Kolkata, There is no better person to speak about Sunil Chhetri as a footballer and a human being than former national team defender and father-in-law Subrata Bhattacharya, who believes the Indian talisman will be around for a "long time" after international retirement. "Will play club football. ,
Chhetri will be making his presence felt in the Indian team jersey in the World Cup Qualifiers second round match against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
"It is absolutely the right decision, he (Chhetri) feels the time has come to retire from the international jersey and he could not have chosen a better time," Bhattacharya told PTI here.
"This day comes for every player and there is nothing new in it. But the good thing is that he will play at club level.,
"He is second to none in terms of fitness and I see him playing at the club level long after retirement. Even Chunni Goswami retired in 1966 but played till 1972," he said.
Starting his journey as a 21-year-old forward by scoring against Pakistan in Quetta on 12 June 2005, the long-serving Indian captain became the highest goalscorer for the country (94 goals in 150 matches).
It was 17-year-old Chhetri's Shyam Thapa-like bicycle kick that caught Bhattacharya's attention during the Mohun Bagan trials in 2002 as the then coach instructed Mariners officials to "sign him up".
“He was small in stature and could go unnoticed, but he showed his acrobatic skills with a bicycle kick and scored a goal.It immediately reminded me of Shyam Thapa (former India international) at his peak, and I made up my mind to sign him for Mohun Bagan."
Chhetri started his top-tier football journey at the age of 17 with a three-year contract and since then he has not looked back.
The former coach and Indian defender fondly recalled, "He had amazing agility, his extraordinary aerial ability to constantly beat defenders and score goals with ease."
"But I never thought he would become a legend of Indian football and a top goalscorer for the country. Perhaps it was his hunger for success, dedication and work ethic that took him there, something he looks forward to further ."Indian footballer.
The septuagenarian, who happens to be Chhetri's father-in-law, said, "I don't need to tell him anything on football, it is God's gift. There is no discussion about football at home."
'No match pass for father-in-law'
,
But Bhattacharya was worried that he would not be able to watch live Chhetri's final appearance in the Indian No. 11 jersey.
“I'm looking forward to seeing him play in his last international match, see how he plays – but I'll be watching it on TV.
When asked repeatedly, he said, "I don't have any ticket, how will I go? No one has given me any ticket."No, I will not go."
Didn't his son-in-law give him any ticket?
However, Bhattacharya chose not to elaborate. "I'm not going, I'll just watch the match on TV."
The All India Football Federation has not distributed any 'complimentary passes'.
Chhetri will be making his presence felt in the Indian team jersey in the World Cup Qualifiers second round match against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
"It is absolutely the right decision, he (Chhetri) feels the time has come to retire from the international jersey and he could not have chosen a better time," Bhattacharya told PTI here.
"This day comes for every player and there is nothing new in it. But the good thing is that he will play at club level.,
"He is second to none in terms of fitness and I see him playing at the club level long after retirement. Even Chunni Goswami retired in 1966 but played till 1972," he said.
Starting his journey as a 21-year-old forward by scoring against Pakistan in Quetta on 12 June 2005, the long-serving Indian captain became the highest goalscorer for the country (94 goals in 150 matches).
It was 17-year-old Chhetri's Shyam Thapa-like bicycle kick that caught Bhattacharya's attention during the Mohun Bagan trials in 2002 as the then coach instructed Mariners officials to "sign him up".
“He was small in stature and could go unnoticed, but he showed his acrobatic skills with a bicycle kick and scored a goal.It immediately reminded me of Shyam Thapa (former India international) at his peak, and I made up my mind to sign him for Mohun Bagan."
Chhetri started his top-tier football journey at the age of 17 with a three-year contract and since then he has not looked back.
The former coach and Indian defender fondly recalled, "He had amazing agility, his extraordinary aerial ability to constantly beat defenders and score goals with ease."
"But I never thought he would become a legend of Indian football and a top goalscorer for the country. Perhaps it was his hunger for success, dedication and work ethic that took him there, something he looks forward to further ."Indian footballer.
The septuagenarian, who happens to be Chhetri's father-in-law, said, "I don't need to tell him anything on football, it is God's gift. There is no discussion about football at home."
'No match pass for father-in-law'
,
But Bhattacharya was worried that he would not be able to watch live Chhetri's final appearance in the Indian No. 11 jersey.
“I'm looking forward to seeing him play in his last international match, see how he plays – but I'll be watching it on TV.
When asked repeatedly, he said, "I don't have any ticket, how will I go? No one has given me any ticket."No, I will not go."
Didn't his son-in-law give him any ticket?
However, Bhattacharya chose not to elaborate. "I'm not going, I'll just watch the match on TV."
The All India Football Federation has not distributed any 'complimentary passes'.
