Football star and captain of the Indian national team, Sunil Chhetri, has announced his decision to retire from international football. The 39-year-old, who happens to be the longest-serving captain of the Indian team, said Thursday that the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kuwait on 6 June would be his final game.
Chhetri is India’s all-time top scorer with a glorious career spanning nearly two decades. He holds the record of being the third-highest goal scorer among active international players, behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
In this 2017 interview with ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta for NDTV’s Walk the Talk, the football icon spoke about the Indian football team’s performance over the decades, his first professional contract, what makes a coach the most important player in the team, and more.
Shekhar Gupta (SG): In nearly 15 years of Walk the Talk, he’s going to be only the second Indian footballer to feature on the show. The first was Bhaichung Bhutia. And if you’re a football fan, you will know who this guest is. But to those who don’t know — Sunil Chhetri.
Sunil Chhetri (SC): Thank you so much, sir. Pleasure.
SG: The shining star and dada of Indian football.
SC: Thank you so much, sir.
SG: You know, most people don’t realise that — I mean, football fans do — but others don’t know that you are the fourth highest goal-scorer among all the active players in the world right now.
SC: Well, thank you so much, sir. It gives me much pleasure that I’m there. More importantly, we are winning games for the country. When you don’t get to the field thinking that you’re going to score goals for a country, it’s more important just to win the game. And in the same way, agar aap match bhi jeet rahe ho aur goal bhi maar rahe ho, it’s an added bonus.
SG: Much better because I always used to joke, in fact, with the Federation chairman Praful Patel, that the only area where India’s ranking was even lower than its ranking on the UN Human Development Index was football. I think it was 173 at one point. But we’ve made a dramatic improvement over the last few years.
SC: I’m sorry about…
SG: For the first time, we are below the three-figure mark.
SC:I’m sorry about that, because jab 173 tha, I was playing. I am still playing, and now thankfully, we have changed it. Thankfully, we could make you and the whole country happy. It’s a good phase. In the last 15 years, we have won 13, won very important games. We are doing quite well. My fingers crossed.
You don’t want to be complacent. You want to keep working hard. And so, whatever we achieve as a nation, woh kam hi padega, because you have to go a long way. There’s no point stopping and thinking, hamne bohot bada kaam kiya hai. It is the time to just consolidate on what we are doing well and keep working hard.
SG: We used to be quite good at football. You know, the first Asian games, we were the number one team going into the tournament. What happened? How did the football get left so far behind?
SC: I don’t know the exact reason, but what I can understand is the rate at which we are improving is not comparable to how other Asian teams are improving. Let’s leave aside the world. But the Asian teams are doing really well. They are improving so fast and we are not. So, it seems ki hum peeche ho gaye, hum pichad rahe hain, hum backward jaa rahe hain. We are making progress, but the progress is so small.
SG: Lekin aur log zyada tez aage jaa rahe hain
SC: Bohot tez, sir. Bohot tez.
SG: Plus all these new Asian countries also came under this Central Asian Republic.
SC: Yes, sir. The UAE is doing really well. You know, Qatar is doing so well. All the smaller countries generally, you know, when I think of Syria… such a good team and you think it’s a good team…
SG: …in spite of the war and everything…
SC: …you think the same thing ki yaar hum toh… iss country me toh sab kuch theek chal raha and ek country hai, who are in a war zone and so many bad things are happening to the country.Yet, they are so good at football. So the only thing is, sir, they are improving so fast, and we are not.
SG: …and the Saudis and the Japanese and the Koreans…
SC: Yes, sir. All good teams, and now Australia is in Asia.
SG: …just to add more…
SC: All the teams that you have named are among the top ten in Asia, and that’s where we aspire to go. I think we are, right now, ranked 15th in Asia. Not the exact number, but that’s where we are, 15-16. So, the best aim right now is to go to the first 10, first 12. Then, you have a chance to knock all these teams, who are right now much better than us
SG: Right. So for about 24 years, we did not even qualify to play the Asian Cup.
SC: Yes, sir.
SG: 2011 was the first time you played some role in that also. And now the hard work is for 2019.
SC: Yes. And in that context, we just won the first two games, which is very, very important. Woh bohot bada dream hai, ye personally chahta hun ki India should always play the Asia Cup, because then you know that you’re constantly doing well.
The top teams in Asia play in the Asia Cup. It’s like the World Cup for Asian teams. We played in 2011. Subrata Pal and I are the only remaining members from that team. And we know how great it was to play the Asia Cup, to rub shoulders with the best in Asia.
In 2015, we missed out because we didn’t do well. And thankfully, we have a chance now, a very good chance to make it again.
SG: …because you’ve won two games now
SC: Yes, we are in a very good position right now. We are not there yet. But yes, we have done really well. The first two games we have won, and we probably need seven more points from the remaining four games…
SG: …which means winning two and drawing one…
SC: Drawing one would be good. But in football, you don’t take anything for granted. You win the next game and then think about the next one.
SG: We know anything can happen, we got beaten by Maldives…
SC: Thank you for reminding me that. Yeah, it was the SAFF Cup finals. We were playing in Sri Lanka, and I think that’s the only game that I’ve lost against Maldives. We played them many times. But that’s the game that we lost.
SG: They are a good team for a small country and a small population.
SC: They are doing really well for us. I think whenever we meet them though that we beat them a lot of times. But you can’t say before the game if India’s shots are going to beat Maldives. They have improved a lot and they have got some really good players in the team.
SG: What are the new tricks that Indian football has learned in the last 57 years that we did not know? Why has our improvement rate become faster now? It has become faster.
SC: I think it’s a combined effect. The I-League and the ISL are becoming better, the inclusion of better coaches. Everyone is getting more serious.
SG: Anybody will give you a lecture on Ranji trophy and IPL, but most people will struggle telling you the difference between I-League and ISL, so explain it.
SC: I will try. So, the I-League is the national league of our country, which has been going on for a long time.
SG: That’s Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Dempo…
SC: Yes, and the protagonists are these three. It was the National League first, and then it became the I-League. For the last three years now, we have ISL, which is the Indian Super League, a bigger entity, which brought a lot of limelight to football…
SG: …which is owned by lots of big businessmen, film stars…
SC: All of them together, which is a good thing. A lot of interest has come up. What happens is when all these things come together, everything improves at a faster rate. You know, the availability of grounds, the infrastructure, the youth development, bigger teams coming up, better players coming up, sports, science — all these things combined, they all improve. So, these things were very, very important in the last 5–6 years.
SG: …and the coaches…
SC: Yes, which is paramount in our sport. A coach is the most important member of a team. You might get the best bunch of players, but until you have the right leader, the right guy to guide you, you won’t achieve anything in this game.
SG: So, how do you explain the importance of the coach in football, again, to a country, which only thinks of cricket, and the role of the captain in football, compared to say cricket or any other game?
SC: I probably wouldn’t know what a captain does in cricket or what a coach does. But in football, the coach has a plan and his plan is the most important thing. It’s pivotal. And according to his plan, the whole team works. All the teams who have done well are those where the coach and the players are in sync. You may have the best coach and you may have the best players, but if they’re not in sync, you will not get results. It’s as simple as that.
We all are interconnected. And even though there are times when you don’t necessarily agree with what the coach wants, the plan is bigger than the whole team. We all work according to it, and the chances of us winning get better.
SG: Have you had examples in the past of a team not gelling with the coach and messing up?
SC: Yeah, many, many, many examples. Not only internationally…
SG: Our own team?
SC: The national team…
SG: Before Houghton?
SC: No. I won’t say vast differences, but in club football, I faced a lot. I probably wouldn’t take names right now, but it happens. What happens is, if you are in the team and you’re unhappy, you will murmur something to me. Then, I won’t be happy. The two of us will make the third one unhappy. Then, we won’t give our best on the pitch. The coach will be angry, and the whole team will get divided. There is no way you’re going to get a result.
SG: Virus spread karta hai?
SC: Yes. So, it’s very, very important that everyone, even if unhappy… There might be times when you are unhappy with the coach, but because you want to win and you know, if he is not good, you won’t win. If I’m not good, you won’t win. No one can win alone here. So, for you to win, you need me. You might not like me. You might hate me, but you want me in my good shape, in the best shape. So, everyone works for the team.
SG: Is this a tough coach, now, the one you have?
SC: He’s a tough master. He’s a good coach. He knows exactly what he wants. And, if you ask him, he will tell you that he also has the players who support him, the whole staff, everyone. It’s a whole team game. He’s doing really well.
SG: But we did not have a lot of this earlier. I mean, Indian football facilities have improved.
SC: So much more. I think the AIFF is doing really well. I think the ISL is doing really well, the I-League, the youth development programs. We can be happy right now. We are taking small steps. We all need to put our head down and just keep working hard, because the journey is long.
SG: Tell me about your favorite globally famous coaches.
SC: José Mourinho is one of my favorites, simply because he went to different clubs and still did well. Pep Guardiola is really good. He is the Manchester City coach right now. He was in Barcelona, and then went to Bayern Munich. Yeah, these coaches are really good.
SG: But coaches also do a lot of acting on the side because they know the camera will come to them
SC: Yeah, but you can’t help it. If you are the coach, and the game is going so fast, and you’re angry and you have emotions, sometimes they come out. I don’t think there are many coaches, who think — I’ll go to the ground and act like this.
SG: Does this coach shout at you people?
SC: Yeah, he does, he does. The temper flies. Even in the last game, half time… We came, we had some differences and he shouted at the players. Sometimes, players shout at each other. The dressing room is not a very happy place, especially when you’re losing. It’s very natural.
SG: I think that’s why Virat Kohli said that what happens in dressing rooms should stay there.
SC: It is completely true.
SG: …It is sacred…
SC: Yeah, it’s completely true because other people would not understand, and then people start saying, and which is not good already, that we are losing and we have a problem. We don’t need more negativity. That’s why they say the dressing room matters should stay in the dressing room.
SG: And how rough does it get in a football dressing room?
SC: Nasty. I can’t disclose the words used there, the phrases used there. It’s nasty. Also, your pulse is 300. When you’re playing, you’re all heated up. Your mind doesn’t work. You’re not sane. And if somebody points a finger at you, you will never respond nicely. It becomes really nasty sometimes. But in the end, it’s all nice. We all understand this.
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SG: Tell us a little bit about your own journey. We know that you are not a formally trained footballer. I mean, you did not go to the academy. You were not picked up as a kid and taken to a Tata academy or a Mahindra Academy.
SC: Yes, I didn’t. I was quite lucky. I always wanted to play football because my mom and dad were both ardent football fans.
SG: Your dad played for his Army team — AME, and your mom and her sister played for Nepal.
SC: Yes. I’m really proud to say that my mom and her twin sister both played for the Nepal team. My father used to play for his AME brigade. Getting the football in my system was never difficult. But I had never thought I would play for my country or play professionally. So, that’s why there was no formal education in football. My father was in the Army. So, education was always important. It was paramount for you to be a disciplined kid, to be a good kid, to go and study, which I did. I think I did. At the same time…
SG: You were in a good school… Army Public School?
SC: I was in a decent school and I was allowed to express myself, I think.
SG: Before that, Kendriya Vidyalaya?
SC: Yeah, I was in Calcutta — Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William. Then, I went to APS and then yes, I went to Mamta Modern for the last two years.
SG: Why did you leave APS to go to Mamta Modern?
SC: My father still asks me the same. It was only because the opportunities to play in bigger school tournaments weren’t great in APS. It was a great school in terms of studies and discipline with a big name. But football wise, they weren’t doing that great.
SG: Mamta Modern had a good team?
SC: Mamta had the best team.
SG: So, you chose a school mainly because its team in a certain game was good?
SC: Actually, my family was unhappy. Kaun jaata hai yaar? Why do you want to go? No disrespect to Mamta Modern, but they said why would you want to leave APS, a good school. I said I really want to play tournaments. And I told them I would study hard and wouldn’t disappoint them.
SG: Did you?
SC: I didn’t disappoint them, I think. I did it all right. I wasn’t great.
SG: So, this Mamta Modern team was good. It was going higher up in the tournaments.
SC: Yes. We always used to reach the finals, win tournaments. So what happens is that you are seen more, you play more and you feel more confident, and probably that was why I got a chance to play for City FC, a Delhi Club. They saw me because I was playing for Mamta Modern, and then I played for them one year, and then Mohun Bagan saw me. So, you see the whole chain.
SG: Did they see you in the school game?
SC: No, when I played at the city club. But city club chose me because I was in the Mamta Modern team. I was playing bigger tournaments. I was reaching the finals.
SG: Then, Mohun Bagan saw you… Did a scout see you?
SC: Yes. The Mohun Bagan scouts saw me and called me. When they did, I thought they were calling me for the academy because who would have thought Mohun Bagan would call you and want you as a club player. I went there, my father couldn’t come with me. I was 17. I went there thinking — I’ll go to the academy, it’s great, it’s Mohun Bagan and I’ll spend three years there and eventually might get some clubs.
But when I reached there and did my trials, they picked me for the club. My father came down, and then they offered me a contract. My family and I were so happy. We could have never imagined that this could happen.
SG: What did the scouts or the coaches there say they saw in your game that they offered you a contract so early?
SC: I suppose they saw something good in me. I don’t know exactly what they saw. If they would have told me ki aapka trial jaa raha hai for the club, maybe I would have been nervous and not performed the same way. I was free in my mind.
I thought they probably had lesser players and they were using me for a week. I was playing however I could, doing whatever I knew. There was no pressure. So they probably liked me and offered me a contract.
SG: So, that was then the beginning of your professional career?
SC: Yes.
SG: And then you started meeting the greats?
SC: That was the year when Bhaichung bhai came back from Bury. When I heard the news, I was so happy. I still remember when he came the first day, there were thousands of people, who had come just to see him. He came and shook hands with me. And he said I have heard things about you and you’re doing good, kid. I told everyone that I knew — you know what, bhai came, shook hands with me and told me that you’re doing good. It was such a good moment.
SG: So, Bhaichung was for you guys, what Virat Kohli is right now for cricketers?
SC: Bigger. Bhaichung bhai was huge. He and Anand Vijay, they were huge. I’ll tell you a story. They had come to play the Durand Cup in Delhi. All of us from school went to watch, and wanted to go and shake hands with them. We were fans. This was three years before I signed with Mohun Bagan. The police there beat us up. They said — bhaago yahan se, bhaago — so, we couldn’t even touch him. We thought, kya samajhta hai apne aap ko. He couldn’t even wave to us kids.
SG: Haan haan bilkul, star samajhta hai…
SC: Yeah. Little did I know that I’d be playing with the same guy in the same club three years later. It was different.
SG: What was it like playing with him?
SC: Extraordinary.
SG: How would he help you youngsters?
SC: He was really good. He has always been so down-to-earth, it’s unbelievable. That’s something that I’ve learned. The bigger you become, the more down-to-earth you have to be.
He took so much interest in our game on the pitch and off the pitch. He used to guide us a lot. Renedy Singh, I.M. Vijayan, Sameer Naik, and Bhaichung bhai were so good.
They would take care of you, tell you the right things on the pitch, guide you even off the pitch about the way you have to conduct yourself, and the way you have to grow — they offered all these teachings.
SG: Indian football has now entered what looks like the beginning of the golden era, isn’t it?
SC: Touchwood, sir. Yes.
SG: So many of you are making good money. So many of you are becoming recognised faces, right? About how many footballers can make a decent living from the game in India today?
SC: 300 easy. And I’m comparing it with what it was like 15 years back.
SG: What was it like 15 years back?
SC: There were players, who were earning money, but had to take up jobs also in order to support their family.
SG: 15 years back, you were 17.
SC: At that time, even the bigger players, who were doing well, had to still go back and take jobs. Now, there is no such need, especially with the ISL, the salaries of the players are decent enough. They can have their own houses, cars, and can take care of their families. They are all sorted.
SG: You are the most highly priced player in ISL.
SC: Money is not the criteria. I want to be honest with you. I’m sorted. A human being can never say it’s enough. We are all greedy.
SG: Do you know how long I have waited for somebody, a star, to say that they are sorted in terms of money?
SC: I’m sorted. I have got more than what I’ve ever dreamt of in terms of money or in terms of anything. If you were to give me a pen then and ask me to write what I would want after 15 years, I wouldn’t have written what I’ve got today. I’m not complaining, I’ve got much more than what I’ve dreamt of.
SG: It’s obvious that FIFA is paying attention to India because it’s a big market. So, we are now going to host the Under-17 World Cup, a genuine World Cup.
SC: Yes, it’s huge. First of all, it’s great, great work by the AFF led by Mr Praful Patel. They had to work so hard to bring this tournament to our country, and now that we have got it, I just hope that we, as a nation, give our best in terms of the way we play and our hospitality. You won’t believe how many people from the world will come to our country to watch this tournament because it’s huge, the best in the world.
SG: …And all the talent scouts will come.
SC: All of them. Everyone is going to be in our country to watch this tournament. But these are the stars of the future, the world, stars of our future. So it’s very, very important for us to not only do well, but do our best. Also, as a country, we need to put the right foot forward, so that we can show the world that we can host it.
SG: For the first time, we’ll be hosting a genuine world international football tournament
SC: One of the biggest tournaments. I actually feel jealous that I’m not going to be part of it.
SG: How good is the Indian team?
SC: Pretty good. To be honest, they have really surprised me. Two years back when it was announced that the Under 17 team was going to go and play the World Cup, I was a little bit tense. But now, when I see the progress, it’s really good. They’re doing really, really well. Of course, it’s going to be different, when they play the best in the world.
It’s a huge task and we shouldn’t think too much about it. The only thing that is there in my head is we should prepare them as well as possible. So they are ready to face the best in the world and then, whatever they achieve, we will take it. But the important thing is not hosting the tournament. It’s about what we do after the tournament.
The mindset shouldn’t be ki tournament kar liya, ho gaya. Sab aa gaye, ho gaya. That’s the worst thing that can happen to a country. It is just a start. We got the taste, we got the best from the world and we know the level. Now, how do we improve every year? So that one day, we don’t have to depend on qualifying via being the host.
The Argentinas, the Brazils, the top teams are going to come. So, we know the level and then we can see, you know, where we are and how we can improve.
SG: In Asia, you said, other countries improve faster than us. So, what is it that makes them improve so much faster? Say, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, which has come out of war… South Korea, I can understand.
SC: Technically, I wouldn’t want to comment because I don’t know. But one reason is there’s only one sport there. I’m not complaining and I don’t think I’m complaining.
It’s good that we have different sports. We are a big country, a huge country and we should be good at tennis, badminton and cricket. As a fan, I want that. But in all these countries that we are naming, football is predominantly the main sport. So that’s why the pace of improvement is faster. That’s why we lag a little bit behind, and that’s why we have to pace it up, so that we can compete with them also.
SG: It’s very competitive. When you went to Mohun Bagan, for example, you must have had a very tough time, initially, when you went to train.
SC: I did. I was 17. People don’t want new faces. It was difficult in every aspect. I used to cry at night, thinking — where am I? I was happy with my family, everything was comfortable.
You come to a different club. You are 17, and they are huge players. You have to fight with a mindset. You have to fight with people, who think you can’t play, and then you are alone. I used to come back and cry.
SG: Nobody gives you freebies.
SC: None, sir. It doesn’t matter what age you are, where you’re from. When you go to a different place, a different state, and you want to make a mark, there are no free lunches. In fact, you’ll find it hostile. There was no choice. I couldn’t say that main wapas aa gaya because I was crying. I couldn’t. There was no choice and, thank God, there was no choice.
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