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Kansas City Wizards's Indian player Sunil Chhetri
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Sunil Chhetri believes that his time with Kansas City in the Major League Soccer (MLS) has given him a boost in confidence ahead of the upcoming Asian Cup tournament in January, 2011.
The US club has permitted the Indian forward to join the national squad, training in Portugal for the upcoming tournament. He has been released on loan to the national side till January. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has reportedly decided to compensate the striker by shelling out $75,000 for six months.
"The last three months have been very exciting. Playing in MLS was a great experience. It has boosted my confidence and I feel I have matured as a player," the 26-year-old was quoted on Times of India.
The Indian ace is slated to leave for Portugal on Wednesday.
"I just want to do well with the national team. Bob Houghton is a great coach and I am confident that the national team will do well under him. It is great moment for Indian football and the team will surely do well in Doha," he added.
The Indian recently got a chance to play with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov in a friendly match between Manchester United and Kansas City Wizards. Kansas City beat United 2-1.
"I never thought that I would be playing against the Red Devils and also end up on the winning side," he said.
The striker was astonished with the facilities provided to him in Kansas and thinks that even if India has ten percent of those provisions it would take Indian Football to new heights.
"The facilities are great and I can assure you if we had even 10 percent of those, it would have been great for Indian football," said Chhetri.
The Indian striker was dropped from the list of Arjuna Award winners at the last minute and defender Dipak Mondal was selected based on seniority for the prize. Chhetri, however, refused to comment on the matter.
Chhetri: "Never thought I'd make it in football"