Former India international Jeje Lalpekhlua revealed that it was almost impossible for him to watch the Indian team play till last June. He shared that he would cry watch the team in action on television. The 32-year-old hung up his boots after losing a battle against his knee.
He shared that he stopped watching the team play as it would make him sad. But he turned on the television when India defeated the likes of Cambodia, Hong Kong and Afghanistan to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. “The team is doing well. I am so happy to see that. To qualify for the Asian Cup is a big achievement,” he said in an interaction with Hinustan Times.
India qualified for the tournament back in 2019 aswell as Jeje was a part of the team and even scored a goal for the Blue Tigers in their iconic 4-1 win over Thailand in the last edition. He has turned up for India, a total of 56 times and has scored some of the most crucial goals and has won several accolades for the nation.
Jeje also opened up about his injury concerns as he highlights his knee injury that happened in 2012 and how he never recovered from that. He shared that he would play just because of the India physios and the physios as Chennaiyin FC took great care of him. He revealed how former Chennaiyin FC head coach Marco Materazzi was someone who took care for his players and understood workload management. The veteran shared how before that not many people in Indian football would care much about injuries and would force to play even with one.
“He (Materazzi) was serious about injury management. Earlier, in the I-League, people used to ask you to play even with injuries. Now with the ISL, everyone is serious about injuries. I am happy about the change that I have seen,” Jeje added.
The 32-year-old needed a surgical reconstruction in 2019 when he was plying his trade for East Bengal. He was taking advice from a doctor who had treated Dutch star Memphis Depay but sadly his knee never healed. “After surgery, when I joined East Bengal, I had a lot of problems with the knee. I used to cry at night. I did everything I could to continue playing. But you have to accept what God has in store for you. That is why I made the decision to retire,” an emotional Jeje recalled.
Jeje called time to his career in February after being out of action for almost two years. He revealed it was one of the toughest steps in his life. But life surely has something wonderful planner for the Mizo Sniper who has scored numerous important goals for India at the global stage.
