Chhetri on Bhutia: It's time to move on

NEW DELHI: Leading India striker Sunil Chhetri isn't one bit surprised by the omission of veteran Baichung Bhutia from the list of probables for the World Cup qualifiers.
"It had to happen. It's time to move on. I just spoke to Baichung. He said he was trying to get back to peak fitness. He's had his share of problems - injuries, personal issues, his new team United Sikkim," said Chhetri, on the sidelines of the senior national camp in the Capital on Friday.
However, playing without Bhutia around is a different feeling for the 26-year-old."It's the first time without Baichung at a camp for me. For the last seven years of my career I have never been in a national camp without him in it," he mentioned. But Chhetri believes one can't help such decisions. "There was the era of Vijayan and then the era of Bhutia. These are big shoes to fill. Maybe few years down the line you will ask where Chhetri is," he added.
While he refrained from making any predictions on the pre-World Cup qualifiers match against UAE next month, Chhetri was quick to point out that he was very optimistic about this new-look Indian team. "We have a fresh team and it's been a long time since we had six-seven quality forwards together," said Chhetri. "I am excited to see how the likes of Jeje, Abranches and Sushil perform. I think Jeje is a great prodigy of Indian football. This is one time when you could say that I will not be blindly picked to play as the striker," he remarked.
He was all praise for newly appointed interim coach Armando Colaco. "He is the best around in the country. Dempo have won every title in the country and the I-League four times. That's no mean achievement," said the forward.
Chhetri also played down the talk about the Goan coach's preference for Dempo players in the national team. On the contrary, he said it was a good thing to have more players who have played under the veteran coach. "It helps you to gel well and it's easier to adjust to the playing style that he enforces," said Chhetri who also played under Colaco for eight months.
Further, he believes that the comparison with former India coach Bob Houghton would fade away as the days go by and people get the hang of Colaco's style of play. "The best thing on Armando's side is that being an Indian himself he knows most of the players in the domestic circuit. So he knows what is required to build the team."
On the personal front, Chhetri is looking forward to take things easy before signing for a club this season. "I have time till August," he said of his plans after leaving Chirag United, which will take its original title – United Football Club – in the new season.
On rumours that he would be signing with Portuguese club Benfica, Chhetri quipped, "Even I've heard about it." Of course, he made it obvious that playing abroad will always be his priority.
Commenting on the chances of other Indian players making it to the foreign clubs, he said, "More players should go out. People around the world believe Indians can't play football."