Constantine: 'Chhetri is the team's talisman'

"Sunil Chhetri is the talisman of this team. He is a wonderful player. He has been scoring goals for the last 10 years. I keep teasing him, saying 'your time is almost done', but he's not having that. He says he has another 4-5 years in him," said coach Stephen Constantine.

Published : Sep 04, 2016 12:23 IST , Mumbai

Coach Stephen Constantine feels Sunil Chhetri can play for another 4-5 years.
Coach Stephen Constantine feels Sunil Chhetri can play for another 4-5 years.
lightbox-info

Coach Stephen Constantine feels Sunil Chhetri can play for another 4-5 years.

India's football coach praised Sunil Chhetri after he inspired India to a 4-1 win against Puerto Rico in a friendly here last night at the Andheri Sports Complex stadium.

"Sunil Chhetri is the talisman of this team. He is a wonderful player. He has been scoring goals for the last 10 years. I keep teasing him, saying 'your time is almost done', but he's not having that. He says he has another 4-5 years in him," said Constantine.

"But look, he keeps himself in great shape. He is one of the leaders of the team, the captain. And as long as he's fit, he plays," said the Englishman after India, ranked 152, beat the 114th ranked Puerto Rico.

"A player of his calibre, you have to find the space for him. For me, his place is behind the striker. He brings other people into the game. He has an eye for goal, he sees the pass, and he works. It's not like he's walking about.

"Personally, I like to play him behind the striker," said the coach.

"However, there is no lock on his position. In some games, I like him on the left or the right, but at this point in his career, I see him playing behind the striker.".

Constantine emphasized the need to win more games to improve the ranking.

"I hate losing. So, whenever we win, it's okay for me. Apart from the result, we got to play. We need to play internationals to climb up the rankings.

"Winning one game won't help. Beating Puerto Rico, who are above us in the rankings, would help but we need more. That's what I'm trying to do since I came here."

"They are 38 places above us. Anyone above us is good enough. Was this game appropriate for us, absolutely! This gave us an opportunity to play against South American opposition which we do not normally do.

"This is why I wanted us to go to the US in the first place, to get games against sides like Guyana, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, these kind of teams, as we learn more playing against them as against smaller nations closer to us," he said.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment