India captain Sunil Chhetri and legendary footballer I.M. Vijayan spoke about the latter's hilarious preparation routine before a game during his playing days. The duo spoke about a variety of things during a live video session on popular social media platform Instagram.
With no football going on currently due to coronavirus pandemic, former and current players are keeping themselves busy by engaging with fans on social media.
During the session, Chhetri asked Vijayan about his warm-up routine, which he said he heard about from the former player's teammates and coaches.
"Whenever I go to play a match, be it with Bengaluru FC or the national team, the entire team has to warm-up together. But there was a time when I.M. Vijayan used to warm-up away from the team. Everyone from your time told me the same thing," Chhetri said as Vijayan burst into laughter.
"The thing is I just couldn't warm-up with the same intensity as others. I just couldn't stretch or run laps. But while playing I was ready to do anything," Vijayan told Chhetri.
"Whichever coach I speak to, they always told me nobody could coach I.M.Vijayan because whatever he does on the field is always brilliant," Chhetri added.
To this, Vijayan replied: "What can I say, I think it is god's gift. I played with so many strikers but couldn't play with you."
"That is my regret that I didn't get a chance to play with you," Chhetri said.
( With inputs from IANS )