Sunil Chhetri is celebrating his 37th birthday today, (August 3), a look at some records held by the Indian captain.
"Captain my Captain!" - This cheer can be heard everytime Sunil Chhetri nets a goal and gets a win for India. The Indian football captain is one of the most active goalscorers and belongs in the list along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
From scoring the most goals in international football for India to also becoming the highest Indian goalscorers in the I-League and the Indian Super League (ISL), the Bengaluru FC talisman has achieved all.
So as the man is celebrating his 37th birthday today, (August 3), a look at some records held by the Indian captain.
1. Highest international goals by an Indian
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Sunil Chhetri is the highest Indian goal scorer in international football. He has 74 goals in 117 international matches and is also the second-highest active goal scorer in world football after Cristiano Ronaldo (103).
2. Most hat-tricks for India
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Chhetri does not have the most international caps and goals, he also netted the most number of hat-tricks in international football - three.
His first was against Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup final in 2008, the second was against Vietnam in an international friendly and the last one was against Chinese Taipei in the Intercontinental Cup in 2018.
3. Most goals by an Indian in AFC Competitions
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Chhetri's international goal record that is known, but he also has scored a total of 19 goals in the AFC Cup and AFC Champions qualifiers.
This is the most by an Indian player as he has appeared in 31 AFC Cup matches and two AFC Champions League (ACL) qualifying games for Churchill Brothers and Bengaluru FC.
4. First Indian player to have played in three different continents
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Among the other Indian players, Sunil Chhetri is the only one to have played on three different continents. He played in Asia, Europe (Sporting Club de Portugal) and North America (Kansas City Wizards).
5. Highest Indian goal scorer in ISL and I-League
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Sunil Chhetri is also the all-time highest Indian goal scorer in National Football League (NFL) / I-League history with 90 goals.
He was the striker has played for Mohun Bagan, JCT FC, Dempo SC, United Sports Club, and Bengaluru FC.
Not just that, he was also the all-time highest Indian goal scorer in the Indian Super League (ISL) and the second-highest goal scorer overall in the league's history with 47 goals.
