nearly a decade.But the upcoming 2011 AFC Asian Cup is possibly going to be his swansong in indian colours.It’s highly unlikely that he will play more than a season or two in club football also.So what’s he going to do post-retirement?Here are a few options we can speculate upon….
Many of Baichung’s compatriots like IM Vijayan,Jo Paul Ancheri has gone into coaching.It still remains one of the favourite options among ex-footballers.But Baichung has gone on record saying that he is not really interested in coaching professionally immediately after retirement.So it’s quite unlikely that he will delve in a coaching career.
Another lucrative option for sportsmen post retirement is that of a TV pundit.Baichung has worked as a TV pundit during his playing days for ESPN but that was for an international event.Domestic football in India has very little TV coverage; so working as a match analyst is just not a viable option at least in the present scenario.Things may change for the better once IMG-Reliance restructure the whole system,but that’s a thing for the future.
Trending
It leaves us with our final option-Baichung the football administrator.In the past Baichung Bhutia had come up with original ideas like involving state associations as club teams in the I-League to garner more home crowd and develop loyal supporters.Needless to say the AIFF officials sat on such ideas and did nothing.He had also submitted the blueprint of an IPL style football league in partnership with John Abraham.Most recently he founded his own club the United Sikkim FC ,which he wants to raise as an exemplary professional outfit.He has also got plans of setting up model youth academies with the support of Carlos Queiroz ,the former Portugal boss.
All these things point to one thing that Baichung as an administrator has lot more to offer the country rather than becoming a coach or media person.He should be involved in the decision making bodies of the AIFF so that his constructive ideas can be put to use.But whatever path he chooses it is rest assured that he will be actively involved with all things football.
Final Reads : 338 : Pts 2/10
Editorial Score : Pts 8/10
Total Pts : 10/20
