Indian Football team skipper Sunil Chhetri on July 7, broke another record. The 34-year-old veteran forward surpassed Argentine stalwart Lionel Messi to become the second-highest goalscorer in international football among the active footballers.
Currently, our captain is just behind the Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who sits comfortably at the top spot with 88 goals in 158 games.
The 34-year-old broke the record in the opening match of the International Cup Match on Sunday in Ahmedabad. The early goal by the skipper against Tajikistan helped him to move past the Barcelona maestro – Lionel Messi, who has 68 goals in his name.
Chhetri’s second goal in the first half helped him sweep his 70th goal. The goal also made him the 17th player in history to score 70 goals or more.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man 🔥🙌🏽
▶️1️⃣ @Cristiano
⬆️2️⃣ @chetrisunil11
⬇️3️⃣ @TeamMessi🇮🇳1-0🇹🇯 #INDTJK #BlueTigers #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #HeroIC pic.twitter.com/HI6iFKmmnB
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 7, 2019
However, Chettri’s two goals did not help the Indian side, as Tajikistan dominated the second half. Indian defenders were found floundering across Tajikistan’s strikers who overturned the 2-0 deficit to a 4-2 win.
Sunil Chhetri makes it look so easy 🤯⚽#BlueTigers #BackTheBlue #HeroIC #INDTJK #IndianFootball @chetrisunil11 pic.twitter.com/DKSG5loUtb
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) July 7, 2019
Sunil Chhetri is the most capped player in the country with total games of 109. Chettri as a captain has made a substantial contribution to Indian football. He played a crucial role for the Blue Tigers when they qualified for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years in 2011.
Chhetri is a recipient of the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the country. He has also been felicitated with the Arjuna Award in 2011.
