2. • Full name : Bhaichung Bhutia
• Date of birth : 15 December 1976 (age 44)
• Place of birth : Tinkitam, Sikkim, India
• Height : 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
• Playing position(s) : Striker
Sourav Bindal
3. Background
Bhaichung was not only good at football, but also represented his school at basketball,
badminton and athletics.
His uncle Karma Bhutia managed Gangtok-based Boys Club where Bhaichung played in
his early years.
Bhaichung played for several other local school teams and clubs and brought attention
to himself in the 1992 Subroto Cup where he received the ”Best Player” award.
His talent was spotted by former Indian goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly and helped Bhutia
move to West Bengal where he would play most of his career.
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4. Debut
Bhaichung Bhutia made his club professional debut in 1993 for Calcutta-
based East Bengal where he would make nine appearances, scoring 4 goals
in the league.
His debut for the club would mark the beginning of a career that mostly
wandered from Mohun Bagan and back to East Bengal.
Bhutia made his international debut on 10 March 1995 against Thailand in
the Nehru Cup. He was just 19 years of age. In the same tournament,
Bhutia scored a goal against Uzbekistan to become the youngest ever
Indian goalscorer at 19 years of age.
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5. Club Carrier
Bhaichung Bhutia played most of his club career in West Bengal,
switching from Mohun Bagan to East Bengal several times, and causing
controversies doing it. He also played for other clubs like JCT Mills,
United Sikkim, and two other Malaysian clubs.
In 1999, Bhutia became the first ever Indian player to sign a
professional contract in Europe when he signed for Manchester-
based side Bury, where he would spend 3 seasons. He made 37
appearances for them in the league and managed to score only 3
goals. After the failure in Europe, Bhutia decided it was best for
him to return to India, once again to East Bengal.
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6. In Malaysia, Bhutia played for Perak FA on loan from Mohun Bagan,
and then played for Selangor MK Land. He scored a total of 5 goals in
13 appearances for both sides. In his split career at East Bengal and
Mohun Bagan, Bhutia scored 52 goals from 97 games and 25 goals
from 56 games respectively.
In 2012, Bhutia signed for United Sikkim, where he would make only 3
appearances owing to injuries. He was made interim manager of the
team in the same year, which marked Bhutia’s managerial debut. He
currently manages the Sikkim state football team. Bhutia has had an
illustrious club career that involves a massive 226 league games and a
100 goals from them.
SOURAV BINDAL
7. Rise to Glory
Having made his debut for the national team at just 19 years of age, Bhaichung
showed some bright signs of helping Indian football rise. He went on to play some
superb football for both club and country, and would become one of India’s best
ever players.
Bhutia scored just one goal in his debut tournament, and scored his second in the
same tournament two years later against Bangladesh in the finals. In the 2002 LG
Cup, Bhutia netted a brace against Vietnam, helping India to a 3-2 win.
Bhutia was made captain of the team for 2005 SAFF Championship. India won the
championship again, with Bangladesh again reaching the finals and losing to India
2-0.
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8. Bhutia scored one of the goals and was a part of the two goals he scored in the
tournament. In the 2008 edition of the tournament, Bhutia scored just one
goal, and helped India reach the finals where they lost to Maldives 1-0.
Bhaichung won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup and was selected as the most
valuable player of the tournament with three goals. Bhutia’s 100th cap came in
2009, in the Nehru Cup. He was the first player to reach the milestone. He
became the Player of the Tournament in spite of missing out on the final.
Bhutia has made a total of 104 appearances for the national side and scored 40
goals in all competitions.
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9. Political Carrier
He has joined the All India Trinamool Congress and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections from the Darjeeling constituency.
Bhutia comes from a buddhist background, although he is, by conviction, not religious - in
fact an atheist.The name "Bhaichung" literally means "little brother".He married his
longtime girlfriend Madhuri Tipnis, a hotel professional, on 30 December 2004 in his native
village of Tinkitam in South Sikkim. They filed for divorce by mutual consent in a Bandra
Court on in February 2015. His fictional hero is Howard Roark, a character from Ayn Rand's
novel The Fountainhead, and he has a tattoo of a footballer on his arm. The Sikkimese
government has built a stadium, the Bhaichung Stadium in Namchi, the district
headquarters, in honour of Bhutia. He is one of the most popular figures in the state and is
considered as a role model to many Sikkimese as well to people from other states of
India. On 23 January 2008, Bhutia was nominated for the Padma Shri, the fourth highest
civilian award, for his contribution to Indian football.Three days later on 26 January,
India's Republic Day, he was chosen for the Padma Shri along with national swimming
champion Bula Choudhury.
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10. Entertainment Carrier
Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa
In 2009, partnering with choreographer Sonia Jaffer, he won the third season
of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the Indian version of the international series Dancing with
the Stars. Bhutia earned Rs. 4 million for winning the competition, beating Karan
Singh Grover and Gauahar Khan in the final. Bhutia donated half of the prize
money to charity and the other half was shared with his choreographer; he also
said some money would go towards areas hit by Cyclone Aila. It was reported
that an "SMS Voting Frenzy" allowed him to win after many organisations in
Sikkim conducted mass voting events (this involved participants buying
mobile cash cards so they could vote via SMS) to increase Bhutia's chance of
winning the trophy. This performance put Bhutia's relationship with his club
Mohun Bagan in jeopardy, as he missed a friendly, as well as practice sessions,
due to his participation in the reality show.
Sourav Bindal
11. Bhaichung Bhutia Stadium
• The stadium was built in honour
of Bhaichung Bhutia, India's most well
known contemporary footballer .
» Bhaichung Stadium is a football stadium in Namchi, the
district headquarters of South Sikkim district in the state
of Sikkim, India.
Sourav Bindal
12. Net Worth
• In 2017, Bhaichung Bhutia declared his net
worth being 17 crores. He owns movable
assets to the tune of over 3.88 crores
including an Audi car, jewelry, bank balance,
and investments. He is a shareholder in the
United Sikkim Football Club, with holdings of ₹
6.22 lakhs.
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13. HONOURS
Arjuna Award for football in 1998
Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2008
Banga Bhushan award in 2014
Asian Football Hall of Fame in 2014
The Indian Achievers award 2019
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14. Retirement
Bhutia announces his retirement from international
football in 2011. A farewell match was held for him in
January 2012 against Bayern Munich. Bhutia then played
his last club match at United Sikkim in 2015, which
marked the end of his glorious career.
He currently is on a managerial venture at Sikkim and has
founded the Bhaichung Bhutia Soccer Schools to help
nurture young talent.
Sourav Bindal
