"I started thinking more holistically....": Sunil Chhetri on how captaining India changed him

New Delhi [India], December 8 : Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri opened up on changes that captaining the country brought into his game and life, saying that leading the team on the pitch turned him from a "self-centred" person to someone who thinks "more holistically" and about others as well.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Chhetri talked about dealing with failures as a player and how captaincy impacted him both on and off the field.
Chhetri said that he feels that he matured as a person after becoming a captain of Team India. As per Olympics.com, the football legend was first named as Indian captain during the 2012 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup Qualifiers.
"I hope in a good way (on if captaincy changed him). Okay. I hope, I think I matured, I was a backbencher, mischievous, tapside. And I turned into somebody who sits in front, thinks more, thinks more holistically, thinks about everyone. I was very self-centered before I was a captain. I only thought about me, myself, my shin pad, my sleep, my game, my role. When I became a captain, I started thinking more holistically. About others also. Like, 'there must have been some problems with them too'. I think about it. There are also team dynamics. That is what changed in me, slowly, periodically, when I became a captain. And it helped me in my life also. I started thinking about people's perspective," said Chhetri to ANI.
Chhetri admitted that being the captain took his own attention from himself, his achievements and game a lot of times and what used to "give him a lot of dividend" during his life before captaincy was "being mad about myself."
"That is how I lived a lot of my younger age, younger time. But then when I became captain, I started thinking about others also, the team dynamics and all. And you are right, maybe it took a little bit away from me, but that was a small price to pay. And I think it was evolution. You know, when you become the captain, you ought to think about everyone. You ought to think about the team dynamics as to what is right. You cannot be just...me, me, me and me... So I think that changed," he added.
Chhetri said that being the captain of the national side made him less rigid and more open to "getting into other people's shoes".
"I was too rigid. I always thought when I was younger, this is the way. Done. I do not care what you feel. This is the way. And this is how we are doing. That changed. I started thinking like, 'Okay. That there might be a different way or he might be thinking something else. Let me also get into his shoes'. The one thing that I have learned with life being getting old and also being captain is let me put myself on the other person's shoes. Let me at least think how the other person is thinking. And let me see what the dynamics are. And it helps," he added.
The 40-year-old, who called time on his international career this year, said that he wants to "believe" that captaincy helped him become a better person, son, father, husband and a "team player" as far as his family and friends are concerned.
"I want to believe that. I am not sure because... I'm just a student and the headmaster only can give me the result, my mom, my dad, my wife, people who are close, they can talk about it. I want to believe that I am a better person. Guaranteed, I was very self-centered and selfish when I was growing up. I always thought about myself. I hope I am more of a team player now. Team player in the sense with my mom, my dad, my wife, my kid and my close friends. I hope they have forgiven me for the way I was before. Because I was really rigid. For small examples, like, I want to sleep at 10, means I want to sleep at 10. Somebody wants to go out for dinner, this, that. I do not care. I am sleeping at 10. So I was like that. I think I have changed a little bit. I want to also hear the other person's story and point of view," he added.
Chhetri also opened up about dealing with failures on the pitch, saying that instead of holding the view that others are at fault for the most of the times, he likes to "blame himself" and "put the onus on himself" and take responsibility to fix whatever needs to be fixed.
"I have never felt that way (Team let me down) The way I feel is, I let the team down. I am somebody who always... It is my mistake. Because when I say it, I feel better because then the answer is in my hands. I have reduced this thinking of 'the whole world is at fault' by a lot. Earlier, it used to be this much after the game, that the whole world is at fault, the world is bad, but I have lessened this thinking. I do that sometimes now, that the world is bad and all, then I cry and I am done."
"Then my funda is, it's my mistake. I have to change it. I will change it. Does not mean that I will change it. But my feeling is like that. Because when I blame myself, it is easier for me. So I get angry on my own, I find my own way. And I responsibility on my own. It is not necessary that things would be right, but I like it."
"I like the feeling where I blame myself. I always put onus on myself. That I have to do it. It was my fault. I should have fixed this. If I fix that, it will be fixed. So I have learnt that in life. Not only in football, but in life also, I do not... Not that I never blame anyone else. But the time frame (the time he spends blaming others) has reduced a lot. That it is the world's fault, it is people's fault. I have reduced that a lot. I do not want to give them this power," he concluded his point.
Sunil Chhetri kicked off his professional football journey at Mohun Bagan in 2002. Chhetri helped India win the 2007, 2009, and 2012 Nehru Cup, as well as the 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023 SAFF Championship. He also led India to victory in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which helped India qualify for its first AFC Asian Cup in 27 years.
Chhetri received the Arjuna Award in 2011, and the Padma Shri in 2019. In 2021, he became the first footballer to get the Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour.
In a career that spanned over 19 years, the Arjuna Award winner has 94 goals in 150 matches on the international stage. Interestingly, Indian football talisman Sunil Chhetri is fourth overall in the all-time international goal scorers' list. Chhetri played a major role in India's footballing fortunes in the last decade, earning legendary status in the nation's sporting history.