‘We Must Play Teams Better Than Us’

I WRITE THIS WITH India waiting to play its semi-final in the South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAFF Cup). India will yet again be looking at Sunil Chhetri for inspiration. But what makes him tick at 38? Does he keep going? And can he touch the miracle number of 100 international goals? Here are the key points from a long conversation with Sunil.

It was a very important win against Lebanon and it will help us rise in the world rankings as well. Yet again you led from the front with the first goal.

Yes, it was a very significant victory for us. Let me tell you a backstory which will help contextualise the significance of the win better. For a number of us, this tournament came at the end of a very long season and fortunately or unfortunately we did not get a break. So, when we all met for our first practice session we were a touch tired. And in Odisha, the conditions weren’t great either. It was very hot and humid. If we keep all of these things in mind, the win against a side like Lebanon was most satisfying.

The announcement that you will soon join the club and be a father must have made it even more special.

Thank you. It was a hard call when to announce to the world. My wife and I had been thinking about it and we are one of those couples who have received a lot of love and affection from people across the country. So we wanted to tell them and also were trying to get the timing right. We thought a lot about how to give the good news to everyone and then eventually went the very footballer way. My wife said to me that as a footballer I should score a goal and then announce it to the world. I am glad I did not have to make her wait. The day she said it, I scored that very day against Vanuatu in the 18th minute. I ended up doing what I know as a footballer!

Five years ago, I remember a video you posted with folded hands asking fans to come out and support the team. And then I think of Manipur and the overflowing stadiums and now it was the same in Odisha. Clearly we have travelled a long way from the day of the appeal.

Indeed, we have Boriada. In Manipur and in Odisha, the crowd passion was fantastic. And a large number of our fans travelled to Manipur and to Odisha spending time, energy and money. I met a number of these fans in Manipur and Bhubaneshwar. It is not easy to spend money and travel to support your team. And that’s what we are now seeing in Indian football. The least we can do for these fans is turn up and give our absolute best each time we wear the national colours. That’s what we tried to do in this tournament.

I remember you once telling me that the Indian Super League (ISL) has made a real difference to our football. Can you elaborate?

The fact that you can train under coaches like Albert Roca, once part of Frank Rijkaard’s coaching set up at Barcelona; when you play with players like Miku, Coro, Roy (Krishna) and many others, you are sure to get better. Some of the players playing in ISL can walk into any team at the Asian level and some can even walk into most top teams in the world. When you play day-in and day-out with them, you are bound to get better. And you are seeing that in our team. See the physicality, the fitness levels, and you know what I am talking about.

When you were growing up, we hardly qualified for the Asian Cup. Now we do. How important is that?

You are right. While it is evidence of the progress we have made and a big step forward, it is a small step in terms of where we want to be. If you take top teams like Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, you will see that they always want to play with teams that are better and ranked higher than them. That’s when you improve. At the Asian Cup you play Japan, Australia and Uzbekistan, teams ranked higher than you. That’s when you can judge your progress, how much you have improved as a team. If you just play teams at your level, you can never improve. So the Asian Cup is a must for us and we make every effort to make use of this opportunity.

It was heartening to see a number of young players step up. (Lallianzuala) Chhangte did well. Your thoughts on the young players starting to do well?

This is the biggest positive for me. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see these guys step up. Some years back, two young men, Gurpreet Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan, came to the change room and we started following a culture which I had started—a culture that had discipline at its core. We followed a very strict regime and every little thing was monitored. Now, both of these superstars have taken the lead in the change room. And every youngster has started to follow the template. That’s why you will see that we don’t get tired, we are physically as fit as any other team, and the young players like Chhangte will only get better in future. He is someone we are all fond of and it is rare to find someone whom you like both as a player and as a human being. Chhangte is one such person who is liked by all in the team. Mahesh (Naorem Mahesh Singh), Chhangte and each of the young players have now imbibed the culture and will take the sport ahead in the country.

I know you are not a numbers man but any thoughts on 100 goals?

No, I am not. I don’t ever think of numbers. What I can tell you, however, is that as long as I play, I will give it my all for the national team. When I first got selected to play for India I did not imagine I would be captain one day. Never did I imagine I would score as many goals or play 100 games. All of this was beyond my imagination. I am immensely proud and fortunate that I have had this opportunity. And I have said this to everyone in the change room that I want to be the last in the team in terms of fitness and stamina—the day that happens, imagine what kind of team we will be. And for that to happen, each one of us has to push himself, for I will do everything I can to stay ahead of the younger players. They need to step up and beat me and that’s how we will improve as a team.

Fascinating. Please help me understand how the rankings will impact us going forward. How will it help us in World Cup qualification?

Let me say this to everyone reading this or to all who will watch your show—in the World Cup qualification, Pot 1 will have all the top teams—Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. Now that our rankings will go up, we will be in Pot 2. If we were in Pot 3, we would end up playing two top teams and could be handed a very tough draw. Now that we are in the second pot, we can expect to have one top team in our pool. While no match in international football is easy these days, you can say that being in the second pot does allow us to get a favourable draw in the qualifiers. In that sense, this win is hugely significant.

ChhangtefootballFrank RijkaardSAFF Cup semi-finalSunil Chhetri