Bhutia disappointed with handling of Maradona's visit

The chaos which nearly threatened to upset Diego Maradona's felicitation programme at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan left India captain Baichung Bhutia disappointed.

Bhutia, who led the External Affairs XI side against the Chief Ministers XI in an exhibition match, was thrilled to have come close to the legend, was however, unhappy with the way things were handled by the organisers, the state governement and celebrity management company.

"Things could have been better handled. There were too many people around with the cops and media getting into the way of things. That Maradona will be visiting Kolkata was known before hand, but the organisation left a lot to be desired," said the India and Mohun Bagan skipper.However, the Sikkimese snipper was thrilled with the experience.

"It was great to come close to the legend. There was a lot of excitement and it was nice that such a legend visited the city.

"Bhutia's team won the match 1-0, courtesy an own goal. Maradona is scheduled to visit Mohun Bagan club on Sunday for a clinic with under-12 boys of the club but Bhutia said he won't be there."I know a lot of players would be going but I am not going there," he said.

Hola! Kolkata greets football legend Maradona

Kolkata: Yes, Diego Maradona arrived at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport, Kolkata on Friday.
The Argentinean legend was greeted by a number of fans who stood on both sides of the road as he drove from the airport to the hotel.
When Goal.com learnt about Maradona coming to India, it dismissed it as some speculation or what the English call ‘papertalk’. Thereafter, it came to light that a celebrity management group and a Member of Parliament (MP) were behind this trip.
Ever since the news of Maradona’s arrival in India broke, there has been a frenzy and everyone has been waiting for the Argentina coach to arrive.
For last few days, most papers in the City of Joy were solely focused on Maradona. Sadly, though not much attention was given to the Federation Cup.
Everyday, people were treated to news such as Mohun Bagan to felicitate Maradona, the Rs100 tickets have been sold, XYZ would meet Maradona and what not. I must say that the PR agencies have done a good job.
Then you had MP Shamik Lahiri making new revelations each day as to what he talked about with Maradona! He even conveyed the media when Maradona uttered the hardest word ‘sorry’ to Jorge Valdano for not releasing the ball to score the ‘Greatest Goal of the Century!’
Everyday, there was some meeting and organisation to put up the 48 year old. The hotels were changed and the security was upped. Two helicopters have been fetched for his travel to Maheshtala where he will inaugurate the Indian Football School (IFS).
Then there were doubts as to whether he would come especially after the Mumbai terror when almost all the embassies asked their citizens not to visit India for some time. There were enquiries from Maradona’s entourage as to whether it was safe to travel.
An official from the celebrity management group, who were involved in the organisation was quoted saying, “I said there was nothing to worry about. This (terrorism) is an internal problem, which is happening on an off in the country for the past 20 years. There’s nothing to worry about.
"After all, the state government is in-charge of his (Maradona's) security, what is there to worry about. Kolkata is very much safe city, with no history of terror attacks.”
Wow! While the whole of Indian intelligence agencies are mulling over a foreign hand in the terror plots, this gentleman very amicable puts it as an ‘internal problem!’ Maradona’s arrival has allayed all such fears.
Media from all across the nation has headed to Kolkata to catch a glimpse and in the hope of getting an one-on-one exclusive interview.
In such cosmetic press conferences, seldom does one get an honest remark especially on controversial topics.
When Bayern Munich came to Kolkata earlier this year, in one of the media interaction sessions, Mark Van Bommel was asked about his unsporting gesture with hand in the crook of the elbow incident in the Champions League match with Real Madrid in 2007.
The Dutchman was unhappy about this and stated that he would like to talk about something else.
An exhibition match between the Chief Minister’s XI and the Foreign Minister’s XI has been organised at the Salt Lake Stadium by the state government while the Federation Cup is being played at the Barasat Stadium!
The two sides will be captained by Bhaichung Bhutia and Dulal Biswas. Bhaichung’s side would be coached by Mohun Bagan’s Karim Bencherifa and East Bengal’s Stanley Rosario while Dulal’s team shall be guided by Mohammedan Sporting’s Shabbir Ali and Chirag United’s Subrata Bhattacharya.
One question which we expect Maradona to be asked, especially after the exhibition match, would be about Indian football and his opinion on that!
Opinions are formed only after having credible knowledge and analysis of the same. In football, first impression isn’t the last one as the game is very unpredictable!
For now, let’s greet the Legend! We are not sure whether Maradona will utter some words in Hindi or Bengali but for those who want a personal interaction with the star, please have some Spanish lessons. I would help you start.
Bienvenido Maradona! (Welcome Maradona!)

I-League: Bhaichung calls for better coverage

New Delhi: Mohun Bagan skipper Bhaichung Bhutia has called for a better coverage of the games for football players in India to be followed at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Bhaichung, alongwith Steven Dias, inaugurated the second edition of Tata Tea Jaago Re Soccer Stars ’09 where in the final stage, 16 Indian youngsters would get a chance to participate in the Arsenal International Soccer Festival.

"For the Indian players to be followed, we need a much better coverage of the games. When we play, those matches must be shown," said the veteran Indian skipper.

Incidentally, football fans in the country could only see the first half of the I-League match between Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United and were bereft of the winner scored by Bhaichung.

Mohun Bagan had a disastrous start to their I-League campaign and Bhaichung acknowledged it stating, "It was the worst start by Mohun Bagan in their entire NFL (National Football League or the now I-League) history. But credit to the players, coaches and the management for the great recovery."

The Sikkimese Sniper went on to speak on life after football and spoke of his desire to have a world-class Academy in India.

"It’s my dream project. I want to have an Academy of the highest quality but for that the minimum is 40 acres of land."