Indian football with 1.4 billion population as unanswered as China, retired 41-year-old goaltender rediscovered...There is no respect for the elderly

Mar 08, 2025

Sunil Chettri, who reversed his retirement and returned to the Indian national football team after 8 months. AP Yonhap News

출처=FIFA

India's best soccer star Sunil Chetri (41, Bengaluru) retired from the national team for the first time in eight months for his country.

Striker Chettri, who ended his career in the Indian national team in May last year, made a surprise embarkation on the list of 26 players in two consecutive March A matches announced by Indian national team coach Manolo Marquez on the 6th (local time).

The Indian Football Federation (AIFF) reached out again to Chettri, who has been showing off his strong performance by scoring 12 goals (23 games) in the Indian league this season, saying that Chettri could not find a striker to replace him after retiring, and the return was made as Chettri responded to the country's proposal.

Chettri is a 'Living Legend' who played 151 A matches for the Indian national team for nearly 20 years from 2005 to 2024 and scored 94 goals. He has recorded the most appearances and most goals for the Indian national team at the same time.

Chhetri ranked third in the world's A-match scoring rankings after Portugal's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (135 goals) and Argentina's icon Lionel Messi (112 goals). FIFA also highlighted the return of active players with the world's third-most goals on its official SNS.

The Indian football community is enthusiastically welcoming Chhetri's return. AIFF Technical Committee Chairman Vijayan said "Look at Roger Mila, who returned to the national team to help Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Age doesn't matter. The important thing is physical strength, and Chettri is still in very good health, and she is still doing well.'

There are also many voices of criticism. "Chhetri's return to recognition of his greatness in Indian football, but what's more surprising is the re-emergence of the lack of quality strikers in a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion people," the Indian media outlet 'Midday"

Source=Sunil Chetree SNS Capture

"Sunil Chettri's ability is in no doubt, but will this return improve Indian football? Don't you have a striker? This is not good news for us and for the future. And I don't know how Sunil took this. His reputation is not going to improve. Sunil will score against Bangladesh and the Maldives, but it's time to make way for future generations." said the butterfly.

Former India international Sied Raheem Nabi told 'Michel"Chhetri's ability is unquestionable, but does this return mean the development of Indian football?," he asked back. He said "This is not good news for our future. Chettri will score against Bangladesh and Maldives, but it's time to make way for future generations now."

In addition, "India's young talents are dying. Their confidence and ideology are dying from these decisions."

Source=Sunil Chetree SNS Capture

Among the 26 players called up this time, Lalianjuala Chant (Mumbai City) scored the second most goals after Chhetri, who scored eight goals in 42 appearances. All 26 were made up of Indian league players.

Chettri, along with his younger brother and nephew colleagues, will help India's goal of advancing to the finals of the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. India will play a friendly match against the Maldives on the 19th and then play the first group match against Bangladesh in the third Asian Cup qualifying round on the 25th.

India currently have no wins in 12 straight A matches. In the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup, where 24 teams will participate, a total of six teams from six groups will win tickets to the finals. Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, will also fight to advance to the finals through the third qualifying round.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.