Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri
Personal information
Full name Sunil Chhetri
Date of birth 3 August 1984 (1984-08-03) (age 27)
Place of birth New Delhi, India
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Mohun Bagan
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2005 Mohun Bagan 18 (8)
2005–2008 JCT 48 (20)
2008–2009 East Bengal 14 (7)
2009–2010 Dempo 13 (8)
2010–2011 Kansas City Wizards 0 (0)
2011 United Sports Club 7 (7)
2011– Mohun Bagan 5 (3)
National team‡
2005– India 55 (33)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 November 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 December 2011

Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984 in New Delhi)[1] is an Indian footballer who currently plays for Mohun Bagan A.C. in the I-League.

Chhetri started his football career playing for school teams and then for his local club, City Club. Since then, he has represented I-League clubs Mohun Bagan, East Bengal Club and JCT FC. At Mohun Bagan, he scored eight goals over three seasons where the club finished in the bottom half of the league table every time. The next three seasons were spent at JCT where he scored a total of twenty goals including twelve goals in a single season where JCT finished second in the league. This earned him the league's "Player of the Year" award. Afterwards he played for East Bengal and scored seven goals in a season where they finished sixth. For the 2009–10 season, he signed with Dempo SC on a two-year contract. Sunil had signed a three-year contract with Queen's Park Rangers in August 2009. But a work permit was rejected by the UK government.

At international level, Chhetri has represented India in the Nehru Cup, the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup. He received much media attention after scoring a hat-trick in the final of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which led to an unsuccessful trial at English club Coventry City and speculation linking him with many European and North American clubs. In addition, Chhetri has received awards such as the 2007 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year.

Contents

Early life

He was born to KB Chhetri of the Corps of EME and Sushila Chhetri, the youngster had to frequently change schools, from Bahai School in Gangtok to Bethany's in Darjeeling, and from Loyola School in Kolkata to the Army Public School in New Delhi. He later joined Asutosh College an affiliate of the University of Calcutta but abandoned it in Class XII to don the India colours at the Asian School Championship in Kuala Lumpur in October 2001. He is Nepali by ethnicity and plays in the Forward position and is known for his high work rate, ball control and shooting. Chettri has often said he would have loved to play for Nepal because of his ethnic background.Chetri started his football career with the Delhi based City Club. Since then, he has represented Mohun Bagan, JCT FC and Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City. For the current season, he has signed with Mohun Bagan AC. He was selected the AIFF Player of the Year 2007 for his excellent performances for his club and country.

Club career

After starting his career for the Delhi-based City Club,[2] Chhetri transferred to Mohun Bagan and remained there for three seasons. In his first season, the 2002–03 season, Chhetri scored four goals[3] in a season where Mohun Bagan finished in seventh place.[4] In the next season, Chhetri scored two goals and these came against SC Goa and bottom-placed Indian Bank as Mohun Bagan once again finished in the bottom half of the table, in ninth place.[5] Chhetri once again scored two goals in the 2004–05 season; this time Mohun Bagan finished eighth in the league and remained in the National Football League (NFL) on goal difference.[6] In the Santosh Trophy, where he played for Delhi, Chhetri managed to score seven goals in the whole tournament including four in a match against Gujarat.[6]

JCT

Subsequently, he moved to JCT FC (then known as JCT Mills) for the 2005–06 season.[7] That season, Chhetri scored two goals in all competitions, one against Salgaocar and the other against SC Goa, with JCT finishing sixth in the league.[8] After his game against the Brazilian club São Paulo FC in the Super Soccer Series in 2007, comparisons were drawn with fellow Indian striker Baichung Bhutia.[9] He also scored two hat-tricks for Delhi in the group stages of the 61st Santosh Trophy against Orissa and Railways.[10] Delhi were eliminated in the pre-quarter-final playoffs, however, after losing 1–0 to Tamil Nadu in extra time.[10]

"I have played so much in Delhi. It's a great feeling to be clubbed with some of the legends."

Sunil Chhetri, upon winning the AIFF Player of the Year.[2]

At the end of the 2006–07 season (the last NFL before it became the I-League), Chhetri was awarded the league's "Player of the Year" award as well as the best forward award.[11] He scored a total of twelve goals in the league as JCT finished second behind Dempo SC.[12] His twelve goals included two which came in a 2–0 win against Mohun Bagan and another double in a 3–2 win against Dempo SC.[13][14] In the first I–League season, Chhetri scored seven goals as JCT finished in third place.[15] That season, his solitary double was against Salgaocar in the last game of the season.[16] He was selected as the AIFF Player of the Year 2007 for his excellent performances for his club and country.[2] In October 2008 he sparked interest overseas from clubs Estoril Praia of the Portuguese second division, Liga de Honra,[17] and Leeds United of the English League One.[18] Although there had been no deal agreed with Leeds, Chhetri spoke in an interview saying, "Nothing has been confirmed as yet but yes, I think I am close to getting there,"[17] however a deal never materialised and he instead moved to East Bengal Club.

East Bengal

"Of course, I would love to play in Europe like [David] Villa and it all depends where I get an offer from. England would certainly be fine and I have had talks but the stumbling blocks are the work permit restrictions."

Sunil Chhetri, stating his desire to move abroad to play alongside Spanish striker David Villa.[19]

For the 2008–09 season, he signed with East Bengal Club.[7] He scored on his debut against Chirag United on 26 September 2008 with a goal in the 28th minute to win the man of the match award.[20][21] Chhetri scored a crucial goal in the 30th Federation Cup in a 1–0 win against his former club JCT, which almost assured East Bengal of a place in the semi-finals.[22] In the semi-final against arch rivals Mohun Bagan, things were much different for Chhetri as he missed the decisive penalty in the penalty shootout as East Bengal were knocked out of the competition.[23] Newspaper reports suggested that a few Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, rumoured to be Los Angeles Galaxy and DC United, were interested in the Indian striker along with his team mate Steven Dias.[24][25] On 25 January 2009, he arrived in England to start a trial with Coventry City,[26] rejecting the contract from the MLS.[27] Coventry City manager Chris Coleman announced four days later that they would not be following their interest in the Indian international.[28] Roughly four months later, on 20 May 2009, Chhetri said that he would again be going to Coventry City on an extended trial of 15 days in June 2009.[29] He finished the season with seven goals helping East Bengal finish sixth place in the league.[30]

Dempo

After being released by East Bengal, Chhetri signed a two-year contract for Dempo SC on 22 May 2009, with a clause stating he could attend trials abroad in the future if he wished to.[31][32]

On 7 August, the Scottish club Celtic were linked with a move to sign Chhetri. Celtic had him watched during the pre-season friendly with Santboià, a third division Spanish club. The player's agent, Yogesh Joshee was quoted as saying, "I'm waiting to get feedback from Celtic, who saw him on Monday by head scout and then another scout came to watch game, I'll let you know the outcome when I know."[33] The Hindustan Times stated in an article on 30 August that Chhetri had signed a three-year contract with English club Queens Park Rangers, but the British government denied him a work permit. According to an article on the Football Players’ Association of India's official website, Chhetri was denied a work permit because India were not in the top 70 of the FIFA World Rankings.[34] Chhetri remained positive: "But it's not the end of the world. I will still continue to work hard for my country and my club Dempo, who have been very supportive."[35]

Queen's Park Rangers Denial

Sunil had signed a three-year contract with Queen's Park Rangers in August 2009. The club since has been working to get its work permit for him to play in England. He was informed by his agent that it was rejected by the UK government since India is not in the top 70 in the FIFA ranking and the British government only permits non-EU players if the player is playing for the country and the country is ranked below 70 in FIFA ranking.[36]

Major League Soccer

Chhetri trialled with Major League Soccer club Kansas City Wizards throughout March 2010, competing during their pre-season games.[37] He became the first Indian to represent a Major League Soccer club when he formally signed for the team on 24 March 2010.[38] Peter Vermes, the manager, was quoted saying "One thing we really like about Sunil is that he's a crafty player. Technically he's very sharp, and he's a guy that has good attacking tendencies."[39] His first game was in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification play-in game against Colorado Rapids, which ended on a sad note as his team was knocked out and he ended up with a yellow card and was substituted at half time. He did not make any appearances in any league matches in the 2010 Major League Soccer season.[40] It was announced that Chhetri would make his second appearance for the club in a friendly versus Manchester United[41] which caused controversy as he had yet to appear with the club in league play.[42] He was substituted into the game in the 69th minute, which the Wizards won despite being down to 10 men. The next day Chettri was released for the rest of the season to the Indian national team until the end of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. On February 5 Sporting Kansas reported that Chhetri has officially left the team.[43]

2011 Asian Cup Speculation

The word came out that many Arab and Australian scouts were present during the India-Australia & India-Bahrain tie to try to grab up the versatile striker amidst reports that Chhetri is 'frustrated' at Sporting Kansas City, due to lack of playing time.

United Sports Club

After rejecting a contract from Baichung Bhutia's club United Sikkim FC, Sunil decided to sign a contract with Kolkata club United Sports Club until the end of the season. It was announced on February 10, 2011 that Chhetri has signed for Chirag United SC. On February 20, 2011 Chhetri played his first game for United Sports Club in the I-League against Salgaocar SC coming on in the 58th minute, the match ended 4-1 in Salgaocar SC favor.

Mohun Bagan

On July 22, 2011, it was announced by I-League club Mohun Bagan that Chhetri has signed a one-year deal with the club.[44] He scored his first goal for Bagan on September 21, 2011 against Churchill Brothers. Even though Bagan tied the match, they were still eliminated from the 2011 Indian Federation Cup. He then scored his first two goals for Bagan against Mumbai and then against Churchill Brothers on November 10, 2011. Until now, he has scored 4 goals in 8 matches.[45]

International career

Chhetri has represented India at international level.[46] He made his debut for the India national team in the 2004 SAF Games in Pakistan.[47] He scored his first international goal against Pakistan on 12 June 2005.[48]

Chhetri's first international tournament was the 2007 Nehru Cup. In the opening game, India defeated Cambodia 6–0 with Chhetri scoring two goals.[49] He also scored a goal in the 2–3 defeat to Syria[50] and another in the 3–0 win over Kyrgyzstan[51] to take his goal tally to four. Chhetri was involved in the build-up to N.P. Pradeep's decisive goal as India beat Syria 1–0 in the final to become the first champions of the tournament since 1997.[52] Later in 2007, India began their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. They were knocked out in the first round by Lebanon with Chhetri scoring once in the away leg (a 4–1 defeat)[53] and once in the home leg (a 2–2 draw)[54] resulting in a 6–3 aggregate defeat.[55]

The 2008 SAFF Championship started with three victories out of a possible three in the group stages. In the opening game, Chhetri scored a goal in a 4–0 victory over Nepal.[56] He scored once more in the championship—in the 2–1 semi-final victory over Bhutan; this was an equaliser before Gouramangi Singh scored India's second goal to send India through to the final.[57] India lost 1–0 to the Maldives in the final and Chhetri played for the full 90 minutes.[58] Later that year, in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, Chhetri played in all of the matches and scored four goals. In the 1–0 win over Afghanistan, he was involved in the build-up to Climax Lawrence's goal.[59] He also played for the full 90 minutes against Tajikistan (a 1–1 draw)[60] and Turkmenistan (a 2–1 win).[61] In the semi-final against Myanmar, Chhetri scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory after being assisted by Baichung Bhutia to see India through to the final.[62] In the final against Tajikistan, Chhetri scored a hat-trick which enabled India to win the Cup. This automatically qualified India for the 2011 Asian Cup, the first time they had qualified for the tournament in 24 years.[63] His first goal was originally disallowed for offside by Uzbek referee Valentin Kovalenko, who changed his mind after consulting his assistant.[64] Hundreds of fans waited outside the stadium to greet India's new "poster boy" and India manager Bob Houghton stated, "He is remarkable, brave and honest. He never gives up."[63]

Initially, Goal.com stated that Chhetri would miss the 2009 Nehru Cup through injury.[65] He played in the tournament, however, and he scored in the second match of the Nehru Cup, a penalty in a 2–1 win over Kyrgyzstan,[66] this being first time he had completed a full match since getting injured before the pre-season tour of Spain with his club.[67] He featured in the other three games in the round robin stage of the tournament, including the "dress rehearsal" for the final against Syria, but did not score.[68][69][70] Chhetri was one of India's scorers in the penalty shootout victory over Syria in the final after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw. He showed flashes of brilliance and scored the second goal in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Bahrain in the 2011 Asian Cup.He also scored a goal against Asian powerhouse South Korea at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.[71]

He was named the national team Captain for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification which took place in Malaysia.On November 16, 2011 Chhetri scored in the 39th and 53rd minute for India against Malaysia in a Friendly played at the Salt Lake Stadium. The match ended 3-2 in favor of India.[72] On December 11,2011 after scoring a goal in SAFF cup's final he set a new record by scoring seven goals in a single edition of the SAFF Championship surpassing I.M.Vijayan’s record of six goals in the 97 edition.

International

Statistics accurate as of 11 December 2011.[73]
National team Year Apps Goals
India 2005 5 1
2006 1 0
2007 7 6
2008 12 8
2009 6 1
2010 6 3
2011 18 14
Total 55 33

International goals

Honours

International

Individual

References

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External links

1 Subrata • 2 M. Singh • 3 Manju • 4 Masih • 5 Anwar Ali • 6 Baldeep • 7 Pradeep • 8 Rennedy • 9 Yadav • 10 Miranda • 11 Chhetri • 12 Deepak • 13 G. Sadhu • 14 Gawli • 15 Baichung (c) • 16 Mehraj • 17 Surkumar • 18 Rafi • 19 Gourmangi • 20 Climax • 21 Subhasish • 22 Nabi • 23 Dias • Coach: Houghton
Mohun Bagan A.C. – current squad