Owen Coyle shares his thoughts about Sunil Chhetri’s inclusion in Indian football team

Farukh Chaudhary also revealed that he was surprised by Sunil Chhetri’s return to international football.

Indian football fans were in for a surprise last week as Manolo Marquez named Sunil Chhetri in his 26-man squad for the upcoming international games against the Maldives and Bangladesh. The football legend comes out of international retirement as he gets to lace his boots once again in Shillong.

The Chennaiyin FC manager Owen Coyle and the forward Farukh Choudhary were asked about Sunil Chhetri’s return to the Indian football team in a recent press conference. Here is what the duo said…

Owen Coyle on Sunil Chhetri’s inclusion in the national team

While fans are delighted to see Sunil Chhetri come out of international retirement, it does bring back the question about who is eventually going to replace the forward once he hangs up his boots once again. Owen Coyle was asked if Chhetri’s return to the national team hurt the Blue Tigers in the long term for finding their next striker.

To this, the Chennaiyin FC manager replied by saying, “No, I think… I mean, you need to ask Manolo the question. All I can say from the outside is that Sunil Chhetri has been a consummate professional. His attitude, even if you see him this year, the way he’s kept himself in shape, the drive, the tenacity, all that stuff he has, he’s shown through many, many years he has wonderful qualities.”

“Maybe Manolo feels that Chhetri’s presence within the group adds a bit of experience; I think Manolo knows that over the course of years and years to come. Sunil’s probably a short term to maybe help in terms of the camaraderie, getting the group together, different things, there are many qualities.” he added,

Owen Coyle concluded by backing Manolo Marquez, saying, “There’s no doubt there’s a lot of good young players there that want to emulate and go on to be that number nine. I think Manolo will give them the opportunity to do that at the right time.”

What did Farukh Choudhary say about Sunil Chhetri?

Farukh Choudhary has made a return to the Indian national football team in the past few months, and the Chennaiyin FC star also scored a goal for the Blue Tigers in their 1-1 draw with Vietnam last year.

When asked about Sunil Chhetri’s inclusion, Farukh said, “I’m a bit shocked. We didn’t know about it. But I’m just looking forward to going to the camp, and we’ll take each day as it comes. Obviously, I’m always delighted to play with him. He’s a legend.”

“I mean, it’s always a great opportunity for youngsters like us to play with a legend, and I hope I have some good days with him. If I get a chance to play, of course, I want to play with him. But that, I’ll come to know once I join the camp.”

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