Top 10 moments in Sunil Chhetri's career

Sunil Chhetri has scored 92 goals for India

Sunil Chhetri is widely recognised as the heart and soul of Indian football, having kept the sport in the spotlight in India over the course of this century. He has been playing at the top of Indian football for over two decades now and has overseen major changes over the years.

Chhetri started his career in the National Football League (NFL) and has seen the introduction and the evolution of the Indian Super League (ISL). He’s been the beacon of hope for the Indian football team and repeatedly led them to joy over the last few decades. As the Indian captain celebrates his 39th birthday on Thursday, we take a look at the best moments in his career.

10. Becoming the highest-scoring Indian player in ISL history

Since its inception in 2014, Sunil Chhetri has been an ever-present figure in the ISL. He only got into it seriously once Bengaluru FC moved into the league in 2017, but he had some solid campaigns with Mumbai City FC too. Chhetri actually made his ISL debut in the 2015 edition, in which he scored seven goals in 11 games.

That sparked the start of a brilliant run in the competition that has seen him excel for both Mumbai and Bengaluru FC. Sunil Chhetri has scored 56 goals in the ISL so far, the most ever scored by an Indian player. While this isn’t that surprising, it’s still an impressive achievement to showcase his consistency in excelling at the top of Indian football.

9. Making his debut for Kansas City Wizards

Chhetri’s heroics in Indian football in the 2000s attracted a lot of attention from foreign clubs tracking his development. In 2009, the forward exercised an option in his contract with Dempo that allowed him to move abroad if a club wanted to sign him. He did just that in 2010, agreeing to a move to MLS side Kansas City Wizards. This came after he failed to get a move to English side QPR due to work permit issues due to India not being in the top 70 in the FIFA World Rankings.

He did, however, secure a move to the USA side and made his debut a month after joining them. He made his debut in a U.S. Open Cup game for Kansas against the Colorado Rapids. A few months later, Chhetri also played against Manchester United in a pre-season friendly. He left the club in early 2011, but the experience of playing in the USA proved to be a memorable moment in his career.

8. Being subject of FIFA documentary before 2022 World Cup

Sunil Chhetri might’ve never played in a FIFA World Cup, but the federation decided to honour his memorable career in a documentary released before the 2022 edition. Indeed, Chhetri was the subject of a three-part documentary released by FIFA for all around the world to watch, detailing the career of the Indian football captain. In the documentary, his personal life as well as how he progressed as a footballer in his career were both extensively shown.

In a way, it was the perfect opportunity to show a football fan not familiar with the Bengaluru FC star what he’s achieved across his career. The fact that he got his own FIFA documentary, something many World Cup stars don’t, itself made this a memorable moment for Chhetri in his career.

7. Scoring a hat-trick in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup final

The one and only time that India won the AFC Challenge Cup was way back in 2008, and Chhetri was one of the stars of the show in it. That tournament was pivotal in proving him as the next big thing in Indian football and a worthy heir to Bhaichung Bhutia. He scored four goals in the competition but kept his best for last. India met a challenging Tajikistan side at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi for the final.

Chhetri decided to light up the ground with his heroics on the day. He scored a brilliant hat-trick and included two goals in the first 25 minutes to help the Blue Tigers to a 4-1 win. That hat trick proved his mettle in the biggest games and was arguably a turning point in his international career.

6. Inducted into the AFC Cup All-Time XI Strikers Category

Sunil Chhetri has played in the AFC Cup on multiple occasions with Bengaluru FC. The most memorable year was in 2016 when he led the Blues all the way to the final, where they lost out to Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. However, Chhetri still holds the record for the most AFC Cup appearances and the most AFC Cup goals scored by an Indian player in history.

His heroics were celebrated by the AFC in 2021 when he was inducted among the nominees for the AFC Cup All-Time XI. He was placed among the striker category nominees, alongside some of Asia’s best forwards to have played in it. Even though he didn’t win it, the fact that Chhetri was among the nominees for this award was a proud moment in his career.

5. Winning the ISL title with Bengaluru FC

Sunil Chhetri has been a part of Bengaluru all through their stint in the Indian Super League since they entered the competition in 2017. He actually excelled for them in their debut ISL campaign, taking BFC to the final and even winning the ISL Hero of the League award. But after they came up just short and lost to Chennaiyin FC in the 2017 ISL final, Chhetri had a point to prove in the 2018/19 campaign.

He scored nine goals and provided three assists in 19 appearances and led the way for BFC to reach another ISL final. This time, however, they beat FC Goa to win their first-ever ISL title, which also marked Chhetri’s first time winning the league title.

4. Being honoured with the Khel Ratna

The India national team skipper has been honoured with many individual awards across his career, but the arguably biggest one came in 2021. Chhetri was one of the individuals to have been awarded the prestigious Khel Ratna award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Khel Ratna is given to a sportsperson with ‘spectacular and most outstanding performance in a field of sports over a period of four years’.

Chhetri was given the award for his heroics for India from 2017-21, helping them win many games and also adding to his goal tally. Incidentally, Chhetri remains the only footballer to have been honoured with the Khel Ratna award since it started in 1991.

3. Becoming the highest-capped Indian player

Sunil Chhetri made his debut for the Indian national team in 2005, scoring a goal against Pakistan on his debut. He’s been playing for the Blue Tigers for 18 years now and has been a consistent figure during that time frame. In 2019, Chhetri achieved an impressive feat by setting a new record for the most appearances by a single player for the Indian national team.

He broke the previous record held by Bhaichung Bhutia in India’s Kings Cup clash against Curacao and set a new feat for his national team. Chhetri has since featured heavily for India to create a solid lead at the top of the list of most-capped Indian players and has made 142 appearances for the Blue Tigers so far.

2. Surpassing Lionel Messi in the International goal-scorers charts

Sunil Chhetri has been setting new records with his goals for India as the years pass by and has reached the level where he’s actually managed to compete with Lionel Messi. Indeed, Chhetri is not only India’s top goal-scorer in history but he’s also managed to outscore the World Cup winner in the past. Back in 2021, Chhetri actually managed to do this feat after scoring against Bangladesh in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier clash.

He scored a brace in that game, taking his tally to 74 goals (at that time), which was higher than what Messi had scored for Argentina. While Leo has reinstated his position as the second-highest active goalscorer in international football history, the fact that Chhetri managed his feat was incredible by itself.

1. Becoming the fourth highest goal-scorer in International Football

Sunil Chhetri is a footballer who almost seems to be ageing like fine wine because he shows no signs of slowing down at all. Chhetri achieved what might be the proudest achievement of his international career very recently for India. After scoring a hattrick against old foe Pakistan in the SAFF Championship group stages, Chhetri took his goal tally to 90.

In doing so, he established his position as the fourth-highest goal scorer in the history of international football. Indeed, only the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei, and Leo Messi have scored more goals than Chhetri in international football. Chhetri currently sits on 92 goals, and it won’t be surprising at all for him to reach the 100-goal mark and potentially surpass Ali Dae’s tally of 109 goals before he retires.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.