Calcutta: India captain Bhaichung Bhutia said he played the best football of his life under Bob Houghton, who quit has nat ional coach on Saturday. “The biggest achievement in my career and under Bob’s regime has been to qualify for the Asian Cup. Personally, I have had my best football career under him,” Bhutia told The Telegraph on Saturday.
“Bob’s resignation is unfortunate and a big blow to Indian football. He won us three major tournaments (Nehru Cup twice in 2007 and 09; AFC Challenge Cup in 2008) and, most importantly, helped India qualify for the Asian Cup. Whoever comes in next have big shoes to fill,” Bhaichung added.
Bhaichung backed Houghton on the racial slur controversy. “For me there is no controversy. We have been working together for so many years and we never came across anything like that. I don’t know what the referee (Dinesh Nair) heard and what he complained about,” Bhaichung said.
India player Syed Rahim Nabi saluted Houghton for his hard work with the national players. “I salute Bob sir for guiding me… He is a great coach and was like God to me,” Nabi said.
Like Bhaichung, Nabi considered qualifying for the Asian Cup as a high point in Indian football.
“Because of Bob sir, we could qualify for the Asian Cup and that is a huge achievement. I don’t know when we would qualify for the World Cup, but for me an outing in the Asian Cup is as good as playing in the World Cup,” Nabi said.
The East Bengal defender reminisced the faith the British coach pinned on every player. “The great thing about Bob sir was he used to have deep faith in every player.”
Bhaichung rued having failed to live up to Houghton’s expectations during the Asian Cup. “We could have done better. It’s not easy to straightaway rub shoulders with Australia, South Korea and Bahrain… To blame Houghton for the debacle is not only silly but unjust,” he said.
The Sikkimese Sniper, however, cautioned the AIFF to be careful in picking Houghton’s successor. “It’s not my job to decide whether we need a foreign coach or someone from the country.”
