Football Special: Sunil Chhetri's Indian Diary

Sunil Chhetri needs no introduction to anybody familiar with Indian and South Asian football. He is the biggest star in the region and the striker was instrumental in India’s recent AFC Challenge Cup triumph.

The 24 year-old recently moved clubs, leaving JCT to join Kolkata giants East Bengal. He enjoyed a goalscoring debut for his new team and if his present record is anything to by, then it will be the first of many.

Always a gentleman and always ready with a smile and a signature for his fans, Sunil has agreed to provide fans in India and around the world with a weekly insight into Indian football, the I-League and the man himself.

"I am a player who works hard and really wants to improve. Whether it is in training or in a game, I like to learn things every day. I just keep working hard and look to improve.

I am inspired by David Villa. He is not big but he is such an effective striker and he makes darting runs into the area that cause such problems for defences. He may not be physically big but he is a powerful striker and I love to watch him.

Of course, I would love to play in Europe like Villa and it all depends where I get an offer from. England would certainly be fine and I have had talks but the stumbling blocks are the work permit restrictions. I have played 75% of India’s games but of course India’s ranking is outside the top 70 in the world.

The problem in India is that when you reach a certain level at an Indian club then it is easy to become stagnated. It is difficult to progress, learn and achieve new things. That is why I want to go to Europe, I want to go to a club where I can learn a lot and achieve more.

There was no problem with JCT. It was a good team and one of best organised clubs in India with good training facilities etc. I had been there for three years and it was just time for a change and that was the only reason. We had some good results and were a good team with good players. We finished second and third and were very proud of what we did.

Coming to East Bengal is very different. There is a huge fan base here and the club has so much potential. We have good players and now we have a good new coach and I am very optimistic about the season ahead.

Scoring in the first game of the season was a great way to start but we know that we have to work hard if we are going to challenge for the title. There are some good teams in India and the standard is improving but there is a long way to go.

We need to become more professional with clubs owning their own stadiums and provide better facilities in training. We need things that European clubs take for granted like swimming pools, gyms and the right diets.

But for the moment, we are focused on bouncing back from our defeat against Mumbai and get back to the top part of the table.

I hope that you will join me over the course of the season."

John Duerden

Source:Goal.com

Safa, Dempo hit with suspensions

A player each of Safa and Dempo will miss their second leg semi-final encounter on October 21.

KUALA LUMPUR: Safa FC of Lebanon and India’s Dempo SC will each have one player suspended when they clash in the second leg of the AFC Cup semi-finals.

Amer Khan of Safa FC will miss the return leg which takes place at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on October 21, 2008, while Dempo will have to do without Miranda Clifford.

Khan picked up two cautions in previous matches against Perak FC and then Dempo in the first leg. Miranda’s yellow cards came against Home United and Safa.

The Lebanese club won the first leg on October 7 when Hamze Abboud scored the only goal of the match on 90 minutes.

Source:The AFC.com

SYR 1-1 KOR: Lee points to Pakhtakor pitch

Skipper Rim Chang-woo celebrates scoring against Syria at Pakhtakor Stadium, where the Koreans struggled with the unfamiliar pitch according to head coach Lee Kwang-jong.

TASHKENT – Korea Republic coach Lee Kwang-jong felt that his team’s lack of familiarity with the pitch at Pakhtakor Stadium helped contributed to their disappointing 1-1 draw with Syria in their final Group B match in the AFC U-16 Championship on Wednesday.

The Koreans, who had played their previous two matches at MHSK Stadium, fell behind to Mohammad Ali’s opener in the 63rd minute but Rim Chang-woo levelled with a header 10 minutes from time.

"We played our previous two matches at MHSK stadium and the players struggled tonight with the new field conditions," said Lee in the post-match press conference.

"The ground conditions didn't help us as the players needed time to adjust and they had a hard time controlling the ball.

"However, at the end things were good and we managed to score the equaliser.

"We played against a tough opponent today and they gave us a hard time. We previously played against weaker teams than Syria and that's why we scored 14 goals in two matches.

"Syria put pressure on us right from the beginning and we were held back by their players before we adjusted our formation from 4-1-4-1 in the first half to 4-4-2 and things improved for us."

Syria coach Kifork Mardakyan, who made five replacements to the team that defeated India, said that the inexperience of the new players in the game had a detrimental effect on his side.

"We had to make several changes as some of our players carried yellow cards while Mahmoud Saleh and Asaad Al Khadr had slight injuries and we preferred to rest them after securing our place in the knockout stage,” he said.

"The experience of the young boys who played tonight was not good and that led to the draw.

"We controlled the majority of the game but the players didn't have enough experience to hold on to the lead.

"We gave them instructions before the game on how to deal with the dangerous free-kicks of the Koreans but they were not successful in the man-to-man marking and that's why Korea levelled the scores from a free-kick."

Source:The AFC.com