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Sunil Chhetri - Third highest goal scorer - Retiring from international Football [Update on post#25]

Yossarian

Yossarian

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International football team Captain denied work visa.

"..Indian striker Sunil Chhetri's dream of playing for English Championship side Queen's Park Rangers ended prematurely after the British government denied him work permit.
Chhetri had signed a three-year contract with QPR a few weeks back, although it was kept underwraps..."
http://sports.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/29/chhetri-denied-uk-work-permit.htm

Surprise, surprise,..Queen's Park Rangers is partly owned by steel magnate Laxmi Mittal

First the Russians and the Yanks, then the the Arabs, and now the Indians. Move over Abramovich.
 
Work permits are routinely denied to footballers - usually if they havent played enough games for their national side.

I assume this will be the case with him.
 
As Oxy has said plenty of players have been denied work permits - even some established internationals have when they havnt played the necessary games to fulfill the criteria


As for Mittal he has part owned QPR for a little while alongside Briatore and some other fella BUT they havnt really spent as much as was expected
 
Geordie Ahmed said:
As for Mittal he has part owned QPR for a little while alongside Briatore and some other fella BUT they havnt really spent as much as was expected
Click to expand...

Wayne Routledge - from Villa via CArdiff was their 'biggest' signing last season - he left us citing 'bigger things destined etc etc etc'

He should have stayed - we'd have made the play offs
 
He isnt Indian captain..and even at QPR would not have come for football reasons..guys only lasted 1 training session at Coventry City earlier this year!!! with Indian size of 5 foot6/7 inch you are not gonna make it into Championship. His work permit was rejected due to India not being in top 70 otherwise he has played enough games and scored 36 goals too.
 
I remember when the previous indian captain Baichang Bhuttia (sp?) came to England - played for Bury BUT it didnt happen for him. Wonder where he is now?
 
Didn't he have a few trials with some lower league english clubs?

He was deemed not good enough so they sent him back to India.
 
Geordie Ahmed said:
I remember when the previous indian captain Baichang Bhuttia (sp?) came to England - played for Bury BUT it didnt happen for him. Wonder where he is now?
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Bhutia is in India!! legend there..won 100 caps and loads of goals. earns good enough with league1 players perhaps and sponsors include NIKE and much more..

recently won Jhalak Dikhlaja too.. :akhtar ..he should be on it!!!
 
Geordie Ahmed said:
As Oxy has said plenty of players have been denied work permits - even some established internationals have when they havnt played the necessary games to fulfill the criteria


As for Mittal he has part owned QPR for a little while alongside Briatore and some other fella BUT they havnt really spent as much as was expected
Click to expand...

He is not Arab, he is Indian. What do you expect with a South Asian owenr? :inzi
 
Sucks for the guy that he got rejected like that. Probably took him a while to get that contract anyways.

It's weird that not many Indians are playing in England even though they have such a huge population.
 
Indian football's big moment: Sunil Chhetri joins Sporting Lisbon

Top Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Portugal, also known as Sporting Lisbon, has roped in Indian striker Sunil Chhetri, it was confirmed in a press conference on Thursday. Chhetri will play for the club's reserve team.

Accompanied by All India Football Federation President Praful Patel in the media conference, Chhetri said he was very happy to be going to play in a country that is in the Top-10 in the FIFA world rankings.

"This is one opportunity that I would never forget in my life. 165th is the nation that I play football (for) right now... and I'm going to go and play in the country which is fifth and in one of the best clubs in the world....one of the best clubs in the world," said an elated Chhetri.

India's national captain emphasised that he would work very hard at Sporting and would not let the opportunity go for a waste.

"One thing that I can promise you guys, the ones who have made it possible for me to go there that I don't know how much can I achieve over there, I know for sure that I have to do a lot of hard work, I know that I'm not there yet but one thing's for sure, I'm not going to lose this opportunity.

"I'll make sure that I don't leave any stone unturned. I'll make sure when I'm 40 I don't say that I could have done anything better. I'll make sure when I'm 40 I can say I gave whatever was possible humanly for me. And I assure you... I will not let anyone down. I'll give my best," said Chhetri who had been a free agent since completing his one-year contract with Mohun Bagan after the end of this season. .

Earlier, Sporting had already issued a press release on their website confirming the deal.

"Sporting Clube de Portugal has officially opened its doors to the Indian market," the club said in its release. "With the aim of breaking ground in one of FIFA's most highly regarded markets, where more than 20 million players apply their trade, Sporting has put pen to paper with the Indian national team captain, Sunil Chhetri, who will now join up with the Club's reserve side," it added.

The India football captain has reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Portuguese club that previously had Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani in its ranks.

This will be Chhetri's second stint abroad after having been signed by Major League Soccer side Kansas City Wizard, a team he failed to make any league appearance for, in March 2010.

Chhetri has in the past also undegone trials for Coventry City and Glasgow Rangers without much success, while his move to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) did not go through after he failed to get a work permit.

NDTV
 
India-Pakistan to revive football rivalry

Football striker Sunil Chhetri hopes upcoming two-match series will help improve political climate between neighbors.
Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri said playing against arch rival Pakistan was “always special,” as his team geared up for an ice-breaking two-match series starting Sunday.

The ace striker also hoped the short series would help improve the political climate between the hostile neighbors. “All the matches that I have played against them [Pakistan] have been much more than a normal game and both the sides [are] aware of it,” Chhetri said. “For them too, this is a special game. An Indo-Pak clash is always special.”

Football takes a back seat in the cricket-mad subcontinent but such is the rivalry between the two countries that any sporting clash attracts keen interest. “History will tell you that sports has always been the binding factor in promoting bilateral relations between the two countries,” Chhetri said. “It’s important to build [the] relationship via sports, especially with your neighboring countries.”

India suspended bilateral sporting ties with its neighbor in the aftermath of the deadly 2008 attacks on Mumbai, blamed on militants from Pakistan. That deadlock hurt cricket the most, a game millions are obsessed with on both sides of the border.

The Pakistan cricket team did tour India for a short limited-over series in December 2012-January 2013 but the countries are yet to play a full bilateral series.

The football series also offers the teams an opportunity to assess their strengths and weaknesses ahead of the Asian Games in South Korea next month.

Online tickets for Sunday’s game were sold-out with brisk selling also reported at the stadium’s box office. “The response has been very good,” said Kunaal Majgaonkar, the media manager for All India Football Federation. “We had offered 2,400 tickets online and all of these have been sold out. Window sales are also brisk and 85 percent tickets have been sold so far,” he said.

Security has been stepped up in and around the Bangalore Football Stadium, the match venue. Four years ago, at least eight people were hurt in two bomb blasts at a cricket stadium in Bangalore that police blamed on Indian Muslim militants.

India has long struggled in world football and is currently ranked 150th out of 208 in the governing body FIFA’s rankings while Pakistan is further down in 164th place. The second and final match will be played on Wednesday.

http://newsweekpakistan.com/clashes-with-pakistan-are-always-special-says-indian-captain/
 
Some nice moves there from youngsters. :kohli

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Never heard off him. Will only judge him after a few seasons. SL are not a bad club to join though.
 
Its like saying someone joined Bangaldesh top club Dhaka warriors :ahmed

Anyway good for him. Lets hope je doesn't change his nationality when the opportunity comes :uakmal
 
he went to sporting.. didn't even manage to establish himself in the 2nd team and came back and won the I league with new club in Bangalore.. both of his stints abroad were seen more as PR things than anything else but still atleast he managed to get out there.. into his late 20s.. no chance of another move abroad.
 
I can see a lot of fuss going on about this guy being the second highest goal scorer in Internationals. Joint equal with Lionel Messi and second to only Cristiano Ronaldo. Well... Who is this guy and how good is he? I know he is from a small footballing nation but looks to be great if he is matching some great names...
 
He's Indian football team's Captain.
A good player but that's like comparing Rashid Khan to Shane Warne.
 
B_Positive said:
I can see a lot of fuss going on about this guy being the second highest goal scorer in Internationals. Joint equal with Lionel Messi and second to only Cristiano Ronaldo. Well... Who is this guy and how good is he? I know he is from a small footballing nation but looks to be great if he is matching some great names...
Click to expand...

Second highest among active players. Dunno his ranking overall but i do know that legends like puskas, pele, one iraqi legend (forgot his name), majed abdullah having more goals than him. I suppose he is in top ten or fifteen scorers of all time.
 
TM Riddle said:
He's Indian football team's Captain.
A good player but that's like comparing Rashid Khan to Shane Warne.
Click to expand...

If Rashid Khan was Indian, he would have had the chance to become an all-time great (but perhaps not Warne).
If Chettri was Brazilian or Argentinian, he wouldn't even make it into a second division club, let alone the national team.
 
Bosanquet said:
If Rashid Khan was Indian, he would have had the chance to become an all-time great (but perhaps not Warne).
If Chettri was Brazilian or Argentinian, he wouldn't even make it into a second division club, let alone the national team.
Click to expand...

If Rashid Khan was Indian, he would have had the chance to become an all-time great (but perhaps not Warne). AGREED
If Chettri was Brazilian or Argentinian, he wouldn't even make it into a second division club, let alone the national team. (DOUBT IT) Not seen him play much except a few videos today, but he looks good. And if he would have been an Argentine national, yes he might not make it to national team but would have been with a top club for sure. Just because of the facilities available. If a guy from South Asia can make it to MLS and Portugal then I guess thats just because of his pure ability. Add facilities to it, I guess he would have made it pretty good. Facilities is a reason I am agreeing with you on Rashid.
 
Sunil Chhetri: Indian football icon announces retirement from sport

Indian football icon and captain of the national team, Sunil Chhetri, has announced his decision to retire from international football on 6 June.

In a video posted on X, he said that India's World Cup qualification match against Kuwait would be his last game.

"One last game... for all our sakes...let's win the game and we can depart, happily," he said in the video.

Chhetri, 39, has played for the country for 19 years, having scored his first goal during his debut match in 2005.

He is among the country's most celebrated players, credited with shining a spotlight on Indian football nationally and internationally, amidst a cricket-centric culture.

At the moment, he holds the record of being the third-highest scorer of international goals among active footballers, after Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the nine-minute-51-second-long video post on X, Chhetri reminisced about the high and low points in his long career and expressed grief over his decision.

"The kid inside will probably keep fighting to play football, but the sensible, mature player and person knows that this is it," he said. "But it wasn't easy," he added.

Tributes have been pouring in on X, with many fans expressing their gratitude for his contribution to Indian football.

"'End of an era' is sometimes used loosely in sport, but for Indian Football, doesn't get truer than this. Sunil Chhetri - captain, leader, legend - announces retirement," one fan said.

"An all-time legend of Indian football," wrote another.

Fans and experts say that his longevity in international football, along with his work ethic, are the key factors behind Chhetri's success.

In India, he has won several football awards, including the Arjuna Award - the country's second-highest sporting award - and the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.

On the global stage, he has led the team to victory in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup, the South Asian Football Federation Championship, the Intercontinental Cup and more.

Chhetri, who is known to follow a strict diet and workout regimen, told the BBC in a previous interview about the "small sacrifices" he makes.

"It's all about what I eat and how much I sleep. For the kind of good life that I have got by God's grace, it's not a big deal to go for the broccolis rather than the biryani - as I know there will be enough time for such indulgences once I am done with the game," he said.

Now that Chhetri has hung up his boots, a question that's sure to plague fans and players alike will be "After Chhetri, who?"

BBC
 
Bad luck for us that peak Chetri and Bhutia werent playing together, at least that would had gottrn us some better performances.
 
"Not About Me And My Last Game": Sunil Chhetri On Must-Win Match vs Kuwait

Indian football team talisman Sunil Chhetri on Wednesday played down the hype around his last international match and sought to bring the focus back to the team's crucial FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Kuwait. A win on Thursday will almost guarantee the Indian team a place maiden appearance in the third round of the FIFA World Cup, the finals of which are scheduled to be held in USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. Chhetri last month announced that the second leg match against Kuwait would be his last in international football, having enjoyed a glorious career spanning 19 years.

"It's not about me and my last match. I don't want to address it again and again. We really want to win this game. This is not going to be easy, but we are ready. We will have tremendous support," Chhetri said on the eve of the second round match.

The 39-year-old champion striker, who has already chalked out his immediate plans after walking into international sunset, added, "If we win tomorrow we almost qualify. Five top games home and away, I am going to wear nice suits and watch the match wherever the team travels.

"Everyday I talk to the boys, I keep telling them about this dream. The longer camp helps, because we come from different mentality. It gives you much more time to work on details. It's not life-changing, but it games you to work on details." Approaching 40, Chhetri was still asked if he plans to reconsider his decision but he responded in the negative.

"No sir, suits are made and I am going to watch the boys play. I have thought about it a lot. I had a great ride all this 19 years. I will go as a fan and support the team wherever the team goes." The game against Kuwait holds a lot of significance as India are coming off a shocking 1-2 loss against lower-ranked Afghanistan in a home leg tie in Guwahati in March, a result that was panned by the fans and critics of Indian football.

Asked about their opponents, Indian team head coach Igor Stimac said, "We need to take care of these players, they don't have their best striker. We are also without Sandesh (Jhingan). They impressed me with their last performance against Qatar, they raised their game.

"But I'm in absolute peace with the way our preparation has gone. It's only a game of football and we should enjoy it. Result is always in god's hands."

NDTV
 
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