Yet again, it was that man. Sunil Chhetri, India’s talisman, scored the opening goal and led India to a very important victory in the Hero Intercontinental Cup in Odisha against Lebanon. It was the first time India had beaten Lebanon since 1977. As a result of the win, India will climb up a few places in the FIFA rankings once the new list is released in the next couple of weeks. The better ranking could also mean a favorable draw for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Why is it that India has no replacement for Sunil Chhetri? Why do we all unequivocally call him the greatest? What makes him special even in the twilight of his career?
Needless to say, he is clearly one of the greatest footballers to have played for India. Statesman and captain, Chhetri was frustrated when forced to sit out in the match against Qatar in Doha a year ago because of an injury. The reason – he has always prided himself on being one of the fittest players in the team. He had once said to me, “I know I am not as talented as Messi or Ronaldo, but what stops me from working as hard as them, if not harder? That is in my control, and I can certainly do it.”
He then went on to add: “You know I no longer eat what I want to. Rather, I eat what I need.”
Simple words that have stayed with me. Each one of us have our weaknesses, and want our cheat days. We love to indulge on occasions. Break the mould of monotony. Not so Chhetri. Just like Virat Kohli, who had one cheat meal in four years, Chhetri has raised the fitness bar for the Indian national team and that’s what makes him different.
The other thing that stands out about him is his philosophy. He knows that in sport, you will not win every day. That’s how sport is. But for him, it is all about effort. The process. If that’s right, the result doesn’t really matter.
“Each game I play is like a challenge to me,” he once said. “The thrill is to push yourself and try to raise the bar each time you step out on to the park. Do the same things better over and over again. Get them right each time you do so. That’s when you improve and gain consistency. That’s what I as a footballer will always aspire to do. Not every day will you win. There will be days when the opposition plays better than you. But what you need to be clear about is that your effort should always be at an optimum. As far as effort and preparedness is concerned, you can’t be lacking. That’s what I tell anyone who wants to play football at the highest level, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Chhetri, as my last conversation with him indicated, feels confident that things are indeed looking positive for Indian football with all that’s being done for the sport. The ISL, he reckons, has made a real difference. “Firstly, we don’t suffer on count of fitness anymore and have the stamina to last out 90 minutes in every single game we play,” he said. “We now have sports science in our system and with the ISL, Indian players are exposed to very good-quality footballers on a regular basis.
“A lot of the players playing the ISL are better than any footballer you will see playing for any of the Asian teams. Their fundamentals are such that any Asian team would love to have any of them playing for them. And because these players play regularly in the ISL, it is but natural that our players will improve by playing with them. That’s the biggest plus of the ISL. What we now need is consistency. We need to be able to close out games. That’s when we will have heightened self-belief and our fans will come out in numbers to support us. But things are definitely looking up, and that’s what makes me optimistic while I look ahead to the future.”
The Lebanon result will indeed add to that self-belief. And the motivation. While we don’t really know what next after Chhetri, it is important we enjoy every single day he spends on the park. Such players don’t come along often. As long as we have him, it is important we celebrate and appreciate him as much as we can.