Sunil Chhetri backs Stimac’s demand for four-week camp before Asian Cup
New Delhi. Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Sunday backed head coach Igor Stimac’s demand for at least a four-week camp ahead of next year’s Asian Cup, saying the team needs a lot of time to prepare to take on the best teams in the continent. Is. Chhetri, 38, will play his final Asian Cup in Doha (from January 12 to February 10) and will also have at least one ODI against any of the top seven ranked teams in Asia, such as Iran, Japan or Saudi Arabia, ahead of the continental tournament. Also advocated for holding international friendly matches. Chhetri said in a virtual conversation with the media, “We are going to face Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria in the Asian Cup (group match), so Stimac (and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu) talked about setting up a long camp.”We need it and I hope we get it. ,
Crediting the long camp of more than 50 days for the team’s success in the last two tournaments, he said, “When you go to the national camp, there are injuries to the players and they are at a different mental level from their respective clubs.” come along. You have to see all these things and to do all this you need more time. After winning the tri-nation tournament in Manipur from March 22 to 28, India won the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar from June 9 to 18 and the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4. The players were in the national camp from mid-May till the SAFF Championship.
Stimac had said that he would need at least a four-week camp to do well in the Asian Cup, while top officials of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) indicated that his demand would be difficult to meet as clubs were not able to train their players. Might not agree to release for such a long time in the middle of domestic season. The talismanic striker said, “But ultimately how many days we get for the national camp will depend on the talks between the stakeholders but I am hopeful of getting as many days as possible.” Chhetri, who was adjudged the ‘Most Valuable Player’ as the top scorer in the SAFF Championship, also said the team needs to play at least one international match against a country ranked in the top six or seven in the continent before the Asian Cup.
“If we can get at least two or three important international friendly matches against a top six or seven ranked country in Asia before the Asian Cup, it will give us a better idea of our preparation,” he said. We will come to know and by this we will be able to prepare well. Chhetri said, “If I name, these countries can be Iran, Japan or Saudi Arabia. If we don’t play against Japan, Iran or South Korea, we will not know the level of Australia (India’s strong rival in Asian Cup). He also said, “We need four weeks of camp to prepare for such big matches against top teams. If we get five days in the national camp, we will not be ready for these big matches. To face Australia in the Asian Cup, we need to be at least two levels above the ISL (Indian Super League) and we need a long time to prepare for that. ,
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India’s next competition will be the King’s Cup in Thailand (September 7-10) in which they will face Iraq, Lebanon and the host nation. Chhetri said, “Playing against Iraq will give us an idea about Uzbekistan as their players are of similar quality. The matches against Lebanon and Kuwait (in the SAFF Championship) gave us an idea of what kind of team Syria would be, although Syria are slightly higher than either of them. The charismatic player also supported AIFF President Kalyan Choubey’s statement that the country should play Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) teams. “I welcome the offer to play in bigger tournaments and against better teams. The more difficult the teams, the better for us. But the number of international matches we play in a year should neither be less nor should it be more.
