Chhetri's feat will inspire more signings, says agent Joshee

A year ago, Indian Football star Sunil Chettri faced the biggest disappointment in his entire career after opportunities with second division English clubs Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers failed. However, his agent Yogesh Joshee had not given up. Cut to March 26 2010, Joshee is a happy man.

His relentless efforts into ensuring Chettri a foothold in the international arena finally bore fruit on Friday after MajorLeague Soccer (MLS) team Kansas City Wizards officially signed a contract with Chettri and inducted him into the squad. “Chettri’s latest feat will surely give a lot of inspiration to Indian footballers that there is a future for them if they put in their best and work hard. He has the platform to prove his worth in a country that has state-of-the-art facilities and a league that is on the rise in the world terms of popularity,” Joshee said.

Joshee with Sunil Chhetri's Jersey

A Fifa-licenced agent based in London, Joshee first spotted the Delhi lad during the Indian national camp in Portugal in the summer of 2008. “His agility and skill on the field caught my eye and I knew this boy had the talent to make it big, beyond playing for his country. I spoke to coach Bob

Houghton and he told me that Chettri was one of the upcoming stars then and had great talent and a good sense and attitude towards the sport. It was after this I met him and focussed on getting him into the big leagues,” addedJoshee, who works with agent Kenny Moyes, the brother of English Premier League club Everton manager David Moyes. Crediting Houghton for Chettri’s success, Joshee said that Indian football can benefit a lot from his coaching. “I think a major force behind Sunil’s success is national coach Bob Houghton. He is a fantastic coach and hasrevamped the state and performance of Indian Football completely. In short, Sunil’s achievements are majorly because of Houghton’s coaching,” he said. “Though cricket is the leviathan sport in India, there are thousands ofavid youngsters who enjoy playing football and the sport has an immense popularity in India. With the craze for EPL on a peak here, I really hope that Sunil can live up to the expectations of his fans and win hearts,” Joshee said.Joshee is at present scouting the country for fresh talent and has zeroed in on two players.“I cannot reveal their names for their sake but all I can say is that they play in the I-league and if things work out, they can very soon follow Sunil’s footsteps and live their dreams. We have talent, no doubt about that and my aimis to get as many Indian footballers to the international level,” he signed off.