I feel sad for Bob Houghton: Baichung Bhutia

There will be a few happy people at the Football House in New Delhi. The officials, running the game, won the ugly battle against chief coach Bob Houghton.

Whether Houghton resigned on Saturday because of the ‘personal reasons’ — as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) put it in the media release — will remain unknown, but sources say the Englishman was forced to put his papers so that the charges of racism against him would be dropped.

But at the receiving end of this saga are the players. “I don’t know if it is a battle of egos or purely because of non-performance, which the AIFF says. One thing that I know is that this is a very, very sad day for Indian football. If AIFF think that Houghton hasn’t done a good job then I don’t know how their thinking goes,” fumes skipper Baichung Bhutia.

The veteran striker isn’t one of those who shows his emotions often. But such is the sensitivity of the issue that even the most experienced Indian player couldn’t keep his cool.

“I think the thing that went against him was the poor performances and the comments he made regarding the infrastructure. But what’s wrong in what he said? Even (AFC president) Bin Hammam has been criticising it!” he points out.

The reason why Bhutia feels let down is not just because Houghton, India’s most successful coach, has to leave in such an unceremonious manner. He credits the South Africa-based Englishman for a turnaround in his career. “I had retired from football in 2006. I had lost will to play and had made up my mind. But he coaxed me out of it and made me believe in my abilities. Since then, I have been named the most valuable player in three tournaments,” he says.

Then, it was the Asian Cup as well. “I owe him big time for that. For a player from our continent, that’s the biggest tournament after the World Cup. It was a dream for the players of my generation to play in that tournament,” adds Bhutia.

So what is it that makes Houghton such a favourite among the players? “He never bothered regarding our off-the-field actions…” says Bhutia, who has played under several coaches in his long international career. “…never interfered. All he wanted was that we give a 100 per cent in training and in matches. There was no favouritism. That’s why he is respected so much by all of us.”

The biggest challenge for the next coach, Bhutia says, will be to match the standards set by Houghton. “I am sure the boys will support the next coach like they did Houghton.”

Bencherifa in the fray to succeed Houghton

KOLKATA: With the Bob Houghton era in Indian football coming to an end on Saturday, the question doing the rounds is who will take over the reins of the senior team. AIFF general secretary Kushal Dassaid that the process of choosing the next coach will begin now.

Though there was no official confirmation from the AIFF, but it has been learnt from reliable sources that Salgaocar SC coach Karim Bencherifa could be in line to take over from Houghton. Two factors are in Karim's favour.

First, he has enjoyed considerable success with three Indian clubs - Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan and now Salgaocar - in Goa and Kolkata. And, then, everybody is impressed with the way the Moroccan has transformed a struggling Salgaocar side into leading contenders for the I-League title this season.

Moreover, having worked five seasons in Kolkata and Goa means that he knows most of the Indian players very closely which is a huge advantage rather than someone who will have to begin from a scratch. He is also well aware of the facilities and infrastructure in the country and can chalk out his plans accordingly.

Secondly, during his stint in the country, Bencherifa has unearthed new talents like R Vashum, Robert Lalthalma and Manish Mathani, which will surely help the next coach to rebuild the national team.

Bencherifa, however, refused to make any comment when asked over the matter, saying he had not been approached by anyone in the AIFF. For the record, Bencherifa's contract with Salgaocar runs out in May.

A big blow: Bhaichung

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.”

India's football coach Houghton resigns

New Delhi: As reported by Goal.com few days back, the All India Football Federation and Bob Houghton were mulling over the possibility of a barter trade wherein the former would drop all the racism allegations if the latter would submit his resignation with immediate effect.

In a meeting held at the AIFF office on Saturday afternoon the two parties finally came to a mutual understanding and decided to part ways.

Houghton has been show caused by the AIFF for several reasons, primary amongst which is the racism indictment after fourth referee Dinesh Nair complained of the coach referring him as a "B****** Indian referee" back in October last year when India faced Yemen in Pune.

In his reply to the notice, Houghton had refuted the allegations made and his lawyer even went to the extent of branding them "frivolous."

While the allegations could in no ways be proved true in the absence of video and audio recordings, it served as perfect plot for the AIFF to see the back of Houghton who didn't want his resume to be stained.

The Technical Committee of the Indian FA also wasn’t too pleased with the performance of the Indian national team at the 2011 Asian Cup given the amount of expenditure incurred and didn’t take the Englisman’s comments on poor infrastructure in the 146th ranked nation congenially.

It must also be noted that AIFF had offered Houghton a fresh contract less than a year back until 2013 and with an improved pay packet.