Rustam Akramov, the man who gave Bhaichung Bhutia his debut, dies at 73

Former Indian National football team coach Rustam Akramov, the man who had given Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia his first-ever start for the national team in 1995 has died at the age of 73. He had taken the Indian team to its highest ever FIFA ranking as well and is considered as one of the best coaches to coach the national team. Rustam has died in his native place in Uzbekistan.

The legendary Uzbek coach died on February 15, according to the official website of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan. The Uzbekistan republic body said, “The National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan, the Council of Sports Veterans of Uzbekistan express their condolences to the family and friends of Rustam Akramov in connection with his death,”. Rustam was not able to win any trophy with the Indian national team during his short spell from 1995 to 1997 with them but was able to take the team to its highest ever FIFA ranking of 94 in the 1996 February FIFA rankings which were almost equaled in 2017 and 2018 when the national team reached to 96^th.

The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) have also posted about their former coach on their Twitter account and said “We mourn the passing away of former India National Team head coach Rustam Akramov. May his soul rest in peace,”

Akramov had a batch of extremely talented individuals under him in the national team with the likes of IM Vijayan, Carlton Chapman, and Bruno Coutinho. The squad also consisted of a young Sikkimese striker named Bhaichung Bhutia whom the coach helped a lot in terms of transitioning himself into a striker instead of a midfielder where the young player earlier played at club level.