Sunil Chhetri talks Indian football, Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or win, dream 5-a-side team, his future and more (Exclusive)
On the occasion of World Football Day, German sportswear manufacturing giants Puma unveiled Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri as the latest addition to their growing roster of global athletes.
Chhetri, currently the skipper of the Indian men's football team as well as defending ISL champions Bengaluru FC, is one of the greatest players to have donned the Blue Tigers' shirt. He is also India's all-time highest goalscorer and is one of the leading active international goalscorers in world football.
Sportskeeda had the opportunity to catch up with the iconic footballer and have a chat with him about Puma, Indian football and more.
Speaking on signing up with Puma, Chhetri began by saying,
"I'm really excited and looking forward to it. I think their vision and how they view Indian football, in general, is something I'm looking forward to being a part of."
This move places the 35-year-old in the elite group of football figures represented by Puma, alongside the likes of World Cup-winner Antoinne Griezmann, Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez, Ada Hegerberg, Pep Guardiola and many more. The Bengaluru FC striker spoke further as to what about the brand appealed specifically to him. He said,
"They have a unique style, because to be honest the paramount for me is the boots. I've tried the Future 4.1 for a while and they fitted me well and ticked all the boxes for what my ideal boots should be. Then followed the accessories and the clothing, which were quite stylish as well. We also had talks with Puma about their vision for the future of Indian football and plans for me. These factors really compelled me to sign for Puma and I'm very pleased to do so.
The Chhetri-led Indian men's football team had a respectable start to their World Cup qualifying campaign after a heartbreaking late defeat at the hands of Oman, followed by a morale-boosting draw away to Asian champions Qatar. The skipper gives his two cents on the team's performances and morale at the moment.
"If you ask me individually I'm a bit disappointed, without sounding too harsh, with the way we've missed chances over the last few games. Even if you take the match against Oman at home, we were leading and dominant till the 81st minute and then went on to concede two goals. To go to Qatar and play the way we did was really encourgaing."
He continued,
"But, after that, to miss so many chances against Bangladesh at home and lose out on 3 points and similarly dropping points at Afghanistan where I feel we should have won was hard to take. In the reverse fixture against Oman, we dominated the game in the second half and yet due to defensive errors in the first half cost us the game."
Chhetri also hints that this could be the last set of World Cup Qualifiers he could be playing, which is why India's losses have been hard to take.
"Although these are small mistakes that can be worked upon and rectified in the future, it does hurt. It stings a bit more for me becuase this is probably the last World Cup Qualifiers I play. So yeah, All in all, I'm just a bit disappointed in terms of the chances we have missed."
Recently, the Indian men's football team coach Igor Stimac labelled the Bengaluru FC striker as a 'once in a decade or two' player while discussing a future without Chhetri, and said that he personally doesn't think anyone can fully replace him over the next five years.
Speaking about the pressure of being the talismanic figure and whether or not he attempts to facilitate the young talent in the squad.
"I don't do any of that, I just go out there and give my best for the country!" began the skipper.
"If in doing that, I can go out there and score goals and win games for the country, great. If that helps spur on and motivate the young talent doing that, that's also great. I don't go out there thinking. I'm Sunil Chhetri, I have to go out there and motivate players, I have to do things in a certain way. It's too much pressure. I just try to stay calm, stick to the basics and do my best.
He continued speaking,
"Becuase I'm going to lose games and miss chances, I've missed chances all my life. That's always going to happen, it's normal. But I just try to give it my all every time I step onto the pitch for either my club or country."
Having turned 35 this year, the idea of his retirement is sure to be lurking on the minds of Chhetri's enormous fanbase and evidently that of Igor Stimac.
"Am I planning to retire anytime soon? No. Can I give you a date for it? No. You never know how these things are. I can tell you one thing though, I've been thinking about it. I don't know, I've never been in ths situation before because I've never retired before so I can't tell you how anyone feels. But to be honest I'm enjoying my football both for my club and country, I feel fit and raring to go at the moment."
Much like Stimac, Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat has heaped enormous praise on his star man and is a huge admirer of the forward. Speaking on the major stylistic differences between his coaches at club and international level, Chhetri revealed that they are quite identical in many ways, and their differences are down to their individual perceptions of the game.
"There aren't many, really. I mean, both (Cuadrat and Stimac) of them do like to keep the ball. A lot of the training regimes and pre-match training sessions are similar. Both coaches are young and dynamic coaches and are very determined. There are, of course, minor differences between them as they are different coaches at the end of the day. But many things such as keeping the ball, building from the back, keeping the ball grounded are identical on the whole."
Only Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has more goals to his name on the list of the highest active international goalscorers in the world. Sunil Chhetri has racked up an astounding 72 goals in 115 international appearances for the Blue Tigers.
The Indian captain boasts of more goals at this stage than the likes of 6-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and a host of international stars. He also believes that the Portuguese and the Argentine are two of the greatest players in the world.
But, if Chhetri had a choice to pick a single trait each from these two legendary football figures, what would the former Sporting Lisbon B man choose?
"One trait? I could name 20 for each of them, easily!" laughed Chhetri.
"But if I had to name one, I would probably pick the heading prowess of Cristiano Ronaldo and the vision of Lionel Messi."
One of the biggest privileges of being the captain of the national side is the fact that they are a select group of individuals who can vote for various football awards in the year. Lionel Messi was crowned as the best player in the world with his record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or.
Although Chhetri revealed to have voted for Virgil van Dijk for FIFA's The Best award, the captain heaps praise on the Barcelona skipper.
"I think with the way he (Lionel Messi) plays, he automatically qualifies to win the Ballon d'Or every year. I as a captain of the nation get to vote for the awards and there's always a voice inside me that says "why NOT Messi?" I voted for (Luka) Modric last year and voted for (Virgil) van Dijk a while ago this year as well."
Speaking on whether or not Messi deserved the win the award in his opinion or someone else deserved the award, the Bengaluru FC skipper said,
"Here's the thing. If you want to talk about who the best player in the world is, I think we all know the answer. But in terms of anyone else having a chance to win the award for their performances over a year, you have to get into other details such as who won the Champions League, who won other trophies and so on. Messi, since he began playing has been the best player in the world and I'm sure there are a lot of people in the world who would agree to that."
After such insurmountable praise on the Blaugrana talisman, Messi was sure to make it into Chhetri's dream 5-a-side team. But who else would join the magical Argentine in the team? The Blue Tigers captain told us what his team would look like, before signing off.
"This is something that would require a great deal of time but if you put me on the spot.. I'd go for (Lionel) Messi and (Andres) Iniesta in midfield. In defence, I think I'll pick (Vincent) Kompany, former Manchester City defender in defence. He's good with the ball, he's strong, and behind him I'd have (Marc-André) ter Stegen as my goalkeeper. As for the world, I think I'll put myself up top as the forward. So yeah, that would be my 5-a-side team!"