SUNIL CHHETRI

The Indian Super League has seen an exponential growth, and has subsequently led to the rise of football’s popularity in India. Perhaps no one has been more instrumental to this growth than the homegrown talent of ex-Indian captain, Sunil Chhetri.

Sunil Chhetri is one of the most important players for Indian Football. Not just for his efforts in leading India as a captain, but his contributions towards the growth of football in India. Chhetri’s importance to the sport of football is drastically overlooked. He remains the second highest active international goal scorer with 67 goals, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (85), and above legends of the game such as Lionel Messi (65), Robert Lewandowski (56) , Luis Suarez (55) and more. That is a miraculous achievement, given he plays for India- a massively sub-par team in comparison to the other national teams on the FIFA rank board.

Chhetri started his career in India at the Mohan Bagan team of the I-League (then National Football League). His performances ended up dropping, spurring a move to Jagajit Cotton and Textile Mills F.C in 2005. Moves across the I-League led to Chhetri’s potential being discovered. More importantly, however, he transformed into a better player through the seasons. Rumors of an overseas move wouldn’t leave Chhetri. This was followed by a potential move to Leeds United that ended up falling apart. But in March 2010, Chhetri’s career took a positive route when he signed for Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizards. Even at the peak of his powers, he wasn’t given much of a chance at that point in time given he had made just one appearance for the MLS side. However, national duties called Chhetri back to India for the AFC Asian Cup in 2011.

A short return to the I-League saw Chhetri hop from club to club. A potentially huge move came about when Chhetri was signed by Sporting Clube de Portugal, the team famous for discovering Cristiano Ronaldo. Chhetri was signed to play for the B-team. However, after making only 3 appearances, Chhetri returned back to India and the I-League.

After his return to India, Chhetri joined Bengaluru FC in 2013-14, which was then an I-League team. He gained a lot of success with the team. A loan in 2015 to Mumbai FC of the then-newly formed Indian Super League saw him bag 7 goals in 11 appearances for the side. Chhetri then bounced back and forth between Bengaluru FC and the I-League and Mumbai FC until 2016, when he permanently returned to Bengaluru FC, as their captain. A year later the team became a part of the ISL in 2017, putting the limelight back on to Chhetri. Chhetri is considered India’s top player, and perhaps the only homegrown player who can match the quality of foreign stars playing in the league. His first season for Bengaluru in the ISL saw him take the team to the final of the tournament, where they lost to Chennaiyin FC, who lifted their second ISL title. For his efforts, he was dubbed the Hero Of The League. The following season in 2018-19, Chhetri once again led Bengaluru FC to the final, this time in a winning effort against FC Goa after an extremely late extra time goal from his teammate Rahul Bheke.

Indian football has seen a lot of improvement under his captaincy, at both the club and country level. His efficient yet elegant style of play has made him an inspiration to the younger generation, which makes the future of Indian Football look much brighter than it did a few years ago.