From Chuni Goswami To Sunil Chhetri: Legendary Figures Who Revolutised Indian Football
India ‘Golden Era’ in football was between 1950s and ’60s when the national team won two Asian Games gold medals, finished fourth in 1956 Melbourne Olympics and runners-up in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. Those years marked glorious chapter in India’s history.
With time, the Indian football also changed for better and are currently ranked 100 in the latest FIFA Rankings released on Thursday. Let’s take a look at some of the best individuals who took had an impact on the country’s football with their usefull contribution.
# Sunil Chhetri: Undoubtedly, Sunil Chhetri is the poster boy of Indian football. One of the greatest footballers of the generation in the country, the 38-year-old has so far scored 92 international goals for India and is third in the list after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the list of all-time active top goal scorers at the international level. His skill, consistency, and leadership have made Chhetri as one of the iconic figures in Indian football.
No. 9⃣2⃣ for
AND WHAT A STRIKE THAT WAS FROM @chetrisunil11 #INDKUW #SAFFChampionship2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/dLRvDBzwik
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 27, 2023
# Bhaichung Bhutia: Another legend of the game, Bhaichung Bhutia is considered as the pioneer of Indian football. Bhutia was the first Indian football to ply his trade overseas before the likes of Gurpreet Singh, Subrata Paul, Sunil Chhetri followed his footsteps and tried their luck outside India. Nicknamed as ‘Sikkimese Sniper’, Bhutia’s technical ability and goal-scoring prowess differentiated him over the rest.
# IM Vijayan: Widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers, IM Vijayan was versatile in multiple positions and played a crucial role in development of Indian football in the nineties and early 2000s. Nicknamed as ‘Kalo Harin’ (blackbuck), Vijayan was crowned the Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999 and was the first to win the award multiple times.
A small token of 5 L Rs for renowned footballer Sh Chuni Goswami. #DidYouKnow Despite being invited by the Spurs, he chose to play in India! pic.twitter.com/xQnt2dlTMT
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) October 28, 2017
# Chuni Goswami: One of the legendary footballers from the 1950s and 1960s, Chuni Goswami holds the distinction of playing first-class cricket for Bengal and professional football simultaneously. He played as a striker and winger, and also captained Mohun Bagan and the Indian national team. He represented India in Olympics, Asian Games, Asia Cup and Merdeka Cup and captained the national team to 1962 Asian Games gold and a 1964 AFC Asian Cup silver. Under Goswami’s leadership, Bengal played the Ranji Trophy cricket final in 1971-72. Goswami died on April 30 2020.
Sept 4th, 1962, Asian Games Football Final. India 2 South Korea 1. Tournament top scorer PK Banerjee pic.twitter.com/S2wuBpv18U
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) September 4, 2015
# PK Banerjee: Along with Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee is regarded as one of legends of Indian football and represented India at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Having played a striker, Banerjee captained India and later became the coach of the national coach. In 45 matches for India, Banerjee scored 15 goals. Known for his technical abilities, Banerjee represented Eastern Railways and Mohun Bagan at the club level and left a lasting impact. Banerjee died on March 20, 2020.
# Syed Abdul Rahim: Known as ‘Rahim Saab’, Syed Abdul Rahim didn’t get any success as a footballer but is regarded as one of best football coaches India has ever produced in 1950s and 1960s. Under Rahim’s guidance, India won Asian Games gold in 1951 and finished fourth in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.