5 INDIAN FOOTBALL PERSONALITIES 1.BAICHUNG BHUTIA: Baichung Bhutia was born on December 15, 1976 in Tinkitam, Sikkim, India.

He is an Indian football player. He is considered to be the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is currently the captain of Indian team . In 1997 he returned to East Bengal, and became team captain in the 1998-99 season. Baichung Bhutia has the unique distinction of scoring the only hatrick in the Derby Clashes between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, when he registered the same in East Bengal's 4-1 triumph in 1997 Federation Cup Semi Final. In 1999 he travelled overseas to play for Bury F.C. after unsuccessful trials with both Fulham F.C. [1]and Aston Villa F.C.[2]with the move improving his conditioning and strategy. In 2002 he returned to India and played for the Mohun Bagan AC for a year before returning again to the East Bengal Club, helping them to win the Asean Cup (Association of South East Asian Nations) Club Championship. He signed up to play for Perak, the Malaysian championship club, from August to October 2003 and returning to East Bengal for the regular season. He continued to play for East Bengal till the end of 2005-2006 season. In 2006, he joined Mohun Bagan AC and has remained with them since then. He has recently renewed his contract for a further two years from 2008 to 2010 with the Mohun Bagan. He played in the Goal 4 Africa match held in the Allianz Arena, Munich on 12 July 2008 for the Edu team led by Clarence Seedorf and scored twice.He scored twice in the AFC Challenge Cup against Turkmenistan. He was also selected as the most valuable player of the tournament.ays for Mohun Bagan Club.

Subimal Chuni Goswami

Full Name: Subimal Chuni Goswami Born: January 15, 1938, Kishoregunj, Bengal Major Teams: Mohun Bagan AC, India Playing Position: Striker Achievements:

Led the Indian team to gold at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta Arjuna Award in 1963 Padma Shri in 1983

Subimal Chuni Goswami is an Indian Football player who played for the National Football team during 1950s and 1960s. Usually playing in the Left Inside position, Goswami was a Striker who known for an extra-ordinary control upon the ball and an accurate sense of the game.

P.K. Banerjee : P. K. Banerjee was another striker who made a name for himself and India at the international stage. Banerjee represented Eastern Railways SC in the Calcutta League and earned a lot of success. An invigorated Banerjee's performance saw the Indian team finish a formidable fourth at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He also captained the national team at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Banerjee put on a fine show at the 1962 Asian Games helping India win the gold. Post-retirement, Banerjee coached Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and also the national team. P. K. Banerjee received the Arjuna Award in 1961 to become the first footballer ever to be honoured with the same.

Jarnail Singh Dhillon

Full Name: Jarnail Singh Dhillon Born: 1936, Panam, Hoshiarpur, Punjab Major Teams: Khalsa Sporting Club, Mohun Bagan AC

Playing Position: Stopper back Achievements:

Striked the winning goal that got India the Gold Medal in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games Received Arjuna Award in the year 1964 Captain of the Indian Football team during 1965-67 Only Indian to be the Captain of the Asian All Star Football team

Jarnail Singh Dhillon was an Indian Football player who was known for his outstanding capabilities as a defender. Jarnail Singh was a member of the Indian squad during the golden era of Indian Football in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the most important players that had contributed towards the charismatic achievements the team had made in international Football in that period.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

1 Zinedine Zidane
OMF, CMF

Popularly nicknamed Zizou, he is a French former football midfielder. His career accomplishments include winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, in addition to the 2002 UEFA Champions League. He is also one of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners. Zidane won the Golden Ball as the MVP in the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. Zidane played his first professional First Division game for Cannes and quickly rose through the professional ranks. He sealed his reputation by scoring two goals in the World Cup finals of 1998, helping France defeat Brazil to claim its first-ever World Cup championship. Extremely passionate and a leader by example, he came first in an online poll conducted by UEFA.

2
Pele
born 1940

Pele called the Black Pearl, was the greatest soccer player in the history of the game. With a career total of 1280 goals, he may have been the worlds most popular athlete after he was named Athlete of the Century by the worlds combined National Olympic Committees in 1999, though he never played in the Olympics himself. In March of 2002, the jersey Pel wore in the 1970 World Cup final sold at auction for $220,850. Pel became Brazils minister of sports in 1995, serving until 1998.

3
Diego Maradona
FW

Maradona is an icon in Argentina. As a soccer player, he took his team to new heights and became a hero to sports fans many of whom referred to him as San Diego. He also took sports paychecks to new heights, claiming unheard of salaries in trade after trade. Maradona was plagued by cocaine addiction, though, and his career came to an early end. His performance included two memorable goals against England, one scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought the ball struck his head) and now remembered as the Hand of God, and another that saw him dribble through a pack of defenders.

7
Ronaldo
FW

A brilliant and fluid forward, Ronaldo became one of international soccers great stars of the 1990s and Brazils biggest soccer hero since Pele. Nicknamed The Phenomenon, the talented forward has played for Cruzeiro, Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan, amassing numerous records, championships, and cups. An international superstar, Ronaldo has been on the Brazilian national team since 1994 and was part of World Cupwinning teams in 1998 and in 2002, when he was the tournaments top scorer