Indian football skipper, Sunil Chhetri celebrates his birthday today (August 3).
Indian football skipper, Sunil Chhetri celebrates his birthday today (August 3). Chhetri who turned 35 has clinched numerous records and milestone in his football career.
From an army dad to a footballer mom, Chhetri started his career with Mohun Bagan in 2002 and is now the poster boy of Indian football.
Indian cricket team skipper and FC Goa co-owner Virat Kohli in an interview with FIFA spoke about his desire to see Sunil Chhetri and the Blue Tigers in the most prestigious football tournament in the world.
“Honestly, not far off,” Kohli told FIFA.com when asked how far off India were from sealing a maiden World Cup qualification.
“We have improved drastically in our football over the last three-four years. With new talent coming in to make the difference, and our skipper Sunil Chhetri leading the team with amazing composure and inspiration, I see us qualifying very soon for the World Cup.”
On the occasion of his birthday, lets look at some lesser-known facts about the legendary footballer.
1. Family
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Sunil Chhetri's parents are originally from Nepal. They later migrated to India.
His dad KB Chhetri was an officer in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME Corps) in the Indian Army.
As for his mother, Sushila Chhetri, she played football for Nepal women's national team along with her twin sister.
Chhetri married his long-time girlfriend Sonam Bhattacharya in 2017. She is the daughter of former Indian national football player Subrata Bhattacharya.
2. Football background
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Chhetri began his professional career in 2002 with Mohun Bagan. He also represented JCT, Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.
He represented Bengaluru FC from 2013 to 2015. During the 2015 Indian Super League (ISL), Chhetri was picked up by Mumbai City for Rs. 1.2 crores, making him the most expensive Indian player at the auctions.
After the merging of I-League teams in ISL, Chhetri went back to playing with Bengaluru FC.
3. International Debut
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Chhetri represented the Indian U-20 team from the first time on 30th March 2004. The team won 1-0 over the Pakistan U-23 team in the SAF Games in Pakistan.
In Chhetri's first international tournament which was the 2007 Nehru Cup, Chhetri scored 2 goals in India 6-0 victory over Cambodia.
For the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification - which took place in Malaysia - Chhetri was named as the captain.
4. Rise to Glory
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Chhetri helped India win the Nehru Cup 3 times in 2007, 2009 and 2012 as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship.
During the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, he was India's best player as he helped the Blue Tigers win the tournament. The team qualified for their first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years in the process.
In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, he led India in scoring during their short-lived campaign with two goals.
5. Prestigious awards and records
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Chhetri was named as the AIFF Player of the Year five times in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Other than Arjuna award in 2011 and Padma Shri (2019).
He was also honoured with FPAI Indian Player of the Year in 2009 and 2018, AFC Challenge Cup Most Valuable Player in 2008, SAFF Championship Player of the Tournament in 2011, Hero of the I-League for the 2016–17 season and the Hero of the Indian Super League for the 2017–18 season.
He is the most capped Indian player with 111 appearances. He is also the all-time top goal scorer for India with 71 goals.
He scored the second-highest number of goals (71) in international matches among active players and is only behind Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
