India skipper Sunil Chhetri opens up about his future, says 'it is going to end soon'
India skipper Sunil Chhetri has opened up about his future and made it clear that he doesn't have much time left with the Indian team. As for the future, Chhetri has his hopes pinned on forward Manvir Singh, Apuia, Rahim Ali, Anirudh Thapa and Liston Colaco, to do the scoring for India.
Sunil Chhetri has been the torch-bearer of Indian football for over a decade, and is still one of the best in the country. But after the team made it to the final of the SAFF Championship, the skipper, talking about his career, has made it clear that "it is going to end soon". Chhetri said "it's a fact that it (his career) is going to end soon" and tells himself to enjoy every moment of it.
"Now I have got a very simple mantra. Dost khade ho ja, bahut kam time bhacha hey, bahut kam game bache huwe hey, chup chaap ja aur apna best de. Thoda time pe khatam hone wala hey (I tell myself that there is very little time left, there are very few games left, go quietly and give your best. It is going to end in some time)," he added.
"Stop crying, stop rejoicing stop over-celebrating, stop putting yourself down because all these will end very soon. Right now I will pick up myself, go there and try to give my best because I know it's a fact that it's going to end soon." But in the same breathe, he made it clear that the inevitable won't happen for the next few years.
"SC11 is not going anywhere for the next few years. So just relax," he said. The prolific goal-scorer has played 124 matches for India, after having made his debut in 2005 against Pakistan in Quetta. "Gaali khata hun, ya log tarif karte hey...Everything I try to forget, I go there and try to do my best."
During the match against the Maldives, Chhetri scored a brace that helped him get past legendary Pele, in all-time scorer's list. Chhetri said, "Everybody who knows football knows that there is no comparison whatsoever (with Pele). I am happy to keep playing and scoring for my country. That is all I want," he said.
"Very few footages of the great man (Pele) but from whatever I can see, he was a dynamic and powerful footballer. Football was different in those times, the game was brutal at times then.
"Despite that he scored so many goals and that speaks of his extremely great achievement."
Now his next goal is to help India qualify for the 2023 Asia Cup in China. Though in the current tournament, he admits, the team has not played to its true potential. "It was a topsy-turvy beginning for us in the tournament. Not scoring against Sri Lanka was unacceptable. We missed a lot of chances against Nepal also. We were not playing against the Qatars and Japans and UAEs of the world," he said.
"Beating a tough team like Maldives in Maldives and that also in a hostile environment (home fan support) was the way we needed to play. "We are the dominant side in this region and I think we are peaking at the right time and we can go all the way in the final," Chhetri said.
Now the big question. Who would take over the reigns of Indian football after him. "I am banking on Manvir when I am done. He is a beast, a machine, in every training tests we have, he will be in top three. "The problem is he plays at the right side for ATK Mohun Bagan in ISL but as No. 9 in national team. He is young and so he is unable to adapt (from one position to other) and so at times he is off. He will learn with experience. He is our weapon."
While among others, he picked Apuia, Rahim Ali, Anirudh Thapa, and Liston Colaco as future goal-scorers. "The country needs better players than Sunil Chhetris. We have to evolve and be better than before. We will have better scorers than Sunil Chhetris in the future, that is the hope and we have to be patient."
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