Bhutia: Captain Marvel ; the Most Famous Face in Indian Football Leads His Sport in Every Way. He Is Mascot, Pioneer and Helmsman of a New-Age Team.

Summary

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Bangalore, 2001. The Indian football team, heading off for practice in their bus. The television's on and India are playing Australia. Except it's cricket. Faces are upturned, expressions transfixed. Suddenly, their striker explodes off his seat and turns his back to the screen. He is 25 and wiry, made it seems of mahogany. Turn it off, he says. Stop watching and turn off the damn TV. Think football, focus, we're going to training. We're the Indian football team, we're stars too, dammit, we're as good as they are.

That is Bhaichung Bhutia in a snapshot. It is all you need to know about India's captain and highest goalscorer and it is this: that he is a professional and that he demands respect for his profession.

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Bhutia: Captain Marvel ; the Most Famous Face in Indian Football Leads His Sport in Every Way. He Is Mascot, Pioneer and Helmsman of a New-Age Team.

It is because Bhutia feels what everybody who follows Indian football senses. Support for the national team is like a heartbeat. It is constant, steady and usually you cannot hear it. Except when a moment arrives, like the Nehru Cup did. Then, the groundswell gathers force and it reverberates. Unmistakably, emphatically. For the last 15 years, Bhutia has been one with this heartbeat. He h...

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