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Comment: Sunil Chhetri Should Follow Park Ji-Sung's Lead
Asian Editor John Duerden believes that Sunil Chhetri's failure to join Coventry City may not be a bad thing and that he could do worse than look to a certain Manchester United star for inspiration.
02-Feb-2009 10:00:17 AM
Coventry haven’t made so many footballing headlines since their incredible
escapes from relegation in the eighties and nineties.
Most of the recent column inches may have been filed in India but it shows how much the game has changed since the Sky Blues were last in England’s top flight.
That is now a long time ago but Sunil Chhetri’s trial with the championship club was fairly short, lasting just a few days. India’s star striker was soon jetting out of the West Midlands and back to East Bengal.
As is common in these situations, the noises coming out of both camps were positive. Sunil said that he had a good experience in England while Coventry professed to like the look of the Indian star but said that he is not what they need at the moment.
Whatever is the actual truth, it doesn’t need dwelling on. Trials are a part of parcel of the game for Asian players hoping to clinch a deal in England. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Only Sunil knows if he played to the best of his ability in Coventry and only the club knows if he was given a decent chance to show what he could do.
It can’t have been easy for him, arriving on a long flight from Kolkata and then playing almost immediately in the middle of one of England’s coldest winters for years.
Again, this is the way it goes. More so for Indian players than, say, Korean and Japanese stars, as the South Asian nation ranks low in FIFA’s rankings and in the minds of many fans and coaches. If Sunil did enough if the last few days to dispel a few myths then he has done Indian football a service – though after the AFC Challenge Cup last year, he has already done more than his fair share.
For Sunil, it was a chance to take a look at England. He has shown his compatriots that it is possible to have English opportunities and he has shown that the media will respond to such efforts.
England is the football nation that catches the eye of most Asian stars who wish to head to Europe but it is not the only place to play football. And for some players it is not the best.
Sunil should perhaps consider other options. A move to a smaller league can work. The Netherlands offers good football at a good standard, the chance to play in a nation crazy about the game and a little less pressure than exists just across the North Sea. Life in the English championship is nothing if not physical, life in the more technical Eredivisie may be more to Sunil’s liking.
It is a fine destination in its own right but is also a good staging post to move elsewhere as many have found before.
One of these was Park Ji-sung. The South Korean got to grips with the European game, as well as its culture, in Holland before making his dream move to Manchester United.
Park experienced his fair share of rejections early in his career and now he is an important player for the English, European and world champions. Sunil could find a much worse role model.
Of course, coming off the back of a successful World Cup and arriving to be guided by a certain Guus Hiddink helped. Maybe Sunil should chat to Indian boss Bob Houghton, who seems to have coached in almost every country under the sun, for some contacts and advice.
Houghton’s advice, Park’s inspiration combined with Sunil’s skill and will to succeed – sounds like a winning combination.
John Duerden
Asia Editor
john.duerden@goal.com
Most of the recent column inches may have been filed in India but it shows how much the game has changed since the Sky Blues were last in England’s top flight.
That is now a long time ago but Sunil Chhetri’s trial with the championship club was fairly short, lasting just a few days. India’s star striker was soon jetting out of the West Midlands and back to East Bengal.
As is common in these situations, the noises coming out of both camps were positive. Sunil said that he had a good experience in England while Coventry professed to like the look of the Indian star but said that he is not what they need at the moment.
Whatever is the actual truth, it doesn’t need dwelling on. Trials are a part of parcel of the game for Asian players hoping to clinch a deal in England. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Only Sunil knows if he played to the best of his ability in Coventry and only the club knows if he was given a decent chance to show what he could do.
It can’t have been easy for him, arriving on a long flight from Kolkata and then playing almost immediately in the middle of one of England’s coldest winters for years.
Again, this is the way it goes. More so for Indian players than, say, Korean and Japanese stars, as the South Asian nation ranks low in FIFA’s rankings and in the minds of many fans and coaches. If Sunil did enough if the last few days to dispel a few myths then he has done Indian football a service – though after the AFC Challenge Cup last year, he has already done more than his fair share.
For Sunil, it was a chance to take a look at England. He has shown his compatriots that it is possible to have English opportunities and he has shown that the media will respond to such efforts.
England is the football nation that catches the eye of most Asian stars who wish to head to Europe but it is not the only place to play football. And for some players it is not the best.
Sunil should perhaps consider other options. A move to a smaller league can work. The Netherlands offers good football at a good standard, the chance to play in a nation crazy about the game and a little less pressure than exists just across the North Sea. Life in the English championship is nothing if not physical, life in the more technical Eredivisie may be more to Sunil’s liking.
It is a fine destination in its own right but is also a good staging post to move elsewhere as many have found before.
One of these was Park Ji-sung. The South Korean got to grips with the European game, as well as its culture, in Holland before making his dream move to Manchester United.
Park experienced his fair share of rejections early in his career and now he is an important player for the English, European and world champions. Sunil could find a much worse role model.
Of course, coming off the back of a successful World Cup and arriving to be guided by a certain Guus Hiddink helped. Maybe Sunil should chat to Indian boss Bob Houghton, who seems to have coached in almost every country under the sun, for some contacts and advice.
Houghton’s advice, Park’s inspiration combined with Sunil’s skill and will to succeed – sounds like a winning combination.
John Duerden
Asia Editor
john.duerden@goal.com
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