While Bhutia and Chhetri have papered over the cracks for several years now, Indian football’s biggest headache is where to find the next striker

Of all the highs in a game of football — a sliding tackle, a diving save, a through ball that shatters the off-side trap — the most uplifting (or heartbreaking) is the shot that bulges the back of the net. After the dust has settled and the stat sheet has been analysed ad nauseum, the only number that matters is the one in the goals column. The prima donnas who prowl the business end of a football field, waiting for their next kill, are therefore any team’s most valuable commodity. But, by filling such an important role, strikers are also substituted most frequently — a pair of fresh legs, coupled with a hungry heart and a new attacking blue-print, always lurking over their shoulders.

In India, however, the burden of finishing every move has been borne by the same set of weary players for almost a decade now. And by managing to somehow carry the load thrust upon them, Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri have kept the focus away from Indian football’s biggest problem — the lack of contenders for the forward line.

The following scoring figures from the I-League tell their own story:
* When Nigerian Odafa Okolie finished at the top scorer last season, it marked 10 years of foreign dominance. Raman Vijayan of FC Kochi was the last Indian top-scorer in the National Football League in 1998
* The overall influence of overseas strikers was never greater than in 2007-08, when they accounted for 136 of 227— that’s 60 per cent — of the goals scored
* Last season, seven players netted more than 10 goals. There wasn’t a single Indian on the list
* Odafa, the highest scorer in 2008-09, had 24 strikes while the highest Indian scorer Sunil Chhetri had only nine
* Of the 23 forwards who won the Man-of-the-Match awards that year, all were foreigners

... contd.