The last time India sent a full-strength team for the SAFF Championship was in 2015. Sunil Chhetri was still in his 20s and Afghanistan was still part of the South Asian Football Federation. India won that edition of the biennial tournament after losing to Afghanistan in 2014. Chhetri, JJ Lalpekhlua scored 6 out of 14 goals scored by the national team in six matches.
An old Chhetri has now crossed 100 caps for India and will be back once again 2021 edition of the tournament in Maldives. The tournament is being used as a mandatory exercise by the Indian national team before the start of the third round of the Asian Cup Qualifiers from February 2022. Admitting that at his age (37), it was impossible for India to reach another 100 caps, Chhetri said for him the return to the Saif Cup was an opportunity to prolong his longevity.
“I have come here to play for my country. I don’t take any opportunity lightly. I wanted to play 100 games. And now whatever chance I get, I will take it,” said the Bengaluru FC skipper.
‘Whatever the occasion’ is the key phrase that determined this Indian campaign. As pre-season cup times begin to fall for most ISL clubs, this means that a camp and friendlies were unlikely before the tournament.
“We could not organize the preparatory camp due to obvious reasons. SAIF and AFC games have been dropped from the FIFA calendar. We spoke to FSDL, ISL clubs, some of whom are starting their pre-training. This is the busiest time of Indian football,” Stimac said during a virtual conference on Saturday. “Everybody has had to give up something. It’s not easy and it’s not enough but I’m grateful.”
For the last few editions the SAIF Cup was considered as a tournament where India could send its U-23 players. After winning the title a record 7 times compared to other teams in the competition and miles ahead in the FIFA rankings, experience was the mantra rather than winning.
But the importance of this edition of the Saif Cup has increased. Despite the huge paucity of international games, it is the position of the coach that has essentially called for Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to be a part of this team. With a unclear future and whether a new contract is coming his way, Igor Stimac has a lot riding on the outcome of this tournament. The poor performances against Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the team under his leadership has raised new questions on his tenure.
The team’s location in the Maldives and their short stint in the island nation have ensured that training is sub-par.
“We came here only four days ago. We have to travel to Male by speed boat. There is artificial turf here. We are protecting our players so that they do not get injured. We have been playing for 15-20 minutes, working on the set piece. We can’t do much over here,” Stimac said. He then added, “We are relying on the understanding that the players know each other very well.”
The only example of the advantage that India can take in the tournament is the presence of players from ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC. Eight players from these two teams have played in the AFC Cup and are match fit.
“After playing in the AFC Cup group stage matches, players from ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC continued with their pre-seasons, so it is an advantage for us. Most of the other ISL teams are yet to start their pre-season. We have to be careful about how many minutes we can give to those players,” Stimac said.
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