Sunil Chhetri: I hope Indian teenagers get to train at foreign academies

The 35-year-old spoke about his time with the overseas clubs, moving back to India and more.

In the second episode of “My Journey," Indian National Team captain, Sunil Chhetri spoke about his senior career and his days away from home during his stint at Kansas City, Sporting Lisbon and what could have been QPR.

He also reminisced about those famous Asian nights when Bengaluru FC became the first Indian club to make it to the finals of the AFC Cup and reveals the manner in which he wishes to be replaced.

Playing Overseas

“So, Kansas was the first one, I went to Phoenix for the trials. I played two games, I came back and they offered me a contract. I went there as a Kansas player and I think I had about 6-7 friendly games, I think in two, I scored two hat-tricks and I scored a brace and I just thought 'you know what, I’m going to start, this is it.' But then, we used to play 4-2-3-1, with a lone striker and (Kei) Kamara used to play.

"I think he’s still playing in the US and he’s a big African lad and he was always chosen before me, so I didn’t get a chance in the first 4-5 games and I was just so sad. I was not used to sitting on the bench, then I had a lovely pre-season where I scored 14 goals in seven games, I thought 'I’m going to start,' it didn’t happen for five games and I just started deteriorating."

"I think it was more mental than physical and then there was a lot of pressure from the National Team, they were here for eight months together for the Asian Cup. I didn’t go for the first eight months and then the last two months were left; Bob (Houghton) called me and said, “If you’re not playing there right now and starting, you can come."

"So, I went and talked to Peter Vermes and he said, 'Listen, you just come to the team, you’re still in and out, are you sure you want to do this?'  and I said 'Yeah, I want to go for the National Camp.' He said, 'You can go 8-9 days before, that’s the protocol, I can send you 10 days before,' and one thing led to another and I came back."

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"When I wanted to go back, I thought I can’t be sitting on the bench, so I didn’t make a switch. Then after that the QPR thing happened which was great, we signed a deal and stuff like that but the UK FA didn’t allow me the work permit. That was brutal. I think we challenged the verdict and out of six judges, majority had to say yes and for me, three said 'yes' and three said 'no.'"

"I think one anecdote that I’ve never shared is that the news that it has been denied got to me one day before the Nehru Cup finals in Delhi and I took my car, which I was not allowed to, and I was just driving. I drove for one and a half to two hours in the afternoon. I don’t even remember where I went, I just came back and I was… and the next day (NP) Pradeep’s hammer made me happy, we won 1-0, what a goal Pradeep scored and then I moved on."

"Then we went to Sporting Lisbon, this was great. Sporting Lisbon was great because when I went there after one week, I was told by the head coach that 'You’re not good enough, get lost to the B team,' and he was right. The pace in Sporting Lisbon A was too fast for me (compared to) when I was playing in the Indian leagues," said Sunil Chhetri.

"To my bad luck, the B team was even better than the A team. I think Bruma was there, Eric (Dier) was there, Pedro (Mendes) was there, all the boys who are doing so well in the world right now, Joao Mario was there. So, I was thinking to myself and I was 26 then and all the kids were 18,19 or 20, I just thought, in a happy way, unlike Kansas, I thought 'I have to play.' After giving it a shot for I think nine months, I played five games and scored zero goals, never started a game. I told the coach, because there was a four or five million release clause, I was there for three years. I said 'I want to go back to India and nobody is going to pay this amount, I want help here, just release me.' We had a meeting and they were really nice."

I just hope that someday a lot of Indians, if not a few, get a chance to go to academies like this when they’re 17 or 18 and still have 4-5 years because you train with better players at a better league and just improve. The technicalities and understandings and keeping it simple, also grew more. When I came back, I was probably much more mature," said Sunil Chhetri.

History At Kanteerava

“I have to be honest, we were dominated by Johor at Johor’s stadium. We really had the ball, we really played some good football at home, but for us to go to Johor and get pinned into our own half and not get too much of the ball was hard to digest. So, we conceded the goal and all our heads were down and (Alvaro) Rubio comes to us and says ‘Put your head up, we just need one goal and we’re going to get it’, and then we tried and what a goal by Eugene (Lyngdoh) man. A lot of people don’t understand the importance of that goal that day of course and when we came back. Imagine, if we had come back 1-0 or even worse 2-0; it’s all about belief but when we came back with 1-1, we thought ‘You know what, no matter who they are, we are going to take them at Kanteerava.'"

"We were buzzing, we were on them, we were dominating and we knew we were going to get the goal. The first goal of course, a great ball by Eugene again and John (Johnson) was the decoy in front of me. they went with him and I was alone, 1-0 and of course, a lot of people talk about the second one and then the third one by Juanan and Eugene. I don’t think we had nights like that at BFC or at Kanteerava that can be the top one."

"That was, I think that was one of those nights where we probably told Asia, that we are a good team. Then we went to Doha, we were that close, we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy against the Air Force team, they were good. I think they were the better side but we fought really well and in the last 10 minutes we had so many chances, we were very close to making our country proud."

"I think the only silver lining is that we gave it everything, every player of ours, we really want to be back there. Other players have more time than me, so I’m more desperate. I just hope we get a chance again because those nights are magical, you want to be at the AFC Cup semi-finals, you want to be at the AFC Cup finals. Now our country is doing well and getting a slot in the AFC Champions League, it’s massive. You want to be there at those nights playing against Sydney FC, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al- Ahed, you want to play those matches, it’s just wonderful."

On ISL Glory

“That night (against Chennaiyin FC), a championship where you’re leading 1-0 and you’re thinking ‘Wow, this is our night’ 'It’s raining a little bit, you get a goal, you’re buzzing, they have no clue what’s happening and then bang, two corners and you lose on the night. After that night, it’s difficult to come back, no one spoke about it from day one. We had to take vengeance, we had to take the league back, because we understood that football doesn’t work like that," said Sunil Chhetri.

"You make the best team, you might not reach there. It’s not just one game that you lost against Chennaiyin, you get another game and you’re going to win. It’s the whole league and to again top the chart and to again have the semi-finals and to again be in the finals and win against a team (FC Goa) which I think is one of the best along with us in the last three years was massive!"

"To get it back the way we did, again topping the chart and handsomely beating NorthEast (United) in the semi-finals, and having a very difficult tactical game against Goa and winning it. Rahul Bheke, the saviour, the hero. That was really sweet. It is not easy to, you know, every year, be there, one of the best teams, again semi-finals, again finals, it’s not easy. That is what tells me that I’m in the right team.”

On His Legacy

“Now that I realise and I know that I’ve got 70+ goals for my country, it’s a feeling that I’m really proud of and till the time I can, I’ll give every ounce of me to score goals for my country and do well for my country. When I was growing up, I was always the talented boy, I was always the one who was skilful, I was always the one who had a good touch but that leads you nowhere and it’s a fact. All of you who are skilful and think ‘This is enough,' not in football, not anymore, it is so fast growing, it is so competitive and it is so physical and so tactical, you’ve got to work hard. You have to be the most hardworking there."

"Whenever it’s time for me to go and somebody else comes, I just hope he comes because he is better than me not because I didn’t work hard, because that is a regret that I will never ever be able to take. I don’t want to regret that I couldn’t be in the team, because I wasn’t working hard or doing the right thing. So eventually, if anyone ever remembers me, or thinks about my legacy, is that you have to work hard, you really have to work hard," concluded Sunil Chhetri.

Sunil Chhetri has been one of the most influential players for the country in recent times. He has been conferred with the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award by the Government of India and has also been named as an Asian Icon by AFC. Top scorer for both club and country, he set a wave of new age revolution among fans with respect to football in India.