Kolkata : Sunil Chhetri had a special special message coming from none other than the Indian test captain Virat Kohli after SAFF Cup victory yesterday . Kohli’s love for football is no more an open secret . He is an ardent follower of La Liga giants Real Madrid and also own the Goa franchise in Indian Super League .
Virat was quick to share his reaction on twitter . He wished Sunil Chetri and his team on winning the SAFF Cup for a record seventh time . Virat tweeted “ Congratulations Team India for lifting the SAFF Cup for the seventh time . That extra time winner from @chetrisunil11 was mindblowing ! #INDvAFG”
The Indian football captain tweeted back thanking Virat for his encouragement “Thank you skipper , I’m certain our boys won’t need any extra time to get the job done in Australia . All the very best .”
The Indian footballers celebrated their brilliant win over the Afghans , partying till the wee hours of the morning at the team hotel . The footballers were relieved to bring back the belief amongst the fans and also to have proved the critics wrong . Stephen Constantine and his team was heavily criticized for their lackluster show in the World Cup qualifiers . A win against the formidable Afghans was much required to bring back the joy amongst the football fans .
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri who achieved the milestone of scoring 50 goals for the country attributed the SAFF win to his teammates ,“ It was a team effort . All credit should go to the coach , support staff , groundsmen and management who helped us in achieving this success . ”
Dempo midfielder Prannoy Halder had a first taste of an international trophy win , “ This is my first trophy win for the country . The memories will be long and everlasting . I have been receiving plenty of good wishes from the fans , and I am enjoying it a lot . ”
Arnab Mondal who was in the Indian squad that lost against Afghansitan in the final two years back looked satisfied , “ This is my first championship win for the national team . Gives even more satisfaction that we have been able to prove the critics wrong and win back the trust in us . ”
It was a treble of sorts for Pritam Kotal . He was part of the I League winning Mohun Bagan squad and was adjudged the emerging player of the year . An ecstatic Kotal had no words to describe his feelings before boarding the flight back to Kolkata “ I won the I league for Mohun Bagan last season and now followed it up with the SAFF Cup . Both have different feelings for me , but this one was more special .”
Indian coach Stephen Constantine will be taking a break for a couple of months . The Briton will be travelling to the States and shall return before India’s next assignment .