2. Personal information
◦Full name Bhaichung Bhutia[1]
◦Date of birth 15 December 1976 (age 44)
◦Place of birth Tinkitam, Sikkim, India[2]
◦Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
◦Playing position(s) Striker
3.
4. Early life
◦ Bhaichung Bhutia was born on 15 December 1976 in
Sikkim. In addition to football, Bhutia also represented his
school at badminton, basketball and athletics. He has two
older brothers, Chewang and Bom Bom Bhutia, and one
younger sister named Cali. His parents, both farmers in
Sikkim, were originally not keen on Bhutia’s interest in
sports. His father died but after encouragement from his
uncle, Karma Bhutia, he started his education in St.
Xaviers School, Pakyong, East Sikkim, and at the age of
nine he won a football scholarship from SAI to attend the
Tashi Namgyal Academy in Gangtok.
5.
6. Club career
◦In 1993, at the age of sixteen, he left school to join
the professional East Bengal F.C. In Calcutta. Two
years later, he transferred to JCT Mills in
Phagwara, which went on to win the India
National Football League in the 1996–97 season.
Bhutia was the top goalscorer in the league, and
was chosen to make his international debut in the
Nehru Cup. He was named “1996 Indian Player of
the Year”.
7.
8. Managerial career
◦On 13 November 2012, Bhutia was named the
interim manager of United Sikkim to replace
Belgian Philippe De Ridder, after the club’s heavy
1–10 defeat in an I-League match against Prayag
United on 10 November 2012 at the Salt Lake
Stadium.[57] In January 2018, leading up to the
Santosh Trophy, he was appointed the manager of
Sikkim.
9.
10. International career
◦ Bhaichung made his senior international debut in the Nehru
Cup against Thailand at the age of 19 on 10 March
1995.[59][60] Bhutia scored for India against Uzbekistan in
the 1995 Nehru Cup becoming India’s youngest ever
goalscorer, at 19.[61] In the 1997 SAFF Championship, India
beat the Maldives 5–1 in the final, Bhutia was responsible for
one goal. Two years later, the tournament was held in Goa
and India successfully defended their title by beating
Bangladesh 2–0 in the final. Bhutia scored the second goal
for India after Bruno Coutinho opened the scoring and Bhutia
was named as the tournament’s most valuable player.
11.
12. Return to India
◦In 2002, he returned to India and played for the
Mohun Bagan for a year.[26] However, this was
largely unsuccessful as Bhutia was injured early in
the season and failed to play again that season,
missing Mohun Bagan’s only trophy win; the All
Airlines Gold Cup.[26] Afterwards, he again returned
to the East Bengal Club,[12] helping them to win the
ASEAN Club Championship.
13. Back to Malaysia
◦In 2005, Bhutia signed for another Malaysian club,
Selangor MK Land. He made five appearances
only, scoring one goal, as the club had monetary
problems. Before, he received an offer from then
Home United manager Steve Darby, but rejected
the offer. Darby later revealed that he failed to
sign Bhutia because the offer he made was less
than what he was getting in India that time.
14. Personal life
◦Bhutia was born on 15 December 1976
in Sikkim. His parents were farmers. His
father died when he was a kid. He has
two older brothers, Chewang and Bom
Bom Bhutia, and one younger sister
named Cali.[10] Bhutia was married to
Madhuri Tipnis in 2004.
15. Honours
◦ East Bengal
◦ ASEAN Club Championship: 2003
◦ National Football League: 2003–04
◦ Federation Cup: 2009–10, 2010
◦ Indian Super Cup: 2011
◦ Calcutta Football League: 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006,
2010, 2011
◦ IFA Shield: 1994, 1995, 1997
◦ Wai Wai Cup: 1993
16.
17. .
◦ San Miguel International Cup: 2004
◦ Mohun Bagan
◦ Calcutta Football League: 2007, 2008, 2009
◦ IFA Shield: 2003
◦ India
◦ AFC Challenge Cup: 2008
◦ SAFF Championship: 1997, 1999, 2005
◦ Nehru Cup: 2007, 2009
◦ Individual
◦ AIFF Player of the Year: 1995, 2008[109]
◦ Arjuna Award: 1998
◦ Padma Shri: 2008[110]
◦ AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player: 2008
◦ Banga Bhushan: 2014
◦ Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014
◦ IFFHS 48 Football Legend Players: 2016
![Personal information
◦Full name Bhaichung Bhutia[1]
◦Date of birth 15 December 1976 (age 44)
◦Place of birth Tinkitam, Sikkim, India[2]
◦Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
◦Playing position(s) Striker](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)