Chhetri stresses on the need for #OneLeague, lays out Mumbai City's playoff philosophy

INDIAN NATIONAL TEAM and Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri, who is currently on loan at ISL franchise Mumbai City, said in a press interaction today that having a unified league system was pivotal to take Indian football forward.

Asked about the impending merger between ISL and I-League, Sunil reiterated his old position; saying a longer, full season league at the top would mean more opportunities for players and faster growth for Indian football,

"One league is going to be good and this is something that everyone understands. Whether the fans, the media or the Federation, everyone understands this. A longer league, a more competitive setup benefits everyone. It will help us bring more states and fans into the sport. How and when to do it is not on me, but I'm sure they are working very hard on it. I'm sure once it's done we will have more clubs in the system; the size our country is we can easily have a 20 club league. It doesn't matter if it's called ISL or I-League, a longer league brings more opportunities for players, further improves infrastructure and helps Indian football grow. It's what we all want."

Talking about Mumbai City's ascent into the ISL playoffs for the first time, he expressed his happiness and laid out how he would approach the all-important semi finals,

“I feel very happy, las year we could not qualify for the semi-finals, this year it gives me immense happiness that we have reached the semi-final, but that’s just the first stage.  When I arrived here the team was already in a very good position, we were at the top. The first game we played, we played well against Pune, but we lost, and as a team we came back and had tough game at Goa. We then played as a team very well against Chennai and Kerala. We have achieved our first target, and qualified for the semi-finals. Everyone looks fit, there are no concerns. We just have to wait and see who we are going to face in the semi-finals, and we are going to give our best. We will take one game at a time, not thinking about any glory. We have played enough to understand that, we cannot think about the final because there's a huge semi-final game ahead of us.We just want to think about one game at a time, and then see what happens next.”

Reflecting on his journey with Mumbai City over 2 editions of ISL, Sunil said that things have changed a lot this year,

“This second season we are a good team, we just lost our track in between. There were three games that we won at home , and then we just lost the plot. There are few reasons why we are doing really well. One of the reasons is Diego who is sitting here right beside me. Not only the fact that he is so good on the pitch but off the pitch also he’s been good with all the players, his experience comes very handy. In the training side also, we have a very able coach and a coaching staff which really helps, we are all in sync. Whatever the coach wants and what the players understand, and we all work towards the same direction. We are very well fed with all the information from our coach and having Sony, Forlan and Matias at the front is not very difficult, we just have to understand their mentality to go with the game.”

When asked about Delhi Dynamos, the only other team wielding dominance comparable to Mumbai City in ISL 2016, Sunil said,

"They are doing well. I've seen a few of their games. I don't know if I can compare them with us but good luck to them... we'll go for a win in the last league game. It's not about where we will finish or who we will face in the semis. We don't go in thinking about draws and points and maths. We go in there to win."

Asked whether he faced any difficulty gelling with the new team since he had very little time to prepare for his first game with Mumbai City after completing the AFC Cup campaign with Bengaluru FC, Sunil replied in the negative,

"Mumbai City are a team in great shape so it was a smooth process. I had to make some adjustments, obviously, but didn't face any difficulties. I'm used to it now."
 

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