Challenge Cup game amazing but AFC Cup final is my most important match
KOLKATA: A day before Bengaluru FC (BFC) leave for Doha to play the 2016 AFC Cup final against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (Air Force Club, Iraq), Sunil Chhetri told HT why this is bigger than the
2008 AFC Challenge Cup final where he scored a hattrick as India beat Tajikistan 4-1. Speaking over the phone from Bengaluru, Chhetri also spoke about why he wants Bengaluru FC to be his last club. Excerpts:
Your thoughts before the final... We are calm. The first message from the coach (Albert Roca) was that we must forget what has happened. There is a bigger prize to be won, he said. He was very harsh on the first day of training and told us we haven’t achieved anything.
Our practice sessions have been intense. We have analysed videos of our performance and had one video session of theirs (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya). We will do more of that over the next three-four days.
Would this be the biggest match of your career or would it be the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup final, winning which took India to the Asian Cup after 27 years? You scored a hattrick in that game and remain the only India player to have done that in the final of an international tournament.
I think this one. The AFC Challenge Cup final was amazing but this is No 1. Firstly, because it is the present. Secondly, I haven’t achieved it yet. And it’s massive, man! In three-and-half-years of our existence, we could achieve what no team in the country has. During the group stages of the AFC Cup, we were also competing for the I-League. It was so not easy. In this tournament, we’ve got stronger with every match. And now we are at the last stage. This is definitely the most important game I have played so far.
Do you anticipate having to defend a lot?
That’s for sure. Generally when we play — and this is without sounding cocky — we have a lot of possession. But in this game, we all have to come back and defend. On paper, we are the underdogs. They (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya) are a very good side. But since we’ve watched videos, we are not going to be surprised (in the final). They have four-five players in the Iraq national team which is in the secondlast round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. They are good but not an impossible side.
Doha has a large Indian population. Are Bengaluru FC trying to ensure that a good number comes in?
Doha also has a large number of Malayalees and through Rino (Anto) and (CK) Vineeth we are trying to reach out to them. What also works as motivation is that a lot of people are travelling from India. That is so amazing. Bengaluru FC have become part of their lives. Some have quit jobs to travel. I don’t know how sensible that is but it tells you how big this has become.
At 32, are winning the AFC Cup and getting India to the finals of the 2019 Asian Cup your most important targets?
They would definitely be. But I don’t think about when I am going to stop. At Bengaluru FC, I am treated as a normal player, made to do every drill. They look after us well and in Ashley (Westwood) first and then Roca, the club has given us two fantastic coaches. I think I’ve been at my fittest here.
Will you end your career at Bengaluru FC?
End sounds really bad but, yes, now
I am not thinking of going unless they throw me out.
The first message from the coach
(Albert Roca) was that we must forget what has happened. There is a bigger prize to be won, he said... Our sessions have been intense... Generally we have a lot of possession. But in this game, we all have to come back and defend. On paper, we are the underdogs. They (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya) are a very good side...