Mumbai: India coach Stephen Constantine has said that the Indian football team has done enough in the last few years to merit a decent crowd turnout, and begging for support was one thing it did not deserve.
Skipper Sunil Chhetri who played his 100th international game for the country in the 3-0 win over Kenya Monday, has posted a video on social media the earlier day asking for the fans to come to the stadium and support the players. The video struck a chord with the Mumbaikars, who turned up in droves for the second game, two days after giving the tournament opener a miss.
As the discussion turned to crowd at the post-match press conference, Constantine said, “Look, I have said it before and I don’t feel that we should be begging people to come and watch the national team.
“The response today (Monday) was unbelievable, what I expect from the Blue Pilgrims and the rest of the people, it’s not only the Blue Pilgrims.
“… But the national team is playing in the manner, we’ve been playing for last three and half years, and the things that we have achieved in three and half years, (and) we still feel disappointed to see such a crowd in the last game.
Constantine said that he was delighted over this win and for Chhetri. “I was thinking before this game, who is going to spoil this day for him (Chhetri) and for us. I am delighted that he got a couple of goals and obviously delighted that we won. So, I don’t think that he is going to forget it for some time,” the coach stated.