Sunil Chhetri: Number of players going abroad will increase, but it alone can't improve our game

The Indian national team skipper also shed light on the PIOs.

India national team captain Sunil Chhetri is still going strong at the age of 38 despite having enjoyed a two-decade-long professional career in Indian football. The Bengaluru FC star has no ambitions of hanging his boots in the foreseeable future and is planning to enjoy another prolific campaign at both club and national level.

Since his debut in 2002, Chhetri has seen a lot of ups and downs in Indian Football. He’s won it all in the country, and also had a first-hand experience of the transformation that has happened in the two-decade period.

What must happen for Indian football to grow its standards?

In an interview with Sportstar, the Bengaluru FC captain spoke about how he’s perceived the transformation over the last twenty years or so. He said: “There has been a perceptible change in the club football that we see in India now. Here I have to mention the Indian Super League, which has been instrumental in bringing up the culture of club football in India.

“But we cannot be satisfied at this point because we have a long way to go before we achieve the desired standard. We have to improve in all contexts. There should be at least 20 teams in the ISL and similarly in the I-League. We have enough talent, and the demography of our nation is big enough to have that many clubs playing in the top leagues.

“We have to bring the relatively smaller places (in terms of football activity) into the mainstream to have a pan-India movement. Places like Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, the Andamans, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, and Delhi should also play a more proactive role. If we start having an ISL or I-League club from every state, then the sport will grow,” he added.

Which clubs are nailing their youth development programmes?

When it comes to youth development, Suni Chhetri name-dropped two particular academies that he feels are leading the way with their academy structure and operations. He said: “The clubs have started doing it but need to be more serious about what is needed. I can give some names, like the Reliance Foundation and Bengaluru FC’s centre in Bellary. I am taking these two names because I know about them and have seen what they are doing. Likewise, if all the clubs start doing it, the result will be great.

“It will be great not only for the country but also for the clubs. It makes sense when players like Parag (Shrivas), Leon (Augustine), or Roshan (Singh) come from the academy and graduate to become players for the club. The first advantage is that you do not have to go out and spend too much money on players, and the second is that you get loyalty, which you cannot buy.

“Roshan, who has come from the academy, has a different loyalty when he plays for Bengaluru FC. It is like ‘The Class of ‘92’ of Manchester United or the likes of Xavi [Hernandez], Andres Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, and [Sergio] Busquets batch [of La Masia Academy]. These are the big benefits of having an academy, and I hope the ISL and I-League clubs are working towards realising them. If they are not doing it, then I am sure they will do it soon, as that is a big part of getting home-grown talents,” the forward also claimed.

Sunil Chhetri gives his opinion on PIO’s involvement with the Indian team

Sunil Chhetri has also given his personal opinion on the rules for PIOS (players of Indian Origins), who are required to give up their passports and take up Indian citizenship to play for the country. He offered his perspective on this debate, saying: “To this question, I have always given the same answer: this is a quick-fix solution and nothing more. If the national coach knows of specific players who can come straight into the starting eleven, then that is good. 

“We are 1.4 billion people, and we have to work hard to make sure we have enough home-grown talents. My point is simple, and that is, if the coach knows which players to get from abroad, then fine. If those boys can come and immediately improve the level of our performance, then it is good. I am saying it because I know the whole world is doing it.

“There are two to three Brazilians in the UAE national team. It doesn’t make sense, but it is reality. If you want to do something remarkable in the AFC Asian Cup, you can do it as a quick-fix solution. That is my point of view, and there are people above me who will have to make the decision. But in the long run, we have to make sure that we are a country that is self-sufficient and can get talent from our resources.”

Could we see Indian footballers playing in foreign leagues soon?

Sunil Chhetri seems to be open to the prospect of introducing PIOs in the Indian team, but only if they can exponentially improve the Blue Tigers in major competitions. The India captain also called for patience discussing the prospect of seeing Indian players playing in foreign leagues too, and whether that can elevate the quality of the national team.

The 38-year-old said: “That is surely going to happen. But it is not going to happen with the top European clubs, as our level right now is not that good to play at the top level of European leagues. But it will eventually happen. When a kid goes outside the country, he or she will gather a lot of information playing at different levels of the league. 

“For people like me, Bhaichung (Bhutia), Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu), and Sandesh (Jhingan), playing abroad definitely made us better players. The number of players going abroad will increase, but that alone cannot improve our game. Everything in totality needs to improve in Indian football. The good thing is that the spotlight is on the Indian football team, which means that we will have to work hard. We, as in the Federation, the Government, the corporates who are helping us, the fans, the players, and also the media,” he also stated.