Parting without a gift

Kolkata, June 6

The talismanic Sunil Chhetri stirred up emotions in his final international outing but the Indian football team just could not rise to the occasion as it settled for a goalless draw against Kuwait in its crucial World Cup qualifying match here today, critically hurting its chances of going into the next round.

In a country deprived of major footballing success, it was not the best farewell for a man who had created an alternative universe for the spectators of the beautiful game in this part of the world. An emotional Chhetri was seen sobbing after the end of the match and when he was given a guard of honour by his teammates he buried his face into head coach Igor Stimac’s arms while crying.

A win would have virtually sealed India a berth in the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers for the first time ever but the draw put them in an extremely difficult situation as they play Asian champions Qatar in their last match on June 11.

“We are disappointed with the result. The game was tough, as we expected,” Stimac said. “It took us some time to gear up and start passing the ball into the danger zones. The general passing speed was our biggest problem tonight. Even in certain moments, when we put pressure on them, there was no quality in the delivery to help the forwards. That’s not the reason we didn’t win, we weren’t clinical in front of the goal and our best player tonight was Gurpreet, which isn’t a good sign,” he added.

“We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves as we are still alive. I need to do everything in the next five days to make the boys believe, make them create the environment of belief,” he added.

Emotional adieu

Chhetri bid an emotional adieu to the international game in front of a jam-packed 68000-capacity Salt Lake Stadium, with his parents Kharga and Sushila, wife Sonam Bhattacharya and a host of officials and former players in attendance.

He will, however, continue playing club football for “two more years”. He has a contract with the Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC till next year.

Chhetri had scored in his debut match against Pakistan on June 12, 2005, in Quetta in a 1-1 draw. After his 151st match for the country, Chhetri gave a last bow, taking a lap of honour of the packed venue with folded hands as chants of “Sunil, Sunil” echoed the stands.

The 39-year-old Chhetri ended his glorious 19-year international career as the fourth most prolific scorer in international football with 94 goals, behind Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (128), Iran legend Ali Daei (108) and Argentine wizard Lionel Messi (106). — Agencies