BREAKING NEWS: Sunil Chhetri joins Churchill Brothers on loan from Sporting CP!

In a surprise move Goan I-League side Churchill Brothers have taken India captain Sunil Chhetri on loan for the remainder of the ongoing 2012/13 season from Sporting Clube de Portugal.

As per FIFA regulations, Chhetri's professional contract at Sporting CP was extended until June 2014, which thereafter allowed him to move back to India for the rest of the I-League season as well as the Red Machines' AFC Cup campaign.

The signing of Sunil Chhetri will surely boast Churchill Brothers quest to win the back the I-League title, while for Chhetri after months with little playing time in Portugal it is a chance to get more regular football.

Sporting Clube de Portugal wishes to highlight the professionalism and dedication shown by Sunil Chhetri, who will return to Portugal in the 2013/14 pre-season as part of the clubs 'B' team for whom the India captain had signed last summer.

Sunil Chhetri makes official Sporting B league debut

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri finally made his league debut for his side Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' in the Portuguese Second Division (Liga de Honra) against SC Freamunde as he came on as a second half substitute.

SCP 'B' won 2-0 away to SC Freamunde through a brace from Ricardo Esgaio (49th & 65th minute) with Sporting B moving-up a place into second place in the league table behind Belenenses Lisboa.

Sunil Chhetri had gotten some playing time for Sporting B in pre-season, but then he was away for a few weeks on India assignment at the 2012 Nehru Cup and then returned as the tournaments champion and 'Most Valuable Player'.

But at Sporting B he had to start from scratch, get accustomed again and integrate into a working team as the young Sporting B side have been impressive since the start of the Liga de Honra season.

Finally yesterday Sporting B coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz gave Sunil Chhetri his league debut in the 84th minute and one can only hope it was the first of many more to come from the India captain. As the match had been decided by then it was an uneventful first game for Sunil Chhetri.


Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sunil Chhetri's Sporting Lisbon B could tour India next month!

India captain Sunil Chhetri is back in Europe at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' after the Nehru Cup triumph earlier this month in New Delhi, but the Delhi boy could be back in India sooner then he himself might have thought.

Then Sporting Clube de Portugal have agreed in principle to send their SCP 'B' team to India on an exposure trip over the week October 9 to 15 during the FIFA break.

Nothing is finalised, but SCP and their Indian partners are currently working on plans for a week long trip to India.

More information in the coming days

Sunil Chhetri: Sporting Lisbon has been an eye opener!

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri is back in India for the ongoing preparatory India camp for the 2012 Nehru Cup in Bangalore after his first few weeks with his new club Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B'. Sunil interacted with the media after training for the first time under new national coach Wim Koevermans yesterday afternoon after he had arrived on Monday from Lisbon.

Speaking about his Portuguese experience so far Sunil said, "It has been a wonderful experience, its been just 28 days, playing at such a top level has opened up my mind. My mentality towards the way I look at football has changed completely!"

"The intensity of the game is much higher there, at a different level altogether," an elated Sunil added.

Now Sunil Chhetri is back amongst his India team mates and wants to win another Nehru Cup title, but this time he is not only a team member but the team captain and that bring with it added responsibility. On the aims for the tournament he said, "Being defending champions, we're looking to continue that and do well."

Coming to speak about Wim Koevermans strategy Sunil said, "We have been working on keeping the ball more. It will not happen overnight, but we are doing fairly well in practice now. The mantra for success for any team is to execute exactly what the coach says."

"We must understand what he wants from us, and we must play with his formula," Sunil added.

UEFA Europa League: Playoffs draw out

The draw for the final round of qualifiers for the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League was carried out earlier today in Nyon, Switzerland. There are some well known sides who are fighting to survive to play in continental competitions this season.

Last season finalists Athletic Bilbao from Spain face Finnish side HJK Helsinki, while former champions Liverpool FC take on another British team in Heart of Midlothian FC and while FC Vaslui host 2010 UEFA Champions League winners Inter Milan.

The UEFA Europa League qualifiers for the group stage will be played on August 23 and 30 with the group stage to be drawn on August 31 in Monaco.


UEFA Europa League - Play-off Round

FC Anzhi Makhachkala (RUSSIA) - AZ Alkmaar (NETHERLANDS)
APOEL FC (CYPRUS) - Neftçi PFK (AZERBAIJAN)
Atromitos FC (GREECE) - Newcastle United FC (ENGLAND)
Tromsø IL (NORWAY) - FK Partizan (SERBIA)
FC Vaslui (ROMANIA) - FC Internazionale Milano (ITALY)

Heart of Midlothian FC (SCOTLAND) - Liverpool FC (ENGLAND)
Athletic Club Bilbao (SPAIN) - HJK Helsinki (FINLAND)
CS Marítimo (PORTUGAL) - *FC Dila Gori (GEORGIA) or Anorthosis Famagusta (CYPRUS)
Molde FK (NORWAY) - sc Heerenveen (NETHERLANDS)
Debreceni VSC (HUNGARY) - Club Brugge KV (BELGIUM)

FC Sheriff (MOLDOVA) - Olympique de Marseille (FRANCE)
Trabzonspor AS (TURKEY) - Videoton FC (HUNGARY)
FC Midtjylland (DENMARK) - BSC Young Boys Bern (SWITZERLAND)
WKS Slask Wroclaw (POLAND) - Hannover 96 (GERMANY)
FC Dinamo Bucuresti (ROMANIA) - FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKRAINE)

AC Horsens (DENMARK) - Sporting Clube de Portugal (PORTUGAL)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISRAEL) - F91 Dudelange (LUXEMBOURG)
Feyenoord (NETHERLANDS) - AC Sparta Praha (CZECH REPUBLIC)
Motherwell FC (SCOTLAND) - Levante UD (SPAIN)
FK Crvena zvezda (SERBIA) - FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRANCE)

KSC Lokeren OV (BELGIUM) - FC Viktoria Plzen (CZECH REPUBLIC)
S.S. Lazio (ITALY) - ND Mura 05 (SLOVENIA)
AIK Solna (SWEDEN) - PFC CSKA Moskva (RUSSIA)
Legia Warszawa (POLAND) - Rosenborg Trondheim BK (NORWAY)
Bursaspor (TURKEY) - FC Twente Enschede (NETHERLANDS)

FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROMANIA) - FK Ekranas (LITHUANIA)
FC Slovan Liberec (CZECH REPUBLIC) - FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKRAINE)
VfB Stuttgart (GERMANY) - FC Dinamo Moskva (RUSSIA)
PAOK FC (GREECE) - SK Rapid Wien (AUSTRIA)
FC Luzern (SWITZERLAND) - KRC Genk (BELGIUM)
FK Zeta (MONTENEGRO) - PSV Eindhoven (NETHERLANDS)

*Subject to the CDB decision

VIDEO: Autograph Session & Interview of Sunil Chhetri

India captain Sunil Chhetri took part in an autograph session of his club Sporting Clube de Portugal at Lisbon's coolest tube station at Baixa-Chiado on Tuesday evening. The hundreds of fans who turned out to catch a glance of the new Alvalade arrival certainly kept the Indian star busy, but Sunil Chhetri's Kolkata experience surely helped him as he proved keen to answer a variety of questions from the local media.



Here is the transcript of the interview: Sunil Chhetri @SCP: Do as much as I can!

Report & Photos: Sporting B lose to Académica, Sunil plays 45 minutes

The 'B' team of Sporting Clube de Portugal continued their pre-season with a 1-2 defeat against Académica de Coimbra, who play in the Portuguese top tier Primeira Ligain Rio Maior on Thursday night. Indian striker Sunil Chhetri came on in the second session along with Luís Ribeiro, Iuri Medeiros, Zezinho, Patinho, Turan, Rafael Veloso, João Gonçalves, Chula and Luís Almeida.

SCP 'B' coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz once more used most of his squad to see as many players as possible in match action. Sporting took a 12th minute lead through a Bruma strike, but second half goals from former Sporting striker Carlos Soleiro and a late Edinho penalty sealed the match for Académica.

It was another good performance by Sunil Chhetri on the field though like in earlier matches he couldn't score. Still Sunil is said to be improving with every passing game.

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sunil Chhetri @SCP: Do as much as I can!

India captain Sunil Chhetri took part in an autograph session of his club Sporting Clube de Portugal at Lisbon's coolest tube station at Baixa-Chiado on Tuesday evening. The hundreds of fans who turned out to catch a glance of the new Alvalade arrival certainly kept the Indian star busy, but Sunil Chhetri's Kolkata experience surely helped him as he proved keen to answer a variety of questions from the local media.

Sunil Chhetri spoke to SCP media on the sidelines of the fan interaction.


Will you stay with the reserve team for now?

Yes, exactly. As I have already said, for a player like me who comes from a country like India it is very difficult and I can see that now. The training with the reserve team (Sporting 'B') is also very intense, so right now I am trying my best to give everything that I can.


Do you have aspirations to get into the first team?

Well, to be honest that isn't in my mind right now. Like I just said, it is also very competitive in the reserve team and it isn't easy for me as part of that team either. My first objective is to become something in the reserve team and to just do as much as I can. It really isn't easy in the reserve team right now, so for me thinking about the first team is still too far away. We need to be realistic and I am more focused on becoming a good member of the reserve team first.


Has the team coach had a talk with you?

Yes he (Oceano Andrade da Cruz ) has! He was very kind and very encouraging. The first thing that he told me to do was to get comfortable over here (in Portugal), to try to be happy and to do my best in training.


What are your thoughts on your teammates from the first team?

I haven't had much interaction with the first team. They train at different times then us. I have talked to them a couple of times and they have all been very nice, but the guys from the reserve team have also been very nice and very helpful. They are all open with me and they have all made me welcome, so I really thank them for that. They are all very young, most of them even younger than me.


You were supposed to be with the national team for a few games. What happened?

We have a very important tournament for India coming up (Nehru Cup), which starts on the 22nd of August. The Club has already been told about it, so I will act according to whatever decision Sporting makes. I am sure that everybody will go through FIFA's rules and regulations, so when I am allowed to leave the Sporting squad I will go and join the (India) team.

Exclusive PHOTOs from Sunil Chhetri's SCP autograph signing session

Here are exclusive photos from India captain Sunil Chhetri alongside Sporting Clube de Portugal 'A' team goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck, who were the stars of an autograph session at Lisbon's coolest tube station at Baixa-Chiado. Several hundred fans waited patiently for Sunil and Marcelo's autograph and photos!

And further dozens of journalists including TV stations also were there for Sunil Chhetri's first public appearance as a Sporting player.

Sporting B win 2-0, Sunil Chhetri plays 45 minutes again

The 'B' team of Sporting Clube de Portugal continued their pre-season with a 2-0 friendly victory against 2nd Division club (third tier) C.D. Mafra. Indian striker Sunil Chhetri was given a start by coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz along with Vítor Golas, Chula, Nuno Reis, Eric Dier, Turin, João Mário, Zezinho, Yang, Filipe Chaby and Bruma.

Sporting B controlled the first session, but Sunil and his colleagues failed to get onto the scoresheet. Sunil along with Chinese Yang were substituted with Betinho and Kikas.

Sporting B continued to control proceedings after the break, but one thing changed with substitutes scoring. First Renato Neto gave Sporting B a 70th minute lead and Betinho doubled that in the 85th minute.


Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Exclusive PHOTOs: Sporting B's Sunil Chhetri in match action

Yesterday Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' faced Associação Naval 1º de Maio ( Match Report: Sporting B gets 1-1 draw, Sunil plays 45 minutes ) in their second game at the the Football Summer Cup By DFN played at the Fontelo in Viseu. Here some exclusive match action photos of India captain Sunil Chhetri with his SCP 'B' team mates.

Here the link to some Exclusive PHOTOs: Sporting B's Sunil Chhetri warming-up .

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sporting B gets 1-1 draw, Sunil plays 45 minutes

Sporting 'B' drew one-all against Associação Naval 1º de Maio in their second game in the Football Summer Cup By DFN played at Viseu's Municipal Stadium. Their new Indian striker Sunil Chhetri came on as a second half substitute and played the 45 minutes.

Pedro Mendes gave Sporting 'B' a 12th minute lead through a header, but the green-and-whites were wasteful with their chances and this would harm them as Carlitos equalised for Naval in the 76th minute. It stayed one-all until the end.

In their tournaments opening match Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team had won 4-1 against the 'B' Team of Associação Académica de Coimbra at the Municipal de Nelas. In that game Sunil Chhetri had played 45 minutes in the second half of the match.


Here the link to Exclusive PHOTOs: Sporting B's Sunil Chhetri warming-up .

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Exclusive PHOTOs: Sporting B's Sunil Chhetri warming-up

Today Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' faced Associação Naval 1º de Maio in their second game at the the Football Summer Cup By DFN played at the Fontelo in Viseu. Here some exclusive pre-match warm-up photos of India captain Sunil Chhetri with his SCP 'B' team mates.

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot & follow @Arunfoot on Twitter to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sporting B win 4-1, Chhetri plays 45 minutes

India captain Sunil Chhetri came on as a second half substitute for Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team in their match against the 'B' Team of Associação Académica de Coimbra, which SCP 'B' won 4-1 at the Municipal de Nelas. It was the opening match of the Football Summer Cup By DFN being organised in the central Portuguese city of Viseu.

Sporting 'B' went into the break with a 2-0 lead through goals from Nii Plange (7th & 14th minute) and in the second session coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz send in a completely new line-up which also included Sunil Chhetri. And Sunil put-up a good display though he didn't score on the day with Atila Turan and Armindo Bangna adding two more for their team.

"We are at an early stage of the season and it is important to use every opportunity to play competitive matches. We were able to gain some valuable ideas on the team setup," Sporting 'B' coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz said after the match.

Sporting 'B' will face Associação Naval 1º de Maio in their second game at the Fontelo in Viseu on Sunday.

Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sunil Chhetri's upcoming weekend of football action

There has been good news regarding trials of goalkeepers Subrata Pal in Germany and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in England, while pre-season training for India captain Sunil Chhetri continues with the Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team and over the coming days they will be playing in a tournament in which Sunil can prove himself once more.

In the latest news Sporting Clube de Portugal have decided to hand Sunil Chhetri the No. 38 jersey for the season!

Meanwhile SCP 'B' will participate in the Football Summer Cup By DFN being organised in the central Portuguese city of Viseu. The tournament kicks-off later today.

Sporting will face the 'B' Team of Associação Académica de Coimbra in their opening match tonight. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 18.00 local time (19.00 CET / 22.30 IST) at the Municipal de Nelas, south of Viseu. Then on Sunday Sunil Chhetri and his team in the green-and-white jerseys will take on Associação Naval 1º de Maio in their second match of the Football Summer Cup By DFN. The Sporting 'B' v Naval match would kick-off at 18.00 local time (19.00 CET / 22.30 IST) at the Fontelo in Viseu.

It has been an active first week for Sunil Chhetri. Started off with the impromptu press conference on arrival at the airport, the medical check-up, the first training sessions, the first friendly match in which he scored his first goal and since then training to be on the same level as his new team mates.


Please LIKE www.facebook.com/arunfoot to get further updates on Sunil Chhetri's pre-season at Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B' Team along with further news on what the other Indian footballers and Players of Indian origin are doing across Europe!

Sunil Chhetri scores in Sporting Lisbon B's 5-0 win!

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri played his first pre-season friendly in a Sporting Clube de Portugal shirt for their 'B' against 1º de Maio Futebol Clube Sarilhense at the SCP Academy complex in Alcochete on Saturday afternoon. And it was a perfect start for Sunil as he scored the final goal in his teams convincing 5-0 win besides also hitting the woodwork.

The new-look SCP 'B' team coached by Oceano Andrade da Cruz scored at will in the closed door match against 1º de Maio Futebol Clube Sarilhense in which Luis Almeida (Kikas) scored twice with the other scorers being Gael Junior Etock, Nii Adamah Plange and Sunil Chhetri.

Sunil Chhetri came on as a substitute before scoring the fifth and final goal, also having another chance hit the woodwork. Amongst those present it was said that Sunil looked to have adjusted quickly to his new team mates and the Portuguese conditions after only a couple of training days. He is said to be focused and learning quickly.

But this was only a small start for Sunil then close to a month of pre-season remain until August 12 when the Portuguese Liga de Honra (second Division) kicks-off. Numerous more friendlies and training sessions to prove that he has it what it takes to be a key member of the SCP 'B' squad for the new season remain and also convince the Portuguese media and SCP fans.

Sunil Chhetri has successful training start at Sporting Lisbon

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri landed on Wednesday evening in the Portuguese capital Lisbon amid a media frenzy with Sporting Clube de Portugal fans at the airport to welcome him to the Verde-e-Brancos (Green and White). A welcome which Sunil was surely surprised to see, it will have somewhat have reminded him of joining one of the Kolkata giants - East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Thereafter it was time to spend the first night at the SCP Academy and then Sunil Chhetri had to undergo the mandatory medical check-up on Thursday morning. Everything was fine as per the medical report card, so Sunil could meet his new team mates at Sporting Clube de Portugal's 'B' in the afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon he not only met his new team mates, but directly had his first training session under his new coach Oceano Andrade da Cruz and there was instant success for Sunil then he did score in his first practice session. Sunil had further training sessions today, Friday and again scored.

One thing is clear that Sunil is loving every second of his time at Sporting Clube de Portugal so far and he wants to prove his quality in their 'B' team against highly talented players who are all younger then him. His experience at Kansas City Wizards, the trials at Coventry City and Glasgow Rangers, and the India camps in Portugal/Spain now are very useful for the India striker.

Exclusive PHOTOs from Sunil Chhetri's arrival in Lisbon

Here some photos from yesterday evening as Sunil Chhetri arrives at the Lisbon Portela airport with the Portuguese media interested to speak to him about his new stint with Sporting Clube de Portugal.

VIDEO: Sunil Chhetri has arrived in the Portuguese capital Lisbon!

This is a local video clip from Portugal on Sunil Chhetri's arrival yesterday evening in Lisbon. You can see the massive media interest there was about Sunil joining Sporting Clube de Portugal and the cool-headed and wise answers the India captain gave.

Sunil Chhetri has arrived in the Portuguese capital Lisbon!

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri arrived this evening at 19.55 local time in the Portuguese capital Lisbon after flying via Helsinki from New Delhi ahead of joining his new team mates at Sporting Clube de Portugal's 'B' team.

There was a massive interest from the local Portuguese media about Sunil's arrival with TV crews, radio stations, the written press and online publications at the arrivals area; all wanting to speak to Sunil with Sporting fans shouting slogans in their clubs name.

In the first statements on Portuguese soil as a green-and-white Sunil Chhetri said, "I am very proud. Sporting is one of the best clubs in the world and this is a big step in my career."

Sunil Chhetri did not hesitate when asked what the symbol and colours of Sporting Clube de Portugal are, "Symbol? A lion. The colours? Green and white." The striker said he was eager to start and assured, "I promise I'll give everything. This is a great opportunity for me!"

Sunil was led by Sporting's Directors to the SCP Academy where he will sleep tonight. Tomorrow morning Sunil will have to undergo the mandetory medical check-up and he would get a chance to rest in the afternoon. Sunil would participate in his first training session with his new team mates on Friday at the SCP training facilities and could play for SCP 'B' in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Ashok Rajgopal, the CEO of Football One, the company who made Sunil Chhetri's deal possible with Sporting Clube de Portugal will land in Lisbon tomorrow to follow Sunil's arrival in the Portuguese capital with his agent Yogesh Joshee also set to arrive over the day tomorrow.