In Conversation With Indian Football Captain ...

FROM CITY CLUB IN DELHI TO SPORTING LISBON IN PORTUGAL, THE CAPTAIN OF THE INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM BARES HIS SOUL ON THE CLUBS IN HIS CAREER, THE CURRENT STATE OF FOOTBALL IN INDIA AND HOW IT CAN IMPROVE

2001 – Represented India for the first time in Asian School Championship

2002 – Signed first professional contract with Kolkata – based Mohun Bagan

2004 – Made his debut for senior Indian national team in 2004 South Asian Games

2005 – Scored first goal for India against Pakistan

2007 – Selected as AIFF Player of the Year for excellent performances for club and country

2007 – Awarded Player of the Year and Best Forward by the National Football League

2007 – Helped India win the Nehru Cup for the first time since 1997

2008 – Helps India win 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. Awarded Most Valuable Player

2009 – Signs for English club Queens Park Rangers but not given a work permit

2009 – Awarded Best Player and Best Striker by Football Players’ Association of India

2010 – Was the first Indian footballer to play for a Major League Soccer club (Kansas City) in the USA

2010 – Named the captain of the Indian national team

2011 – Helped India win the SAFF Championship. Awarded Top Scorer and Player of the Tournament

2011 – Named AIFF Player of the Year for contributions to club and country

2012 – Signed for Sporting Club de Portugal (Sporting Lisbon)

2013 – Helped India climb 24 spots in FIFA rankings from 167 to 143

“I was the backbencher, the one who was pulling everybody’s leg. Then suddenly I was made the captain.”

Off The Field Reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Watching Entourage and The Avengers and Three Idiots

Listening to A.R. Rahman

Eating Anything my mom cooks

Playing PS3 FIFA. The best game ever!

In a country where sports equals cricket, how did you take up football as a profession?

I never decided I wanted to take it as a profession; I used to play it just for fun. When I first played for the country, which was under-17 India team, my only motive was to get a certificate and get into St Stephen’s in Delhi. I think I was just an average student who got 70-75% so for me it was very important to play for India to get into St Stephen’s. I never thought that I was going to be a professional one day. But in due course, I played the Durand Cup for City Club in Delhi and Mohun Bagan saw me. They gave me a call and I had to give trials and then finally I realised that this is a profession I can do well at.

Have you ever gotten into an on-field incident which you have regretted?

If you have seen my performances before the last two years, I had a very bad issue with the temper. But the last two years have been a total change. I was always quite clever, I never got caught so I never had to regret as far as any decision is concerned. But I do regret saying a lot of things, I do regret going for a lot of tackles and I have actually gone up to all of them and said sorry. But I have never been caught, I’ve never got a red card in my career. But it happens. One day something might get triggered and I might do something silly. To give you an example, if in a World Cup final Zidane, can do that stuff then you can imagine. It’s just a blood rush, just the situation in the game and can turn into something ugly.

Are you superstitious? Do you follow any ritual before your games?

I don’t have any ritual but before a game, if I drop anything accidentally then I am almost certain that I am going to score. I know it sounds very stupid but I think to myself every time ‘You cannot do it purposely’. And I never do it purposely. Someday or the other it happens that I drop something while having a bath or drinking tea, and automatically I think ‘Today I’m going to score’. And 90% of the time it has happened.

You have managed 40 goals in 69 competitive games for the national team. Which is your most memorable goal?

That is a very difficult thing to answer (laughs). But if I could point out some of them – my first goal against Pakistan will always be memorable; the hat trick against Kazakhstan in the AFC Challenge Cup; the goal against the Maldives in the semi-finals of the SAFF Cup; the penalty against Cameroon in the finals of the Nehru Cup. These are the most memorable ones but when you play for the country, every goal is important. You will not remember your club goals no matter how many of them you have scored. But when you score for your country, you always remember them.

You are 3 goals away from breaking Baichung Bhutia’s international scoring record. What do you think about reaching that milestone?

I don’t know. Because whenever I think about my national team goals, I never thought that when I am 28 I will be scoring 40 goals, not in my wildest dreams. The only thing that I want is to be fit, to stay injury free and to play as well as I can for the country. I’ve already played 69 games and I think only Baichung bhai is in the 100 club in appearances for the country. In the history of Indian football, there’s only one guy who has played 100 matches for the country, so you know how difficult it is. That is one feat that I am really chasing. I would say playing 100 matches for the country is something which will be very, very pleasing and a big milestone for me.

When you stepped into the shoes of Baichung Bhutia as the Indian team captain, what challenges did you face?

When I became the national team captain, I was very happy and I felt very honoured and privileged. But then, I’m probably saying this for the first time, I got lost. I was the one who was the backbencher, the one who was pulling everybody’s leg. Steven and I were the prank-masters of the team. Then suddenly I was made the captain. I found myself in a place where I had to behave to set an example, not only on the field but off the field also. So I was lost. But now slowly and steadily I am learning.

How has the atmosphere in the dressing room changed since you took over?

Right now if you ask me, we are in a transition period; there are a lot of juniors and I just hope I can be a good teammate and leader to them. We are all trying to learn something about each other and that makes my job a little more difficult since I have to bind the team well. I’m trying my best to do that. I feel that as fast as we can do that, we’ll be a better team.

You helped the Indian team rise up 24 spots in the February 2013 FIFA rankings. At the end of your career, where do you hope to see India placed?

I haven’t thought about it because I never thought that I have to take my country to such a level or such a ranking. The only thing that came to my mind was, let’s go to the team and make it a better team. Now that we have reached 145, it is a process, it doesn’t stop here. It is very important for us to play a lot of international friendlies. I definitely believe India is much better than 145.

Does the poor infrastructure for football in the country and lack of backing from regulatory bodies frustrate you?

I have been frustrated for nine-ten years now, but it has never helped. One thing that I’ve realised is that if a coach is frustrated if the players are frustrated if the AIFF is frustrated if the fans have given up, if the media don’t want to telecast the games, it won’t help. We have pointed fingers at each other a lot of times now and it’s enough. In India, we do have money and interest in football, no doubt. It’s just that we have to do our jobs properly, and I’m sure the day is not far when we are going to make huge progress in football.

What are India’s chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup?

I think the chances of seeing the Indian under-17 team play in the 2017 World Cup is high because we might host it. To understand when India is going to play the senior world cup, we have to understand that we are 20 or 21st in Asia right now. To have any realistic chance of qualifying for the World Cup, we have to come in the first ten. To think about when India is going to play in the football World Cup is like chasing a dream, a task which is too high right now. And being the captain of the nation right now, I have no qualms saying that. If we are in the first ten of Asia, then we have an easy chance of becoming something on the world stage.

“To think about when India is going to play in the football World Cup is like chasing a dream, a task which is too high right now”

Why does Indian football seem to lack the standard of international competitors?

The quality will not be there because it is impossible for anyone to run and to perform to the best of their ability at 40 degrees. Even if you bring Messi or Ronaldo , they will not be able to play with the same intensity . If you saw Borussia Dortmund running against Real Madrid or Bayern Munchen chasing after Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals – I would bet any amount of money they wouldn’t be able to do the same thing at 3 pm in Kolkata under the heat.

What do you think needs to be done to improve the current state of football in India?

The clubs who invest so much money in India now should really go and get their own grounds. They can have their own matches at their own timings. If five teams in a state play on the same ground, the ground maintenance goes for a toss. But if every team has their own field, play at 8 in the evening and build their own fan base, people will want to come to see the match. The Ten Sports TRP goes sky high because at 1 am in India, kids, girls, boys, old, young, everybody wants to watch Champions League. So if those people are brought to the ground at 7 o’clock in the evening, given some incentive, given some safety and good facilities, they will come.

Do you think Indian football needs a tournament on the lines of the IPL to increase the popularity of the sport?

I think we have to make the existing tournament a tournament like that. If there is a Mohun Bagan match, there are 100,000 people coming to Salt Lake Stadium; doesn’t matter what time and the kind of atmosphere. In Delhi, when we played the Nehru Cup, it wasn’t properly advertised. Still, there were 20,000 people who had come to see the final. People do want to come and see the matches, it’s just the right marketing and the right timings. It’s very important for the I-League teams to understand this; if you want to make the present I-League better, every match has to be 7:30 pm. Then both the crowd and the match broadcasters will come.

What are you doing personally to improve the quality and popularity of football in the country?

Right now as a player, the only thing I can do, and I have always tried to do, is given as much as I can for my club and my country. I think I am somebody who is very passionate and wants football to do well in India. As the captain of the nation, I try my best on the field as well as off the field. In time I will be getting into academic stuff or something like that. I do not have a definite path to how I am going to do it; whichever way I can, I will do it.

You were the first Indian footballer to play professionally for a Major League Soccer club (Kansas City) in the USA. Tell us about the experience of playing against Manchester United.

Oh, that was massive, man. We had a friendly against them and if you know Manchester United, no match is friendly for them. It was a game that I played for 30 minutes. I was supposed to get one half but we got a red card I was brought in a little bit late.
We won the match 2-1 and it always will be one of the best memories of my life. We really played our skin out as a team and we beat Manchester. And sharing the field with the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Nani, Rooney was excellent and something I am going to cherish all my life. Whenever I think about it or watch videos of the match, I always feel good about it.

Even if you bring Messi or Ronaldo , they will not be able to play with the same intensity

You were set to play in England for Lakshmi Mittal’s team Queens Park Rangers in 2009 but a work permit stood in your way. Does it bother you that Indians have been investing in foreign lands instead of their own country?

At the end of the day, it’s their prerogative, it’s what they want. But as a football fan, I would love to see a lot of investors coming to Indian football. The McDowell’s group have been there for the last 20 years. Now I have heard that Mr Jindal is coming to the I-League. It’s always good when big popular houses want to come and invest in the I-League. I would like to see an Indian owning a club on foreign soil but I would be happier if there were investors owning teams in India only.

Why did you decide to return to India after signing for a reputed team like Sporting Lisbon?

When I signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, I believed that I am not at the same level – not only in terms of skill, in terms of mentality, the pace and everything. I worked my a** off, everything humanly possible. I reached a place where I thought ‘Now I do deserve a chance’. But what happened in the B-team is, if from Monday to Friday you work hard and are about to get a chance, on Saturday you get news that four-five players from the A-team are sent to the B-team. And when players from A-team are sent to the B-team, they have to be played. It happened almost every week and I used to get so disappointed because I used to work so hard to get into the team. I had a talk with the owner and the coaches that it was not fair. I knew the chances of me playing in the A-team was more than the B-team but without proving yourself in the B-team, you can’t go to the A-team. So I was really getting frustrated because even though I was training really hard and doing well in the training, I was not getting enough match time. I took a very hard decision that I have to come back to the country and play in the I-League.

Will you return to Europe to play?

I have a two-year long deal left with Sporting so after the league finishes over here, I will talk to them again. I will ask them properly and in writing as to what they think about me and if I am satisfied with what they say and what they think about me, only then will I take the plunge.

How many years of football do you think you have left in you?

I think I am definitely going to shock and amaze myself because this is something that I feel really, really passionate about. This is something that I want to keep doing. I know there are certain limitations when you reach a certain age. But I want to go as long as I can. There will come a time when I can’t, and I don’t know which year it’s going to be or what age I am going to be at the time when I call it quits, but now the day is very, very far because I am really someone who wants to work hard and keep playing.

Do you think you would have a successful career as an actor in Bollywood or TV shows?

Actually, I was offered Jhalak Dikhla Jaa for two years continuously but I couldn’t do it for some of the other issues. One day, I might. I don’t know. As a player, you never plan these things, it just happens. If one day it happens and if at that time I’m in a frame of mind that I want to do it then I will do it.

What would you say to budding sportspersons to convince them to choose football over other sports?

I would tell them to choose what they want to choose. My parents never forced me to take football. First of all, it’s very important for a kid to understand what he or she wants. If you want to be a guitarist and you are forced to take a cricket ball or a football, you will go nowhere. Only when you enjoy something you will excel in it, especially when it comes to sports.

“When I signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, I believed that I am not at the same level”

Quick Freekicks

A player you model your game on

Ronaldo (Brazilian)

Your mantra for life and sport

To keep it as simple as possible and give your best

Your dream team to play for

Barcelona (Present team)

Your favourite goal celebration

A new celebration I have is where I just keep calm and walk. I like it.

A match you can never forget

AFC Challenge Cup final vs Kazakhstan Manchester United vs Kansas City

If they made a movie on your life, what would the name be?

A story of a footballer starring Ranbir Kapoor as Sunil Chhetri

A player you wish to play alongside