Editorial FIFA World Cup Qualifier Football Indian football

Farewell to a legend: Sunil Chhetri, the nation’s captain

June 7, 2024
Rohan Chowdhury
Sunil Chhetri after the Kuwait match (Image: Swapnil Mukherjee)

Oo lala lala lala lala laa, ooo India! The famous Team India fan chant could be heard from a distance from around 5pm, two hours prior to kick-off. It was indeed a big day for Indian football. Mixed emotions. Sunil Chhetri, the skipper and Indian football’s poster boy, was about to don the blue jersey for the last time. Also, the match held immense value as a win would have secured a spot in the third round of the FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, and guaranteed 10 matches against the big guns of Asian Football.

 

The mood ahead of the game

Fans started to gather around the stadium by 4pm on Thursday. The streets reminded one of a Peter Drury line on commentary during the 2014 FIFA World Cup final. “… on behalf of every little boy wearing his shirt. Messi on a million backs. Messi for a million flashbulbs.” There were Chhetri-11 jerseys everywhere, whether it was fans wearing them or vendors selling them. And they sold like hot cakes. The stands started to fill from around 6 pm and tifos were hung. “Sonar Sunil: Tomay Hrid Majhare Rakhbo [O, golden boy Sunil. You’ll always be in our hearts],” said one.

The TIFO which said, “Sonar Sunil” (Image: Rohan Chowdhury)

The game starts

Overall, the game was not the one to enjoy. ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ are sure to give goosebumps when the chorus consists of 60,000 people. But the game didn’t match that intensity. The focus was on the man of the hour, SC11. Whenever he had the ball, the stadium erupted.

Other than that, there were sporadic good moves and a few excellent saves from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India’s goalkeeper. Rahim Ali in a one-on-one situation had the chance to give a perfect farewell gift for his captain and announce himself as the new No. 9. But that didn’t happen. There was a lack of coordination and many passes going awry. Kuwait were a better team on the night. Igor Stimac, India’s coach, said it best in the press conference. “Our best player was Gurpreet,” he remarked. “It is a good sign for him but not for the team that your best player on the day is your goalkeeper.”

Mood at the end

Once the final whistle blew, the stadium soon forgot about the qualification equations and the obvious focus was the man wearing the No. 11 jersey. Chhetri made a round of the pitch with folded hands. Folded hands and tears in his eyes. The folded hands were surely a gesture of gratitude towards the fans, and not an apology for the result. He didn’t need to do that after what he has given the team. The fans also didn’t care. Every block the skipper passed by, the fans greeted him with Viking Claps or bows and the “Chhetri Chhetri” chants were loud and clear.

The team waited for their skipper to come back to the halfway line. A guard of honour awaited him. While walking through the human tunnel, he couldn’t stop his tears. Pretty sure there were many who shared the same emotions, not only in the stands but also in front of their television sets. Though the fans got 90 minutes of Chhetri for a final time in the Indian jersey, the result was not what they had hoped for. A 95th goal would have been the dramatic finish that he deserved.

 

The twist

The press conference was attended by Stimac and Gurpreet. But the entire media fraternity was waiting for the main man. Maybe not just to get a quote for their story headlines, but to take selfies and scribbled autographs. After a while, the AIFF officials came and gave each member of the media an envelope which had a letter from the skipper. Chhetri has sent his message through that. He thanked his media friends for accompanying him on his long journey and said he would meet them in a game or two.

Sunil Chhetri’s letter to the media

A personal note

As a fan, I have followed Chhetri from the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008. But my focus intensified for a reason which many might not relate to. My interest in lower-tier European football leagues is immense. When Chhetri signed a contract with Sporting Lisbon B, he caught my eye. After all, an Indian player was going abroad and also to Cristiano Ronaldo’s club. He wore the No. 38 jersey at Sporting. Though the stint was not a successful one, I lived a fantasy life with it. As an ardent player of FIFA 14 (the computer game) back in the day, I used to play manager mode with Sporting. The first transfer would be Chhetri from the free-agents section, where all Indian players were available.

When he played a friendly match for the Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer (MLS) and became the first Indian player to play against the mighty Manchester United, that also made my FIFA to-do list.

Sunil Chhetri for Sporting Lisbon (Left), Kansas City (Right) [Image: AIFF & Kansas City Twitter/X]
Of his 94 goals for the country, many are memorable, but his freekick against Afghanistan in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers will stay top in my memory because it happened right in front of my eyes. And it came at a moment when India required it most. The celebrations were intense.

When I met him in China, during the Hangzhou Asian Games, it was special. I got a selfie. On Thursday, I had plans to get my accreditation card autographed, but got the surprise letter instead. I’ll get the autograph another day. Till then, thank you, skipper, for everything. A true captain, leader, legend.