Sunil Chhetri, the celebrated Indian football icon, has retired from international football, but his focus now firmly rests on representing his club, Bengaluru FC. Chhetri’s unwavering popularity remains intact, as evidenced by the deafening cheers he received during the club’s open training session at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday.
While the 39-year-old striker refrained from setting a timeline for his club career, he made it clear that he intends to continue playing as long as he brings value to the team. “A lot depends on what value I bring to the team,” Chhetri stated. “That is a very important criteria. The life I have lived with this football club – BFC is my club. I do not want to be here if I don’t add value. I want to give my very best to this team,” he emphasized, adding, “And after that, I’ll be cheering for the boys from up there,” gesturing towards the spectator stands.
Chhetri expressed immense happiness for his close friend Virat Kohli and the Indian cricket team’s triumphant victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. “I love the fact that he (Kohli) won the tournament. It was long overdue. I know that he genuinely wanted to win it. To see the tears, as a sportsperson myself, I understood the emotions,” Chhetri shared.
Like every Indian fan, Chhetri’s heart skipped a beat when David Miller came close to smashing a six in the final over of the T20 World Cup final. “When Miller hit the ball, we all thought it was going for six. What a catch by Suryakumar (Yadav)! It is a fine margin – if that had gone for six, who knows what would have happened. Kudos to the whole team,” Chhetri exclaimed.
Reflecting on Bengaluru FC’s performance in the ISL 2023-24 season, Chhetri acknowledged their 10th-place finish as one of the club’s worst in history, emphasizing their strong desire to return to winning ways. “The message from the head coach (Gerard Zaragoza) is very clear. He wants us to win every day. First of all, we have to be at our best in training. There is a lot of competition in the team, so the coach made it very clear that everyone has to work hard to grab their places in the side. This creates a healthy atmosphere,” Chhetri concluded.
