Bhaichung Bhutia vs. Sunil Chhetri: ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ vs. ‘Captain Fantastic’
Bhutia and Chhetri are two of the most celebrated players of Indian football in recent times. They’ve both captained the national team and play in identical positions on the field. Here, we take a look at the statistics to determine who comes out on top.
Note: This article was originally published on September 19th, 2019.
Goals, goals, goals
Bhutia started playing for India in 1995 and eventually went on to make 84 appearances, scoring 27 goals. Having started his club career with East Bengal in 1993, he went on to make a total of 226 appearances for various clubs while scoring 100 goals.
Chhetri scored his first goal for the senior national team in 2005 and has been terrorizing defenders since then. His stellar record of 72 goals in 112 appearances for India has placed him 2nd in the international goalscoring charts among active players after Cristiano Ronaldo (as of September 2019). Since the genesis of his club career in 2002 for Mohun Bagan, he has gone on to score a total of 123 goals in 255 appearances across multiple clubs (as of September 2019).
Club career
Bhutia and Chhetri have had similar successes in the club level at home.
Bhutia: 2 I league trophies, 2 Indian Federation Cups, 1 ASEAN Cup, 1 Indian Super Cup.
Chhetri: 4 I League trophies, 2 Indian Federation Cups, 1 Super Cup, 1 Indian Super League Cup.
While Chhetri has won more domestics cups, Bhutia has the bragging rights of winning an international trophy – the ASEAN Cup with East Bengal.
Both players struggled to get game time in Europe (Sporting Clube de Portugal B for Chhetri and Bury Football Club for Bhutia). Bhutia’s joining of Bury Football Club in 1999 saw him become the first Indian player to sign a professional contract with a European club.
Accolades
Bhutia and Chhetri paired up front to win the 2007 Nehru Cup and won the AFC Challenge Cup the following year which earned India a place in the Asian Cup.
Bhutia was inducted into the Asian Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Chhetri was the recipient of AFC Asian Icon title in 2018. Bhutia was awarded the AIFF Player of the Year award twice -1995 and in 2008. Chhetri, on the other hand, holds the record for the most number of times a player has been the recipient of the AIFF Player of the Year award – 5 times (as of September 2019).
Bhutia won the Arjuna Award for football in 1998 while Chhetri won it in 2011. Bhutia was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2008 while Chhetri was awarded the same in 2019.
Bhutia led India to the SAFF Championship thrice in 1997, 1999 and 2005, while Chhetri did the same in 2011 and 2016.
Bhutia led India to the Nehru Cup twice in 2007 and 2009 where he played alongside Chhetri. Post Bhutia’s retirement, Chhetri led India to the same Cup in 2016.
Verdict: While both players’ individual and club level accolades are almost at par, Chhetri has outdone Bhutia in the goalscoring department. However, Bhutia’s contribution to Indian football extends beyond the confines of the field. Bhutia’s eventual transition into coaching, management, and ownership is a trajectory we hope and expect Chhetri to follow after he retires from his illustrious career as a player. His succession to the captaincy of Indian football has ensured that the flame ignited by Bhutia’s on-field success and off-field celebrity continues to illuminate, now stronger than ever.
