India favorite to win SAFF championship – Chhetri

sunil you are an anarchist...come to nepal... we knw how to welcome u here....

We Chhetri's born and brought up on the Indian side are Indians to the core and not Nepali..that is just our ancestory..we are true INDIANS...Please never doubt this ever again..why is it that when a Chhetri like Sunil,Nirmal etc play for India they play amazingly well but Nepali Chhetri's cant even score a goal????..reason is simple..we are Indians and they are Nepalis... They way you are pointing out wud mean that Tamil Indians are SrIlankans..Kashmiris are Pakistanis..Mizoram players like Jeje are Mongolians etc..please wake up..India is a wonderfully secular and diverse country and each Indian is proud of this fact..when you have a large population like us it is not possible to expect that each Indian will support football..we have a large number of supporters for Hockey,Boxing,Badminton,Cricket,Tennis,Wrestling,Basketball and our players are shining in these sports on international arena..rest of SAFF is just too far behind in these sports..

Okay first of all, his name is Ali Ashfaq. With a Q. Have some respect when you talk about him. India may be 'winners' on paper. We have one thing you don't. The love of a nation. Since you've pointed out some 'percentages' and stuff, I have a feeling that the percentage of our country's population who love and support our National team is far more greater than the % of the population of India who support their own country's football team. Every time Ali Ashfaq gets the ball when the Maldives plays against your team, your defenders panic. Why? They get scared. Why? Ali Ashfaq is the equivalent of a tiger, on the field. He is more difficult to stop, than it is to stop Sunil Chhetri. Your 'best' defenders couldn't hold us back from that win in 2008, right? Why should you be so sure that if the Maldives ever faces India this time, history would not repeat? So think about it before you actually click on the 'Send Comment' button. It sure has helped me a lot.

Oh Yes! We play a one man show, but we play that show as a team. We play our game with the determination to win, to make our fans back in home happy! Unlike India, we don't get any help from Referees in tournaments. We play our game with the best of our abilities! Comparing Ashfaq and Chetri, Ashfaq is much better than Chetri for several reasons! Let me tell you Mr.Bharat, Ashfaq is very much left-footed and finishes most of his chances off on that side. He is outstanding in one-on-ones. In fact, his trademark style of scoring is after beating 2-3 defenders and rounding the goalkeeper. He is also seen to fire rifle bullets into the opposition goal as seen in the previous edition of the SAFF Championship against Nepal. However, sometimes, in some games, he simply fails to find the back of the net although he assists plenty. This could be due to the fact that most opposition teams are aware of his skills and assign several defenders just to mark him. Chhetri scores “typical” goals after receiving a through ball from another player or by taking advantage of a defensive howler. Goals he has scored with feet are usually penalties. He is a typical striker who finishes most of the chances he receives. Ashfaq is capable of producing exquisite set-pieces that bend past opposing goalkeepers. His recent free-kicks are more about finesse than brute force. Not only does he score freekicks in the domestic league, but has scored one in the AFC Up 2013 against Persibo and has forced several saves from several keepers in the International Games. He however, lacks the variation of Mohamed Umair of the Maldives. Chhetri’s free-kicks are also beautiful. However, they are usually seen in the domestic games (like the 2 against Dempo SC) and have not been very effective/noticeable in the International Arena. Ashfaq's ability to dribble past several defenders with ease, round the goal keeper and score is magnificent. This comes with the excellent balance and ball control, thus making him a nightmare for defenders. Chhetri’s control is generally excellent, but he just cannot be compared to Ashfaq in terms of dribbling. Ashfaq’s skill that the ball can appear glued to his feet as he dances himself out of tight situations and finds teammates when it seems he is surrounded. He has shown his arsenal of ball skills and defenders often end up bringing him down as they just run out of ideas on ways to stop him. Chhetri is, as mentioned before, a “typical” striker and a hard worker. He is more focused of scoring than showing off his skills, which is what most expect from a striker. The team that Ashfaq plays for, automatically become favorites. When he played for VB Sports Club, the club won the league, when he moved to New Radiant, they became the Champions of the League. He tries to make others play and is very much involved in the build-up of attacks. Chhetri is a similar player in this aspect but is less involved than Ashfaq in build-up play. He is more of an opportunist and is usually at the best position for his teammates to slide the ball through. However, he does not bring the guarantee of a top of the table finish for the club, unlike Ashfaq. This is proved by his time at Mohun Bagan. Ashfaq is a strong man and cannot be knocked off the ball easily. This is why it often takes a foul for a defender to knock him off. Even against Iran in the WCQ Ashfaq was an effective player, though he had come out of injury. Chhetri is not a big man and can be knocked off the ball by more commanding defenders. Compared to Ashfaq, Chhetri is rarely effective against tougher opponents. Ashfaq has proved himself in the Maldivian League that he is the number one player the country has seen. He has over 290 league goals (and counting) and has reached well over 300 goals in his entire career, far far more than what Chhetri has achieved. Ashfaq has also scored in every AFC CUP that he participated, since 2004 and currently has 8 goals, 3 less than the top scorer, Jordi Tarres of Spain who plays for Kitchee. Thus, Ashfaq who is almost an year younger than Chhetri has the upper hand here. Ashfaq has scored 26 goals (as of February 2013) in 39 appearances for the National Team, meaning he scored 0.67 goals per match, which is better than Chhetri’s record 37 goals in 66 appearances. – 0.56 goals per match. Let’s be fair here, for a player to be complete, he needs to be disciplined on and off the pitch. Although Ashfaq used to be known for his temper and quick reaction to events, he has now improved in this aspect. Players need to be careful of their diet and must take care of themselves by staying away from smaller competitions like Futsal Competitions that could lead to an injury. However, Football in the Maldives is semi-professional and this could be a reason. As a player, Ashfaq should have taken to opportunities he got to play abroad. Considering he did not take his opportunity to go further by denying Benfica. In case of Chhetri, he’s a player who strives to move forward taking every opportunity to show his skills in countries abroad. This is supported by the fact that he has gone on trials to famous clubs of the world. Ashfaq exerts more influence over games and is usually the man to watch, even when Chhetri scores and Ashfaq doesn’t, unless he is injured. He is always a joy to watch. Chhetri is also a good player who tries and works hard and has scored fantastic goals.

less than 1% of Indians support their football team. SO STFU

Well the bottom line is sunil is really influential in winning the saff 2011 cup and nehru cup 2012 . Sunil is legendary ashfaq is no match for his superb striking talwnt and dazzling pace . Ali ashfaq is just rated highly by your local media indian teams never noticed him in nehru but our cluubs hired afghan player belal arzou n nepal players anil gurung . So indian team showed any intrest in him why ? Maldives is just an ordinary no match for mighty india.accept the fact ali ashfaq is good player but no match for chethri : ) good day maldives

What ever the reason may be we have india written all over saff championship india vs pakistan 3 0 , india vs pakistan 3 1 , india vs bangladesh 5 0 , semi final india vs maldives 6 1 final india vs nepal 4 2 easy win for india .