Sunil Chhetri, who plays for Mumbai City FC, says he wants to see more Indians playing in the Indian Super League. In a tete-a-tete with Andrea Fernandes, the 31-year-old Indian captain shares his experience of playing in the ISL's second edition.
THE GOAN: How does it feel like being the joint highest scorer alongside Chennaiyin FC's Colombian striker Stiven Mendoza and at the same time being the first Indian to score a hat-trick in the ISL?
Sunil Chhetri: It feels good that I am the first Indian to score a hat-trick, but honestly, it was more important that those three goals or whatever goals I scored helped my team win, that’s most important. If I score goals and if the team doesn’t win, it means nothing for me. So, I think I’m more happy that we won the games in which I scored.
TG:Why according to you has the ISL pulled such huge crowds to the stadium compared to the I-League?
SC: I think firstly, the franchises are working really hard to promote the game. A lot of time, money and energy has been spent on the production and marketing. So that’s one of the big reasons. And also, when you see every Star channel showing football, it helps. If you see why cricket is more popular than other sports, its because when you put on the TV, you see cricket only. In the same way, it's now happening with the ISL. It’s the same thing, its everywhere. A lot of celebrities coming to watch the game also helps. So its just the overall push that the ISL has on football that is bringing more fans. Also, the fact that Kerala, Chennai and Guwahati that were craving for a football team are major centers for ISL (the cities don’t have I-League teams).
TG:From the fact that India's world cup qualifiers are clashing with the ISL schedule, is it fine or is it problematic for teams and players according to you?
SC:That’s the way it is. If you ask me, ideally I would like more time to train for the national team, more time to train for Mumbai City FC and more time to train for Bengaluru FC. But that doesn’t happen, you get limited time, especially for the national team and football across the world works like that. I just hope that next year, the calendar is more proper and little bit more time is given to all the three departments that I’m playing for.
TG: What is it like training under Nicolas Anelka. How has the experience been so far?
SC: It’s been a lovely experience. I’ve been a big fan of him and he’s one of the best strikers in football. As a coach, he’s not very orthodox, he’s more like a mentor than a coach. He comes and talks to all the players, he has so much of knowledge because he’s played for top clubs. He makes sure he talks to everyone, he’s very easy to approach and its been a great experience playing under him as well as with him.
TG: What do you think about Sony Norde? As a player are you able to connect with him?
SC: I think he’s very dynamic. He’s a quick player and a smart thinker and he gives us a lot of pace upfront, that is very very important for us. I think he’s one of the players responsible for us getting a lot of space, because he takes on defenders and makes the other teams stretch. I think he’s very vital for us, we’re going to miss him while he’s away. He definitely adds a great deal to our team.
TG: Do you think that Indian football is benefiting from the ISL? Should they be more Indians rather than foreign players playing in the ISL?
SC: Definitely. I just hope that this answer of mine is heard. I think ISL is definitely helping Indian football. And I just hope that because it's the 'Indian' Super League, the majority are Indians and more and more Indians get a chance. And with the way the Indians are playing this year, they’re giving a good account of themselves. I just hope this happens and I’m sure that next year, there will be more Indians playing in the teams.
