The style may have changed but the goal-scoring prowess hasn’t. At 38, he is still the go-to player for India when it comes to finding the target. He feels he is still the fittest member of the team.
Sunil Chhetri is leading the Blue Tigers in style, and after scoring a record-extending 92 goals in 142 appearances for his country, his ravenous appetite for goals is growing stronger by the day.
Fresh off leading India to a triple triumph — in the Tri-nation tournament, Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championships — Chhetri is already thinking about the upcoming mountains India has to climb in the King’s Cup and the Merdeka Cup, with the coveted Asian Cup next year being the Everest.
“I do not like to hear things like you should rest this one and that one. But the decision is not mine [alone]. I am available for every game”Sunil Chhetri
With a packed schedule ahead where he would don the blue threads of both Bengaluru FC and India, there is a possibility that featuring in every possible match might be enervating for the Indian captain. But he makes it very clear that he “does not like to miss games” and will feature in every possible outing if he is allowed to.
“People who are more knowledgeable than me — the head coach, the physios and the doctors — if they think that I need to rest, I might listen to them. I take care of myself a lot. If I am sitting out or missing a match because I am not good enough, I will take it,” says Chhetri.
“But I do not like to hear things like you should rest this one and that one. But the decision is not mine [alone]. I am available for every game.”
Adapting with age
The Indian captain is not just a goal-hungry individual yearning for match time. Behind the goals, there is an intelligent footballing mind which knows that hunger and motivation cannot be a deterrent to age. Thus, the necessity to adapt becomes imperative.
Unlike last season with Bengaluru FC, where he was mostly used from the bench, Chhetri has been a starter for India and for good reason. His inclusion in the forward line makes the gameplay more fluid and increases the goal threat. In the nine matches throughout the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship, Chhetri has bagged seven of the total 13 goals scored by India, at a scoring rate of 53.84%.
The interesting thing to note, however, is that despite his incessant pressing, when it comes to attacking moves, Chhetri plays more of a poacher’s role or, as the popular saying goes, ‘A fox in the box’.
Contrary to the mazy runs and taking on defenders that were his trademark during his early days, the Chhetri of now has adapted to being in the right place at the right time and converting an attacking move into a goal with his clinical finishing.
A prime example of this was his positioning during India’s first goal in the Intercontinental Cup. A prime example of teamwork, it would have all gone to waste if Chhetri was not there to tap in the delicious low cross by Lallianzuala Chhangte from the right flank.
Behind all the success and adulation that has come in the way of Chhetri, and India in general, the skipper points out that it is a result of some meticulous planning and rigorous hard work by his boys. Backing head coach Igor Stimac’s demand for longer national camps, Chhetri said that it was a crucial reason behind the effective football that India has been playing.
Hard work behind the joy
It started with the Blue Tigers setting up base in Odisha, winning the Intercontinental Cup and shifting camp to Bengaluru, where they emerged victorious in the SAFF Championships. According to Chhetri, the 50-day-long camp had bound the team in a way where the off-field bonding translated into on-field understanding.
“I don’t want to sound cliche, but right from my head coach to the staff, every one of them worked so hard, and that is why we are probably sitting here and talking about the performance.”
Longer national camps also became important to implement the coach’s vision and style of play ahead of a particular tournament. The Indian football team is a melting pot of players who play for various clubs that have their respective philosophies and style of football. Spending the majority of their time with the clubs, the players become ingrained with the style of football their respective coaches demand from them.
If there is not ample time before international tournaments and the players are given just five days to a week, the time is too less for the players to shed the style of football they had been playing for so long and adapt to the national team coach’s instructions.
India head coach Igor Stimac said that while five days are the stipulated window mentioned by FIFA, where clubs have released the players ahead of international duty, that approach might be okay for world-class players but not for India and its players, who have a long way to go to make a name on the global stage.
Beneficial for India
All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey said he does not want India to be restricted just to SAFF. Focusing on improving the Blue Tigers’ FIFA ranking in order to play stronger opposition, Chaubey said that he wants to arrange matches with the CAFA (Central Asian Football Association) nations, the countries from the Middle East and the Gulf.
Chhetri welcomed this idea and said that this would be an excellent move for the team because playing stronger opposition would help the team gauge where its strengths and weaknesses lie and ultimately improve the level of football.
With India scheduled to play Asian heavyweights like Iran in the King’s Cup before facing Syria, Uzbekistan and Australia in the Asian Cup next year, Chhetri, before the SAFF Championships, said that the participation of countries like Kuwait and Lebanon would be beneficial because of the level of football they bring. Post the win, he said that the matches against the West Asian nations were the most challenging ones, and beating both of them to win the title made it all the more special.
The Indian captain also said that the system needs to evolve, and the senior team and the junior teams should have their respective priorities.
“I have been saying for a long time that now, the SAFF tournament for us should be about sending out U-23 and U-21s. Respecting all SAFF countries, that is going to give more exposure to our underage teams. If the senior team gets 10-13 good teams, and the SAFF is one of them, then the U-23 and U-21 never get the opportunity.”
Ahead of a challenging set of tournaments, Chhetri said that his teams would need to be more clinical in terms of finishing their chances — “Wholeheartedly, [I want] all the areas to improve.”
“But I think one concern we had was in the games we played; we had a lot of chances. Our conversion rate was poor in terms of other attributes of the game like defence, attacking corners, defensive corners, and time management.”
Ahead of India lies Asian powerhouses who will be ruthless with their football. While Chhetri will be in the spotlight because of who he is and his general impact on Indian football, the Blue Tigers will need to aid Chhetri and not just bank on him if they want positive results in the tournaments to come.
