For Sunil Chettri, goals are just numbers. According to the India captain, who’s just two goals short of Bhaichung Bhutia (42) in the international circuit, a successful campaign at the SAFF Championship (in Kathmandu) is all what matters, not personal milestones, says a report in Calcutta Telegraph.
Chettri, who’s on par with IM Vijayan having scored 40 international goals, needs to score just three more to overtake Bhutia and be India’s highest scorer. But a true team-man that he is, Chetri doesn’t want to keep his mind occupied with this thought. “Goals are just numbers. Unless they win you matches, they don’t matter at all. And as long as the team keeps winning, it doesn’t matter at all as to who have scored,” he told the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website, in Kathamandu, on Wednesday.
“Had I kept thinking of being the highest scorer for the country, I would have never reached here. If you do so, your target becomes narrower. We have come into the SAFF Championship as a team and want to perform as one. Everyone has a specific role in the team. “It’s not that someone who scores is superior than the rest,” Chetri added.
Meanwhile according to a report in DNA, Chettri, however, has a better strike rate than both Vijayan and Bhutia. Vijayan has 40 goals from 79 matches while Bhaichung's 42 goals came from 107 matches. Chettri is on 40 from 74 matches.
"I was lucky enough to have played a part in a team where I was used to get a lot of balls. Not every striker gets a supply line boasting of Climax Lawrence, Renedy Singh, Steven Dias, Anthony Pereira to name a few. Their sole motive was just to feed me and they fed me with great balls. It's not everyday that that you get to play with such a team. It was all teamwork - they looked forward for me to score and helped me at every step," he said.