'After one week, I was told by the head coach of Sporting Lisbon 'you are not good enough, get lost to B team'
Star striker Sunil Chhetri is among a 28-strong Indian probable squad announced for the 2018 soccer World Cup preliminary qualifying round matches against Iran and Turkmenistan.
Indian club football appeared to be in complete crisis as Chennaiyin FC on Wednesday suspended their operations in view of the uncertainty surrounding the Indian Super League (ISL), days after Bengaluru FC and Odisha FC decided to stop paying salaries to their first-team players and staff.
Chhetri is the lone surviving member of the 2011 team who lost all three group games in Qatar but the 34-year-old is determined to make a mark in what is potentially his final appearance in the continent's biggest tournament next month.
To say Sunil Chhetri and Lionel Messi in the same breath is more than a little odd, is what the talismanic Indian striker himself felt once or twice.
India suffered one of its most embarrassing defeat in recent years despite Sunil Chhetri's 94th international goal in his 150th match.
India a step closer to 2019 Asian Cup
'At the same time, this may encourage some youngsters in some parts of the country to pursue football.'
In one of the most endearing messages for the India U-17 squad, senior team skipper Sunil Chhetri on Thursday sought "forgiveness for being jealous" of the likes of Amarjit Singh and Co, who are set to be part of India's first ever World Cup squad.
Legendary Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia says all strikers need to develop "sixth sense to smell" the opportune time to strike if they are to score regularly. In a chat with AIFF TV, Bhutia, the first Indian footballer to have played 100 international matches, said strikers can be successful only when they can read goal-scoring situations well.
India were able to stitch a rag-tag final squad only on Friday and the team left for China on Sunday, leaving no time for the players to even have a training session together.
'This is the tournament we play for. We get to rub our shoulders against best in Asia which we don't get many times'
India football captain Sunil Chhetri capped a superb display with a fine hat-trick to orchestrate Mumbai City FC's 5-1 rout of North East United FC in the Indian Super League at the D Y Patil Stadium.
Indian football team captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was critical of the second penalty awarded to Iraq after his side's heartbreaking 4-5 defeat in shootout in the King's Cup semifinal in Chiang Main, Thailand.
Costa nodded home a Javier Hernandez corner at the far post to log home full points for BFC
Brought on in the 82nd minute, Chhetri received a perfect delivery from Anirudh Thapa but the India captain could not find the back of the net.
MBSG have added the ISL trophy to their League Winners' Shield they had won earlier in the season for a ISL double.
A brace by Australian striker Sean Rooney steered Bengaluru FC to a 3-1 victory over former champions Dempo SC in the Airtel I-League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Wednesday.
Myanmar coach Gerd Zaise praised Indian National Team skipper Sunil Chhetri highly
Both teams showed urgency to find the winner but were denied, with Malaysia coming close just before the final whistle.
CK Vineeth showed his predatory skills with double strike in the extra time as Bengaluru FC beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 to win the 38th Federation Cup football tournament.
This will be the second time India will face Kuwait in the tournament. They had played out a 1-1 draw in an acrimonious Group A match last week.
Odisha FC delivered a magnificent performance to sweep aside Bengaluru FC 4-2 in their Indian Super League (ISL) match in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Bayern come from behind to beat gutsy Mainz 2-1 and widen gap.
IM Vijayan lauded Sunil Chhetri for his longevity and urged the youngsters to idolise the 35-year-old's work ethic.
Former hockey captain P R Sreejesh was chosen for the Padma Bhushan, while Ravichandran Ashwin was among the Padma Shri winners.
Indian football's goal machine Sunil Chhetri struck a brace to help the country stunningly outplay Thailand 4-1 and record its first victory in the Asian Cup since 1964 on a historic night, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
East Bengal and United SC squandered chances galore to settle for a goalless draw in their Round 12 encounter of the final leg of the ONGC I-League at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.
Phan Van Duc (10th), Nguyen Van Toan (49th) and Nguyen Van Quyet (70th) scored for Vietnam to no reply from the Indians whose defenders had a mediocre outing, especially in the second half.
Marquez had only two training sessions with the team before naming a 26-member squad featuring new and returning players as India adapts to life after Sunil Chhetri's retirement.
Brazilian striker Douglas Da Silva's goal earned defending champions East Bengal a draw in the Kolkata Super Division football league.
Mumbai City FC star Sunil Chhetri wants to see more Indians start upfront for their respective teams as the Hero Indian Super League 2 nears the 100-goal mark, saying the thought of scoring the landmark goal 'sounds special'.
It was all Hyderabad after the first goal as they dictated the game and kept pressing the NorthEast United backline.
India struck the winner in the injury time through striker Robin Singh as they began their AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers campaign with a 2-1 victory over Chinese Taipei in Yangon on Saturday.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has taken strong exception to the outbursts by Dempo's striker Joaquim Abranches and Viva Kerala's midfielder N P Pradeep against the national body.
Defending champions India sans star striker Baichung Bhutia failed to impress as they went down 0-1 to Syria in their inconsequential last round-robin match of the Nehru Cup international football tournament in New Delhi, on Saturday. Having already qualified for Monday's final against the same opponents, India rested Bhutia, who had received a yellow card in the tournament opener against Lebanon.
With seven points from eight matches, India finished third in Group E behind toppers Qatar and Oman, and ahead of Afghanistan (4th in group with six points from eight matches).
India finished their preparations for the upcoming Asian Cup Football Championship by holding a superior Oman to a goalless draw in their final warm-up game, in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday.
India's winless run on its Portugal tour continued as they played out a goalless draw with Casa Pia AC in their fifth practice match at Casa Pia ground in Lisbon.
A 3-0 victory took the defending champions to third place in the National Football League.
