Indian footballers need to go abroad to improve the national team

Sunil Chhetri

Indian football right now is in a state of “no progress”. The players aren’t getting the exposure they need to compete at the international level with the up-and-coming teams of the world. The problem with Indian football is that players representing the national team play their club football in India.

While it’s all well and good to play at home, the I-League just isn’t good enough to prepare players to compete at the high level that is expected of a good international team these days. So what can be done to make this situation better?

I’ll take Senegal as an example because of the way their players have come into prominence in the world of football. Their players started of in the less competitive leagues of Europe, in countries like Ukraine and Israel, but eventually went on to make their names in the bigger leagues of European football.

Now, I am not saying that Indian players can do the same but their strategy for the future could be based on those line. Rather than sitting back and sticking to life in the I-League, Indian players should try and go abroad. Now, this is easier said than done, because the harsh truth is that Indian players don’t have the same appeal to clubs that players from other countries do.

I don’t believe that it should stop them from trying to make it better, they should go on trials and try outs at clubs more often. I am not saying that if they try they will make it but at least its worth the effort. Making it or not is not up to the player. In the process of trials a player’s name gets out there. A good example of this is Sunil Chhetri.

It’s true that he didn’t really make it big at the international club level, but he sure did try to make a change and go abroad. His initial move to the MLS was one that wasn’t really expected, but at the same time it was a welcome move. A player from India going abroad is something that not many people are used to, and to see Chhetri do it was an extremely promising sight.

The fact of the matter is that even though he didn’t make it all the way, he sure did put his name out there and made sure that he was a player that people would take seriously. The rest wasn’t really up to him because, in all fairness, he never really got enough opportunities to show what he could do on the pitch during his stint in the MLS.

If players just try to get out there and make their names heard at the international level then Indian Football can go a long way. Sadly we live in a country that is dominated by cricket, but if football does make strides forward then the money will come, the infrastructure will improve and maybe India can find the pedigree to make their names at the international level.