Training in Europe for longer period makes you technically better, claims Anirudh Thapa

Anirudh Thapa is already an established player in the Indian setup, having played on a regular basis for the Blue Tigers over the last few years. It was in 2016, that the playmaker along with four of his teammates from Chennaiyin FC was selected for a training stint with French Ligue 2 side Metz. Anirudh, from his experience, believes that Indian players aspiring to train in Europe must start at a very young age to take advantage of the system. 

"If you go at a young age, you get to learn a lot. When I went, I was 18 and even then, I learnt a lot. If you go at 14-16, you will learn much more and become much better players. If they can stay for a longer period, it will be good because you can advance your game and be technically better. It is not just learning these things, it is also about learning it quickly. That is the main thing,” said Anirudh Thapa, as reported by Goal.com.

The Indian midfielder has been influential in Chennaiyin FC’s ISL triumph back in 2017-18, the same season he made his debut for the national team. A graduate of the AIFF Elite Academy, Thapa admitted that training in Europe is so advanced that a player can take much less time to learn what he would he had actually taken in India.

"In India, what you learn in two-to-three years, you will learn it there in one year. The training sessions are advanced and you play a lot more games than in India. They obviously play twice a week. It’s a big thing. You get more game time and it is very important in the learning curve for a player," added the Chennaiyin FC star.