He might be in the twilight zone of his illustrious career, but his insatiable appetite to find the back of the net every time he dons the 'India Blues' is what keeps 38-year-old Sunil Chhetri going. (More Football News)
Chhetri, the third most prolific international scorer (84 goals from 132 ma🦩tches) among active international players behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, said his hunger to score is the same as it has always been.
"I don't want to sound pompo🔥us, but I feel that there aren't many players who are as hungry to score as I am," Chhetri said ahead of India's match against Kyrgyz Republic in the Tri-Nation International football tournament here.
"My hunger to score i✅s the same as i🀅t has always been, and it will be the same against the Kyrgyz Republic."
Having beaten Myanmar ꧒1-0 in t🀅he first match on Wednesday last, India need just a draw in the last match of the tournament on Tuesday.
In the Myanmar match, Chhetri h⛄ad found the target, but the referee had disallowed the goal, ruling that he was offside. India head coach Igor Stimac ha🉐d also claimed that Chhetri should have got a penalty for a foul on him by a Myanmar player.
&q♛uot;Off-sides and penalty decisions are a part of the game, and you think about them for a certain amount of time, but then you move on and look forward to the next match," said Ch𝄹hetri, who made his India debut in 2005.
&qu💙ot;What you rat✱her do is to minimize mistakes and move on."
The talismanic striker also felt that joining the national camp just after losing the Indian Super League final for Bengaluru FC was li🔜ke a boon.
"The national team camp gave us an outlet. If the♏ camp wasn't there, it would have been more difficult for us to 💞cope," Chhetri said, referring to Bengaluru FC's defeat to ATK Mohun Bagan in the ISL final via penalty shootout.
"It's not a switch of a button, but when you have to take the flight the next day to the national camp, it gives you a bit more in terms of what you are thinking. You come and see the set-up and ♔it takes your mind far from the loss, you start training, and your mind is further.
"After months of hard work, when you lose a final 🍌(of ISL), you can go into a rabbit hole if you have time to think. But thankfully for us, we joined straight at the national camp.”
Chhetri warned his team-mates not ⛄to get complacen🎉t against their opponents on Tuesday.
“Kyrgyz Republic have physically strong and fast players. Don’t be fooled by what h♑ap꧙pened against Myanmar, because they are a top side. We have seen their last 10 games, and believe me when I say, they are a very good side,” he said.
“All the matches that we have played ag🍎ainst them i﷽n the past have also been tough matches.”
Chhetri was impressed with the suppo🔯rt from the crowd who turned up to fill the Khuman Lampak Stadium to the brim against Myanmar.
“We got such amazing support from the crowd in the first game against Myanmar. This is the second time I have come here, and the first time that I’ve playe🧸🍨d in Imphal, but I understand why people of Manipur are crazy about football.
"I just hope that we can get a positive result against Kyrgyz Republic and hope we can give an amazing game to the people. I also saw a lot of travelling fans, as well as little girls and mothers come to the s🍷tands, and t🀅hat is really good for the game."
The India captain also spoke about the motivating effect these matches could give to the younger players from the state, which has produced several international players, both men a🅠nd women.
"Many of us who have been playing for a long time, we have not been here for matc🐷hes. So watching all the Indian Football stars gives the younger kids that extra mo💮tivation,” said Chhetri.
"Even more than the others, seeing the likes of Suresh (Wangjam), Jeakson (Singh), Yasir (Mohammad) could really motivate the kids here, 🤪though judging by the sheer number of quality players that come out of this state, they do not need as much motivation.
";I just hope🍌 that as a national team, we can give them that much more to help them dream more," he con๊cluded.
