It’s not been the best of times for Indian captain Baichung Bhutia. After suffering a knee injury during the LG Cup in Ho Chi Ming city August-September, Bhutia is yet to fully return to competitive soccer. Come December 30, he begins a new chapter in his life – Bhutia weds his fiancée of seven years, Madhuri. Come January, Bhutia is aiming to fire on all cylinders as East Bengal embark to defend their National Football League crown. The Sikkimese wildcat in conversation with TWF correspondent Tirtha Gautam

The Timeless Derby The sharp shooter 90 minutes to soccer mainstream Soccer sulks A perfect swing! "Performance is the only mantra" ‘Delhi is a fertile virgin land for football’ The Bong connection Foreign remedy A ball and a bat India is not ready for World Cup yet Bend it like Jess Sport it like Beckham The disciplinarian Return of the silken assassin 'Satisfaction means death' Eves on a leather hunt Life's sweet spot Still a student of the game Such a long journey ‘Pillai is unfit for modern hockey' ‘Marriage will not change my football’ ‘Singles has always been my priority’ ‘Once people discover the charm of fast bowling, a trend develops’ ‘The coach is always in the line of fire’ ‘All athletes should be out competing now’

You must be excited to be finally tying the knot with Madhuri?
(Chuckles) Yes, I am. I have known her for a long time now and we were looking for the right opportunity to marry. We will do this at my village (Tinkitam) and in true Buddhist style.

You must be expecting that marriage will bring you luck in the New Year…
(Laughs) Madhuri has seen me for the last seven-eight years and has shared all my highs and lows on the soccer field. Honestly, nothing will change. If I play well in the New Year, it will be due to the sheer hard work I am putting to get back to competitive football.

You missed the last couple of World Cup qualifiers and then the Durand and Federation Cups. Are you ready for the National League that starts mid-January?
Like all knee injuries, mine was quite serious. I was careful not to aggravate it. And hence skipped a couple of tournaments. According to our club coach (Subhas Bhowmick), the NFL is the most important tournament for us and you will see me in full action.

With six teams from Goa, how competitive will be this National League?
I think of all the eight NFLs we have had this year, the coming one will be the most competitive. Goan teams are quite balanced and we got an idea during the Durand and Federation Cups. And then there is Mahindra United from Mumbai. They have spent a lot of money to win the NFL this season. According to me, Dempo, Salgaocar and Mahindra will be the teams to watch.

What about East Bengal? Considering last season’s strength and balance, do you think the current side is as strong?
If you compare with last year’s team, then this side is not as strong. Players like (Cristiano) Junior (who top-scored in the NFL with 15 goals) and Mike (Okoro) had given us an additional edge. We are still experimenting with our squad and the coach is looking for players who will fill the gap left by a Junior or Okoro. Our current team has young guys, many of whom will be playing their first NFL. All said and done, we have a decent side and quite capable of making it a hattrick of National League titles.

What about your form? Won’t you be a little tentative returning from injury?
I have been in this position before. It’s natural to be a bit apprehensive but I am looking for support from my teammates and I should discover my scoring ability quickly.

Critics feel that you are at the end of a great career.
I will play as long as I enjoy the game…it could be the next two months or even the next two years. You can’t stop critics but I still have a long way to go. People should not misread my injury-induced lay-off.

You recently made the headlines for slamming the Mohun Bagan goalie Subrata Pal, who many think made an unfair charge on Junior during the Fed Cup final…
I stand by whatever I said. It was a disgusting foul and if the game’s ethics are to be respected, it calls for punishment. It was sad to see Junior dying like that. It exposed the chinks in our soccer system. Hopefully, the federation will sit up and take notice of the shortcomings.

Coming to Indian football, how would you analyse India’s World Cup engagements?
I think, it was fairly okay considering the strength of our group. Not all results reflected how we played and I think our young boys have shown that India can do well at the Asian level when we beat a full-strength Kuwait 3-2 in a friendly. We drew our last match against Oman and that should boost our morale for the future.

But the general belief is that Indian football has hit rock bottom under coach Stephen Constantine…
I don’t quite agree. Constantine has helped Indian football improve in many ways. It’s sad that he got so much negative publicity from a section of the media. We have learnt to play modern football under Constantine... ask the boys who have trained under him. More importantly, India played over 20 international games during Constantine’s tenure. To me, he was the best foreign coach we have had.

Most Indian coaches have been critical of Constantine. Why is this?
Our coaches are critical of everything. What if Constantine turns around and says he didn’t get the players he wanted, there were no proper fields to train, the allowances were not good enough, etc, etc. The problem is we can’t accept the fact that a foreigner may know more about football than us.

One last question. Would you suggest an Indian coach for the senior national side?
It doesn’t really matter who is training the team as long as he is aware of the modern techniques. Football has changed drastically over the last few years. It’s become some sort of a science and if any homegrown coach is equipped to handle all this, I don’t mind an Indian coach. But I doubt whether our coaches have the qualification.