India vs China: I believe we have to do a lot of defending, says Chettri
Ahead of the much anticipated match against China, Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri believes that the team will have to defend for a majority of their match on Saturday. Chhetri did, however, voice his delight on sharing the field with a quality opponent China in an international friendly.
Chhetri spoke about team improvements and also stated to work on defending area that will eventually be the key to plan for aĀ
āWe have to defend really well. By the look and feel, I believe we have to do a lot of defending. We should not afford them much space. At the same time, whenever we find a little room of opportunity, we have to construct the moves and counter them,ā said Chhetri,Ā PTI reported.
āTo sum it up, itās a game where we must be at the top of our game in every single department. If we are not being able to combine well and operate as a team, then theyāll make us struggle a lot."
Chhetri confessed about the game play by the team which wasnāt surely convincing away from our home and promised to maintain a goodwill in the next games.Ā Ā
āItās the time to do so. I just hope we can utilise this opportunity to go back and give a good account of ourselves. We have to convince ourselves first that yes, we are improving. Come January, it will be very difficult for us and we have to be ready for that. Iām happy that we are playing a team like China. Itās strange that we are playing them after so long. We should have played them more often. Iām very excited because they are a quality opponent and they have always been a respected side in Asia,ā he said.Ā
Chettri missed out on Indiaās last away fixture against the Kyrgyzstan due to an injury. He is keen to make his presence count but will not pressure.Ā
āI donāt take too much pressure on myself. Iām happy that Iām back to the team once again, that too for an away fixture. Itās very difficult but itās something where I want to be. Thank God, everyone seems to be fit, Iām fit too. I canāt just wait to go out there and give our best on Saturday.ā
The charismatic captain said he was more focussed on developing the team doing well than personal accomplishment.Ā
āIf you focus on personal goals, then youāll go in a different direction where you donāt actually want to head. We are a team and thatās the most important thing. Iām one of the senior players, actually, the senior most player and I have my responsibility towards the team. What we achieve individually is important but itās never ever more than the team does,ā said Chettri
āForget about China ā any team whoās not as fancy as China are always threatening at their home. China are one of the Asian teams who are doing really great in Football of late. The League has gone from strength to strength and the National team has benefitted from that under a respectable coach like Marcelo Lippi. He added, āThatās going to be the perfect challenge that we need to assess ourselves. We have done really well in the last couple of years but now itāll help us gauge ourselves before the Asian Cup.ā