New Delhi: For the past month, Indian football has been gripped by news of Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua’s trial with Rangers FC, and there is a lot of speculation about what fate holds for them.
Chhetri, the senior pro, is disappointed that he could not train with the Rangers first team. “We hardly got a chance to train with the first team, because on the day we arrived they had a Scottish Premier League match. Then they had a friendly against Hamburg, which we were supposed to play, but our visas were not cleared and we missed out on that opportunity as well,” he said.
Chhetri rejected the notion that Indian players are not meant for overseas leagues and feels it only needs one player to break the shackles for others to follow. “In Japan and South Korea it happened like that. After Kazu Miura and Hidetoshi Nakata, Japan now has several players in European leagues,” the striker added.
Chhetri understands that the level of competition is high but remains optimistic about Indian players. “It is indeed tough, but I believe Indian players have the potential to play in European leagues. The basics are the same; the only difference is in the training process,” he said.
Transfer question
He also made it clear that he is not bothered by the uncertainty over a transfer from Mohun Bagan to Rangers should he make the cut.
“My agent, Yogesh Joshee, will handle this matter. I am not thinking about it. I have contractual obligations to Mohun Bagan and need to abide by them,” said Chhetri.
Meanwhile, Rob Baan, technical director of the All India Football Federation, does not think the striking duo of Jeje and Chhetri are ready to play for European clubs yet.
“Jeje and Sunil are the best Indian strikers, and in an ideal situation scouts should have come to see how they play. The fact that they went to Scotland for a trial shows that they are not yet ready for top overseas clubs,” said Baan.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News
