It will be Bhutia’s farewell game after he announced his retirement from international football earlier this year. Nonetheless, the former Perak FA striker feels it is a prestigious way to end his national team tenure.
“My career has been a great learning for me, a wonderful experience. My 16-year international football career has made me richer in experience and I have grown as a person,” he enthused
“Playing my final India match against Bayern Münich is a great honour, but also a tough finale for me. Bayern are one of the best teams in the world and I rate them as better than Germany.”
India have had a mixed year as far as 2011 is concerned with qualification to the Asian Cup after a long hiatus being alongside their recent SAFF championship triumph as the stand-out achievements so far. Star striker Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpeklhua were also given a trial opportunity at Scottish club Glasgow Rangers, and Bhutia believes that all these moments signifies that Indian football is moving in the right direction.
“Indian football is moving in a positive direction with the Indian team qualifying for the Asian cup after a gap of 27 years. In addition to this, the junior teams and the developmental team are making good progress on the Asian front.
“I believe that it will not be long before we see Indian players plying their trade on the international club circuit,” he said.
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