Bhaichung Bhutia calls India-Brazil game a 'circus', says it makes 'no sense'

An India vs Brazil football match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata is great for the players as a moment in their careers, and for the fans as a spectacle, but is there any logic beyond that?

That is what Bhaichung Bhutia, one of India's greatest ever football players, wonders aloud a day before the match.

"From a player's or fan's point of view, yes, everybody would love it. As a player, I would've loved to play Brazil," Bhutia told The Indian Express. "But is the federation's job to give the players an opportunity to play against Brazil or is it their job to develop football for the longer run?"

Bhutia was among the early voices to air his displeasure after the friendly was announced on July 30, even urging Indian football fans to boycott the game altogether. Recently, India quite surprisingly held Panama to a 1-1 draw in a friendly. That was the first of three high-profile matches that India is hosting, the second being the one against Brazil followed by the visit of two-time World Cup champions Uruguay in Kolkata on Tuesday.

"For a federation to pay Brazil to play this match - it's being said that the amount is Rs 50-60 crore - is completely illogical," Bhutia said.

The former India captain is part of the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) executive committee as a co-opted member.

"I am in the ExCo, there was a deficit of Rs 14 to 16 crore in the last budget. You are running pillar to post for getting sponsors. Clubs are shutting down because there are no sponsors. There are clubs in the I-League (Indian Football League) and ISL (Indian Super League) that are struggling to find sponsors."

India were set to take part in the FIFA ASEAN Cup that is currently underway, with their participation confirmed before the friendly against Brazil was announced. India were drawn to face Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, sides closer to their FIFA ranking of 138. Brazil are placed sixth, as on Friday.

While the AIFF had initially announced a plan to field two separate squads for the tournament and for the Brazil game, it eventually pulled out of the ASEAN Cup altogether, a decision that Bhutia felt was the wrong one.

"We shouldn't have missed out on a competitive tournament like the ASEAN Cup. The players would have benefitted playing competitive matches in that tournament, a minimum of three games. And then you chose to play this friendly by paying so much money, it makes no sense as a federation," he said.

Bhutia feels that if Brazil's involvement was to be sought in Indian football, it could've been akin to what Japan did. The J-League invited Brazilian players and coaches during its formative years, resulting in generations of Japanese players growing up idolising Brazilian stars while trying to merge that creativity with Japanese discipline.

"What did Japan do with Brazilian football? They collaborated. There were people like Zico who coached the Japanese national team for a long time. They had a lot of expertise from Brazilian football in Japan.

"When you have a clueless president, the entire thing becomes a circus and that is what is happening in Indian football. Look at our FIFA ranking, we went from being inside the top 100 to close to 140. Even in the Asian Cup, India didn't qualify on merit," said Bhutia.