Sunil Chhetri is still unsure of his second shot at a foreign club — Coventry City — but in the meantime another foreign ‘surprise’ awaits him and his India team mates. The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) decision to shift India’s first camp for the Asian Cup 2011 to Dubai, followed by a longer one at FC Barcelona’s home ground Camp Nou has left the Indian striker restless.

“I’m happily surprised at the prospect of practising at Barcelona. It couldn’t have been better. When are we leaving?” says Chhetri, barely hiding his excitement.

While the programme raised a few eyebrows questioning the financial extravagance entailing it, Chhetri figures out the differences in practising at home and away.

“It’s very different. During away camps, I feel we get together well as we have little else to think about apart from football. We don’t have to think about our families, the crowd and just enjoy the conditions. The advanced facilities add on to the differences. It becomes more like a family of 20-30 of us,” Chhetri says.

Chhetri also seemed pleased with the AIFF’s decision to increase foreign players’ quota from three to four with at least one spot for footballers of Asian origin. “It’s certainly going to help raise the standards here. It’s bound to give Indian players more exposure.”

But he asserts that the Indian clubs should rather exercise it with care than going all out. “While including foreigners in the side we have to be more careful. This is the opportunity to get in high-class foreigners. We have to look beyond whatever we have seen so far. The teams from the middle-east, especially Qatar, have gone up the rankings making full use of this rule. The best thing would be to rope in players of international repute who’ve just retired,” Chhetri adds.

... contd.