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Back in India, however, Chhetri's signing was monumental.
One of the biggest stars in the world's second-most populated country — 1.1 billion people and counting — became the first player from his country to sign with Major League Soccer, to go through a door the people of India hope will stay open.
“He's a rock star, absolutely,” said Raghu Sardhr, an Indian attending the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where Chhetri played his first game for the Wizards. “The people back in India love him. It was really, really big news.”
Sunil Chhetri was little more than a name on a list when he first popped up on Kansas City's radar.
The Wizards, like most MLS teams, receive dozens of letters, video links and DVDs each month from players seeking a chance to play professional soccer. The Kansas City staff feels guilty about not giving everyone a chance, so they take a look.
Chhetri immediately caught their eye, even in the limited video clips they were able to obtain. Find a way to get him to the United States and we'll give him a shot is what they told representatives from the Indian team.
After Chhetri made it to Arizona for a training camp with the Wizards, it was clear he could play.
Blurry-fast feet. Nose for the goal. Connected with the other players on the attack almost instantly. Good instincts, able to adapt to the team's style of play without thinking about it. Quick to get the ball ahead instead of holding it too long. Hits well with both feet, uses his entire body to strike it. Pretty good in the air at 5-foot-7.
Even better, Chhetri had a burning intensity to go with his talent.
“We learned he's extremely competitive, has a desire to be successful and when you have that, you can get a lot out of a guy,” Wizards coach Peter Vermes said. “If someone has the talent and they don't have the fire in the belly, so to speak, every day you're struggling to get those guys going. This guy just gets it.”
What the Wizards didn't realize was just how big he was back in India.
Chhetri has been a regular on the Indian national team since 2004, scoring 16 goals in 35 appearances. His most famous moment came in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup final against Tajikistan, where he scored three goals to send India to the Asian Cup for the first time since 1984.
The reaction in India to Chhetri's move to the US has been like what happened in Japan nine years ago when Ichiro Suzuki switched to Major League Baseball, just without the round-the-clock TV coverage — at least not yet.
The Wizards held the news conference for his signing at 930 p.m. local time so it could be broadcast in India. The team has doubled its Facebook friends to 12,000 since he joined the team, many of them posting photos of their favorite star, some saying his signing will bring more fans to MLS than David Beckham ever did.
Rob Johnson, Kansas City's vice president of communications, has been inundated with calls from media members in India, often at 3 or 4 a.m. because of the time difference.
“It's really blown us away, not only the amount of the interest but the depth of the interest, kind of all things Sunil,” said Greg Cotton, chief operating officer of the Wizards' parent company, OnGoal. “But he is the face of Indian soccer. A lot of the Indian press has told us that they believe Sunil is going to be the one who's going to bring Indian soccer to the rest of the world. That's pretty exciting when you hear stuff like that.”
Back in India, dozens of stories have been written about Chhetri's monumental move, treating every development — a goal during training was front-page news — as if it were a lunar landing. Chhetri has done close to 150 interviews since agreeing to terms with the Wizards on March 25 and another live feed to India is expected this week.
The Times of India, a newspaper with over 10 million readers, printed the Wizards' news release verbatim when it was announced that Chhetri would start Tuesday night's game against Colorado in the US Open Cup.
“We've called him the Michael Jordan of India, but I don't think we still really appreciate how big he is,” Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad said. “It's a country of 1 billion and everybody knows his name. That alone puts him a little different stratosphere.”
Just don't expect Chhetri to feel the pressure.
Football doesn't have nearly the fervent following in India as cricket does, but it's still much bigger there than in the US An estimated 80 million viewers tune in to watch English Premier League games on TV and Indian national-team members are like national heroes.
Chhetri accepts the expectations of a nation, he just won't let them weigh him down. He worked too hard to get this opportunity, still has so much he wants to do.
The focus that got Chhetri here will keep his eyes on the goal as the attention swirls around him.
