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| Chhetri wants match against teams like Iran, Japan or Saudi | | | agencies
NEW DELHI, July 10: Indian captain Sunil Chhetri on Sunday backed head coach Igor Stimac's demand for a four-week camp before the Asian Cup early next year, saying the team needs to have enough preparation time to face the best sides in the continent. The 38-year-old Chhetri, who will be playing his last Asian Cup in Doha (January 12 to February 10), also pitched for at least one international friendly match against a top-seven ranked country in Asia such as Iran, Japan or Saudi Arabia before the continental showpiece.
"We are going to face Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria in the Asian Cup (group matches), that is why Stimac (as well as goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu) have spoken about long camps. We need it, and I really hope we get it," Chhetri said in a virtual media interaction.
"When you go to the national camp, there are injuries to players and they come with different mental levels from their respective clubs. You need to take care of all these, and to do that, you need more time," he said, attributing the team's success in the recent tournaments to a long camp of more than 50 days.
India won the tri-nation international tournament in Manipur (March 22-28) before clinching titles in the Intercontinental Cup (June 9-18) in Bhubaneswar and SAFF Championships (June 21 to July 4) in Bengaluru. The players were in the national camp from mid-May till the SAFF Championships.
Stimac had said he would need at least a four-week camp to do well in the Asian Cup while the All India Football Federation (AIFF) top brass had indicated that his demand would be difficult to meet as the clubs may not agree to release their players for such a long period in the midst of the domestic season.
"Eventually, how many days we get (for national camp) depends on the talks (among the stakeholders) but I really hope to get as many days as possible," said the talismanic striker.
Chhetri, who was named the most valuable player after emerging as the top scorer in the SAFF Championships, also said the team needs to play at least one international friendly against a country ranked in the top-six or seven in the continent, ahead of the Asian Cup.
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