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“He is remarkable, brave and honest. He never gives up,” was how former Indian team manager Bob Houghton described current Indian captain Sunil Chhetri. The truth behind the statement is the very reason very football fan in India loves the 30-year-old striker.
Located at the heart of the city, the Ambedkar stadium has a charm of its own. Built in such a manner that it gives a sense of intimacy and allows personal proximity, the stadium was widely renowned for the cultural contests among the fans along with the game played on the pitch.
Over the years, the stadium has witnessed the performances of the likes of Krishanu Dey, Cheema Okerie, Jamshed Nasseri, Baichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan to name a few. Back in those days, people said that the stadium gave birth to legendary players. They weren’t wrong!
On a warm and humid August evening in 2008, a tense crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium witnessed the performance of a lifetime. The performance was significant for it ensured the Indian national team’s place in the 2011 Asian Cup.
Just two days short of the nation celebrating 61 years of its “tryst with destiny”, the football team managed to fulfill its own tryst with destiny by qualifying for Asia’s elite tournament. India’s success in that tournament was due to a number of reasons with Sunil Chhetri’s performances being one among them.
A tap in from an NP Pradeep effort, a piledriver with the left foot from a long way out and a brilliant run complemented with a calm finish; that in short were his goals that evening. Yet people like me who’ve been following Indian football for some time weren’t surprised. The glimpses were there right from the beginning. This was bound to happen.
Chhetri has played for almost every major Indian club
Sunil Chhetri moved to Mohun Bagan from Delhi side City FC. Moving to such a high profile club at a young side wasn’t the best decision to make. Struggling in the first two seasons, Chhetri moved to the now defunct JCT where he made his name.
The professional journey which effectively began in Phagwara took him to various places like Kolkata, Goa, Bengaluru, Kansas City and Lisbon. Goals, assists, wins, losses, trophies, injuries, money, fame, criticism and fans have been integral aspects of his life for so far. In short, he has achieved all that a good athlete can.
However, Sunil is not just good. He is great and while sport often seems to interchange these terms and exaggerate good as great, there is certainly no exaggeration here. Records and trophies alone do not ensure greatness. It is the ability to keep coming back and reinventing oneself. It is the ability to defy criticism time and again and hence in the process do what few can, inspire.
After a failed stint at Lisbon, Sunil returned to India and joined the newly created Bengaluru FC. Battling criticism after not getting into the Sporting Lisbon first team, he struggled at first under Ashley Westwood at Bengaluru. Being the captain of the national side and possibly the most recognizable face in India football now didn’t actually make things easy for him.
Chhetri: The man who can play anywhere on the field
He was dropped for the first two games and asked to play on the wings. Having played a central role all his life, this was a challenge. However, being the determined player that he is, he adapted and cemented his place in the team. The season ended with side lifting their maiden I-League title and Sunil finishing as the joint top scorer.
But this was not the first time, after an unsuccessful spell at Kansas City he came back to India and signed with Chirag United and was decent there. Before joining Churchill, he had a loan spell at Churchill where he guided the team to the I-League title. In the span of a year and a half, Sunil had reinvented himself greatly. From being a striker, he could now play on the wings and he even dropped back into midfield when needed. It is this process of reform that has confirmed his status as an Indian sporting legend.
But things have never really been rosy for Sunil. He has suffered injuries, at times has been out of form and has not really been successful outside India. But where Sunil never disappoints is when he is wearing the Indian jersey. His performances for India have mostly been top notch. He seems the perfect man to lead a young Indian side which is aiming to make it big.
The man born in Secunderabad in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and now Telangana to parents of Nepali descent has come a long way. From scoring for City FC as a youngster to scoring a world class goal for India against Oman.
However, when the name Sunil Chhetri comes to mind, the images of that evening at the Ambedkar become fresh. We’ve been waiting for an evening like that and I am sure it will come but until then, let’s just cling on to it.
