The Indian football team secured their ninth SAFF Championship title by defeating Kuwait in a penalty shootout. Leading the team to this victory was Indian captain Sunil Chhetri, who has been a prominent figure in Indian football for nearly two decades, serving as an inspiration to a generation of players.
At 38 years old, Chhetri has proven to be a prolific goal scorer, contributing significantly to India’s recent triumph in the Inter-continental Cup and SAFF Championship, both achieved in the past three weeks. Currently, he holds the position of the third-highest scorer of international goals among active footballers.
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With an impressive record of 93 goals from 142 matches, Chhetri’s goal tally places him just behind Cristiano Ronaldo (123 goals from 200 caps) and Lionel Messi (103 from 175). Looking at the all-time list, Chhetri occupies the fourth spot, with Iranian legend Ali Daei ahead of him, scoring 109 goals from 148 matches. But that is not all, the poster boy for Indian Football hold some of most fascinating records too:
- Sunil Chhetri made his international debut against Pakistan at the age of 20 in Quetta in 2005. With 142 appearances, he is India’s most-capped player. He was appointed permanent captain of the Indian national team in 2012.
- Sunil Chhetri is the first Indian player to have four international hat-tricks. The first was against Tajikistan in 2008. It was followed by a second against Vietnam in 2010 and a third against Chinese Taipei in 2018. His most recent hat trick came against Pakistan in the SAFF opener.
- Chhetri is the only Indian player who has represented Asia, Europe (Sporting Clube de Portugal), and North America (Kansas City Wizards). He appeared for 21 minutes in the second half of the Wizards’ 2-1 triumph against Manchester United in an international friendly in Kansas City in 2010. Teal Bunbury was replaced by Chhetri in the 69th minute.
WATCH Indian Football skipper Chhetri on shoulders as Bengaluru singing ‘Vande Matram’ goes…
- Sunil Chhetri holds the record for being the highest goal scorer in the history of the Indian Super League (ISL), with an impressive 51 goals. In overall league history, he is the second-highest goal scorer. Jeje Lalpekhlua follows closely behind as the second-highest Indian goal scorer, with 24 goals.
- In the I-League, Chhetri stands as the all-time highest Indian goal scorer, having netted a remarkable 90 goals. Bhaichung Bhutia, with 89 goals, closely trails Chhetri in second place, while RC Prakash secures the third position with 49 goals.
- Chhetri has won the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year award seven times in a row, in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022. No other player has received the honour more than three times. M. Vijayan won it three times, while Jo Paul Ancheri and Bhaichung Bhutia each won it twice.
- Sunil Chhetri has the most goals scored by an Indian player in the AFC Cup and AFC Champions qualifications, with 19. For Churchill Brothers and Bengaluru FC, he appeared in 31 AFC Cup matches and two AFC Champions League (ACL) qualifying games. On his 34th birthday in 2018, Chhetri was named a ‘Asian Icon’ by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the game’s continental regulatory body.
- Sunil Chhetri became the first footballer to be bestowed with the Khel Ratna award in 2021, the highest for any sportsperson in India.
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