Best foot forward

The first thing Indian football star Sunil Chhetri tells youngsters when they seek his advice on playing professional football is: pick your boots carefully. The 28-year-old striker, currently contracted with Sporting Lisbon's B team, is in Delhi to conduct a week-long coaching camp for schoolchildren where they will be trained like professional footballers. He tells Aabhas Sharma about his football gear, fitness drills and why he is an out and out Nike fan boy.

Your football boots?
Nike. It's been six years that they have been supporting me and there have been no complaints with their boots. At the moment, I use the Nike Mercury Veloce range. I started using these boots earlier this year and they're extremely lightweight. The boots have studs of various lengths and provide excellent grip. When I was a kid, I never thought boots would make much of a difference, but over the years I have realised that if your boots give you even a micro-second of an edge, it's worth it.

I am doing a coaching camp in Delhi for school children and I have stressed the importance of having the right boots for the trainees. Coaching camps in India never stress on the right gear and boots. You'll see green, red, blue, yellow - all colours of jerseys and different kinds of boots. It is something I want to change - ensure that kids who want to give it a shot at professional football should at least be trained like professional footballers. A wrong pair of boots can lead to career-ending injuries.

Football gear?
Nike jerseys and shorts. Even my shin pads are by Nike. The jersey is made of special Dri-FIT technology which reduces the cling factor and ensures better sweat management. It's a very light jersey and, believe me, good football gear ends up improving your performance a lot. If the jersey clings on to you a lot, then it makes running around extremely difficult. Technology in clothing has been a big help for footballers.

When I started out as a footballer, I used to use shin pads which had to be buckled on and my calves were always affected because of the pressure. Now I use strap-on shin pads and I find running relatively easy and it doesn't affect my calves either. These are little things but make a lot of difference.

Training gear?
When I am training in India, there's nothing special that I choose as training gear. If I am training in cold weather - which is extremely rare - then I wear a track suit; otherwise it is the usual gear: shorts and a jersey.

Fitness mantra?
Running. I run every day and go to the gym thrice a week to do light weight training. I keep my workouts simple and not try to complicate things. I do quick repetitions with my weight training. I make sure that I get a massage once a week as well. On the field, I do a lot of training around cones and hurdles, something all footballers around the world do.

CHHETRI'S BRANDS
>Nike Mercury Veloce Boots: Rs 6,795
>Nike Jersey: Rs 1,995
>Shorts: Rs 1,200