BFC DoF sure Chhetri will stay involved with Indian football post retirement

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC Director of Football (DoF) Darren Caldeira expressed confidence in Sunil Chhetri, the Blues’ captain, continuing his involvement in Indian football after his retirement. His comments come amid questions about the 40-year-old's future at BFC, following his retirement from the Indian national team in June last year. “I think he will be a massive asset to Indian football in any capacity, be it management or coaching,” he said. Caldeira also mentioned that Chhetri is performing as well as any 25-year-old, despite his age. “Long may that continue,” he hoped.

This may provide some clarity on Chhetri's next steps, although the player himself has admitted that coaching is not his preference in a conversation with News Trail last July. Caldeira also discussed the state of the youth system, as well as other topics, including their activity in the January transfer window and plans for a new stadium. “With the youth system, it’s probably the best position we’ve ever been in as a football club,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of great academy products coming through, like Vineeth Venkatesh, who made his first-team debut. We have some great players in our reserve team who are knocking on the door of the first team.” While the men's youth setup has been flourishing, Caldeira expressed satisfaction with the women's team and their recent successes. “We’ve had the best finish in the Karnataka Women’s League (KWL), and Tanvi Nair, one of our youngest and brightest players, has made a loan move to Odisha FC, which is a massive bonus,” he added.

With BFC competing at the top to win the ISL Shield, Caldeira feels the team is on the right path to achieve the objectives set at the beginning of the season. “When you start any league or season, for us, it’s about: can we win this tournament? Can we win the shield? Can we win the ISL Cup? But we are taking it one game at a time,” he explained. Caldeira stressed the importance of players progressing through the grassroots system to reach the senior team. However, despite everything being in place, both coaches and players have expressed concerns about the lack of competition and game time in a season compared to other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.

Caldeira shares these concerns and believes that academies are doing their best to provide as many competitive opportunities as possible. “I think it’s important not just to have competition but also to ensure it’s quality competition. You don’t want kids to go out and win by 18-20 goals,” he said, acknowledging the challenges posed by the current educational system.