Bhaichung Bhutia criticises Manolo's decision to recall Chhetri to Indian team: 'Could have gambled on young strikers'

Former Indian football team captain and legendary goals-scorer Bhaichung Bhutia has criticised head coach Manolo Marquez’s decision to recall 40-year-old Sunil Chhetri to the national team for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers.

Manolo had earlier revealed recalling Chhetri, who retired from international football in 2024, was his decision. However, the move did not provide the desired result against Bangladesh last week in India’s first match of the Asian Cup Qualifiers final round. India are part of Group C along with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Only the winner of the group will qualify for the Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia. Sensing the lack of a proper striker, Manolo picked Chhetri in the Indian football team, but the veteran who had scored 94 goals till last year, failed to find the net in the goalless draw against Bangladesh. He did score in the friendly against Maldives earlier this month.

Bhutia says 40-year-old Chhetri cannot be India’s solution

Bhaichung Bhutia, who scored 27 goals for India, understood Manolo Marquez’s reasoning but felt that selecting a striker past his prime indicated a lack of long-term vision. The 48-year-old believed Marquez should have shown courage by choosing younger strikers with an eye on the future.

“I think it was evident from the fact that Manolo Marquez is under tremendous pressure since the senior team has not won a single competitive game in 2024. So, that may have influenced Manolo to take this decision, convincing Sunil to rethink about his decision to come back from retirement,” Bhaichung Bhutia told RevSportz.

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“Look, Sunil is now 40 plus and he has passed his prime. Sunil is in that age where he will not be able to dribble past a defender and score a goal. You are playing an Asia Cup qualifier which happens for almost a year. For a qualifier against Bangladesh, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Manolo could have taken a gamble with young strikers in giving opportunities to them, looking for long-term development. Look at Bangladesh, they fielded an 18-year-old player in the match against India. Clearly, they have a long-term vision in place.”

‘Even Sir Alex Ferguson cannot help Indian football’

Reflecting on the Indian football team’s prolonged poor form, Bhaichung Bhutia said the Blue Tigers are lacking quality players and even a manager of Sir Alex Ferguson’s stature cannot get results with such a side.

“The success of a team always depends on a coach’s tactical genius and players’ quality. It is a combination of both. Even if you bring the best of coaches, if you do not have good players, it will be difficult to get the desired results. Even if you get Sir Alex Ferguson as the coach, until and unless you have the quality players in the set-up, Indian football will not go forward,” Bhutia added in a conversation with RevSportz.