Sunil Chhetri’s goal celebrations a lesson for all players: Manolo Marquez

Panaji: Is there anything more that’s left to be said, or written, about Sunil Chhetri?
He’s touching 41 now, but like his hat-trick against Kerala Blasters last week, it’s clear that the Indian Idol still has plenty to offer. He’s still running his socks off for every single minute he’s on the field, still outjumping his bewildered markers and still scoring those wonderful goals.
Chhetri has already scored eight in this edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), playing far less minutes than the foreigners -- Alaaeddine Ajaraie (NorthEast United) and Armando Sadiku (FC Goa) – ahead of him. After five goals in 20 games last season, his current form has taken everyone by surprise.
“I didn’t expect that he would score a lot of goals (this season),” admitted FC Goa and national team coach Manolo Marquez.
Goa play Bengaluru FC on Saturday and Chhetri’s form was up for discussion. Asked for his views during the pre-match media interaction, the Spanish coach said he could speak for an hour but there wouldn’t be anything new about the Bengaluru forward.
“Everyone knows about Chhetri (and his abilities) but maybe there’s one thing that the youngsters, or even all players, can learn from him. When he scores, the first thing he does is not to run towards the stands and celebrate, alone, selfishly. No, never, he’s always looking for the guy who passed the ball to him. When I played, I was always like this.
“No nonsense (about celebrations) on the ground, even if you have just touched the ball (and directed it inside the goal) when someone else has dribbled past six players. The first thing that Chhetri does after scoring is to say thank you. You could see it with Jorge Pereyra (Diaz) against Kerala Blasters,” said Manolo.
Chhetri retired from international football before Manolo was appointed as the national team coach early this season.
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