In a country where cricket and hockey are the top sports, none of the Indian-born footballers has gained national and global recognition for ages. Not until now, at least.
Indian talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri ended that drought and has become one of India's best and most well-known football players.
The 38-year-old Sunil Chhetri is ranked fifth for goalscoring, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Ali Daei (Iran), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia), and Ferenc Puskas (Hungary).
His face stares out from many platforms on the internet, but few are aware of his background and recognition in India. Main Stand uncovers Sunil Chhetri's saga.
A footballer among cricketers
India is a destination for pilgrims worldwide as religions, beliefs, and cults embody the country. So naturally, the passion for sports is not so intense in India, with no exception for the world's most popular sport, football.
The first sport that successfully gained popularity in India was cricket, highly influenced by England in 1792. The colonizer established the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (currently Kolkata). Since its inception, cricket has long been a common sport among Indians.
As cricket dominated the entire country, there was little space for football. Cricket players were respectable and influential figures in Indian society. Playing cricket was high-paying, so people in the lower class viewed it as an escape valve from poverty. Meanwhile, football was popular, but the payment was much less than cricket.
However, money isn't everything though. Some might choose a sport they are passionate about instead of only considering a high-paying job, and Sunil Chhetri is among those people.
With his goal-scoring prowess, he is an Indian striker who consistently breaks records, accruing the most goals among India's national squad and ranked third in the world, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The rise of ‘Captain Fantastic’
Sunil Chhetri was not born into a low-income family and was not from the lower class. His father was a police sub-lieutenant. Although he had to relocate to a new place regularly, his love for football was not wavering because his father played football for a military team. So football has been deeply embedded in him since childhood.
"My mom and dad are true sports fans, especially football. They always encouraged me to express myself, be active and healthy and teach sports in our curriculum," said Sunil.
"I was raised in an army background, so we had ample opportunities to play different sports. It helped me in improving my muscular coordination. Then I started playing for a local amateur club called City Club (based in Delhi)."
Sunil was a City Club star, and this prodigy was spotted by India's oldest and most well-known side Mohun Bagan. The club unhesitantly signed him as a professional player. This was where his journey started. He had to leave his family to live in Kolkata and signed his first contract as a professional player.
"It happened very suddenly. I never thought I would become a professional footballer in my wildest dreams. It's one thing when you play in a local club for two months in Delhi, and going to the biggest club in the country was a massive leap for me," said Sunil.
When Sunil was 17 years old, he believed exceptional skills could make him a professional footballer. But the challenge was how to familiarize himself with Indians' aggressive way of enjoying football. Thanks to the league's mismanagement in the early stages, every of his away games was a nightmare not only because of the Indians' savage cheering manner but also high expectations from the club's fans.
People piled so much pressure on him that he even wanted to quit and return home.
"I recall a moment when we were playing an away game which we were supposed to win, but we lost it. We were abused and spat on, throwing stones at the dressing room, and we couldn't leave it even four hours after the game ended... The highs and the lows in Mohun Bagan during the first year were brutal. But, when we were winning, we were the city's heroes," Sunil recounted his football path, which paved the way for him to be the best player in India's history.
The talisman of Indian football
Sunil had become India's best striker since he was 20 when he joined the India national football team senior squad.
"This 'hard-working striker with superb technique' is crucial to team spirit because he embodies fearlessness. You can see it in the goals he racks up, one after another: the astonishing 80-yard run foxing seven separate defenders to score against Kyrgyzstan," Stephen Constantine, a former India national football team manager, referred to Chhetri.
Sunil Chhetri succeeded in the Indian league when he was only a youth. His stints on every team were remarkable. In 2010, he moved to American club Kansas City Wizards and Portuguese Sporting Lisbon B, respectively. After that, he constantly played in the Indian league, including the Indian Super League, which signed world-class players such as Roberto Carlos, Nicolas Anelka, and Alessandro Del Piero. Believe it, Sunil's total goals outnumbered all the players mentioned above.
Despite his outstanding credentials and numerous accolades in the country, Indian football doesn't meet international standards, so Sunil's excellence is not globally recognized. But Sunil has been dearly loved by Indian fans. He is not only a football icon but also inspires people in the next generations to play football.
Sunil has always been aware of people's expectations of him, which motivates him to retain his stunning performance. To him, it is the way to encourage youth players to live up to the standards so that they realize that he didn't manage to play in foreign leagues, despite his record-breaking accumulated goals.
He put effort into urging youths to outperform him to upgrade Indian football.
"I read a lot and am comfortable grasping better things. So I try to seek things I can learn, whether reading a book, watching an amazing athlete, or knowing what's happening worldwide. It really helps because it widens our capability and how our brain can grasp. Initially, when I thought this was how it would work, it never did. So we have to keep looking for different answers," he said.
"We have to keep trying to make ourselves better in life. Especially in my profession because everyone playing with me and against me is improving daily. So if I am stagnant and don't find different ways, we won't sustain. The amount we sleep, our diet, making sure we have meditation in our daily routine and trying to be humble in life. That's the way it has worked for me," Sunil added.
"It's just the desire to keep giving everything I have for my country, club and sport."
As Indian football is far behind its rivals, Sunil Chhetri views himself as inferior to players in elite leagues and is aware that his 84-goal tally for the Indian national football team is not so recognizable. Still, he is immensely honored to be referred to alongside other world superstars.
"I am not annoyed by the comparison (with Messi's scoring stats for Argentina). It is just people having an opinion. But if you want to know my take on this, it is this: there can be no comparison between, forget about Messi and me, but between me or any other player in that list. Thousands of players are better than me, and those thousands of players are fans of Messi. People who understand football know that there is no comparison," Sunil said.
The existence of prolific Sunil Chhetri in Indian football has encouraged the nation to make more massive leaps. He has the right passion, self-discipline and attitude, but most importantly, Sunil's unceasing ambition led him to become an Indian football vanguard since he was 17.
Sources:
https://www.wionews.com/sports/captain-fantastic-fifa-honours-indian-football-legend-sunil-chhetri-with-docuseries-on-his-career-520548
https://www.firstpost.com/sports/football-news/fifa-releases-captain-fantastic-on-sunil-chhetris-untold-story-of-tremendous-feats-11346541.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/football/fifa-pays-tribute-to-india-legend-sunil-chhetri-with-three-part-series-you-know-about-cristiano-ronaldo-and-lionel-messi-now-get-101664351223506.html
https://vocal.media/cleats/the-inspirational-story-of-sunil-chhetri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunil_Chhetri
https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/football/2020/may/09/interview--need-to-get-priorities-right-and-do-whatever-it-takes-to-ensure-safety-chhetri-2141101.html
https://iftwc.com/the-legacy-of-sunil-chhetri/
