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If you were to narrow it down to one word to perfectly sum up Anirudh Thapa’s 2018-19 season, ‘exhausting’ probably fits best.
Between battling away in the Indian Super League even as Chennaiyin FC’s title defence campaign went nose down from the start, the 21-year-old from Dehradun has had to shuttle across countries to represent India in the SAFF Cup and the Asian Cup. With the ISL done, he’s now turning out in the blue of Chennaiyin in the AFC Cup, after of course having participated in their Super Cup exertions as well, lest we forget.
“Obviously I’m tired because I haven’t had any break,” says Thapa with a smile as Sportskeeda caught up with the midfielder on the sidelines of a sponsor event this past week from Nippon Paint.
Thapa has played 28 games this season for Chennaiyin – 18 in the ISL, 5 in the Super Cup and 5 in the AFC Cup.
He admits that the down time away from playing is something that he has missed: “The main thing is that almost the whole year I’m playing football and haven’t got much time to chill out with friends and family. But as a professional I have to do things and I need to stay focused.”
'Time for me to grow'
While he might be holding up well physically, he admits that the constant adaptation has taken a mental toll.
“With the national team, it’s a big thing; if it’s for the full year then I will go for it. But with the club, now we’re changing things, the tactics. So it’s difficult for a player to adapt and give the full 100 percent. So even if I’m physically doing okay, mentally I’m a little tired.”
The midfielder though is conscious of the opportunities that have been coming his way and the importance that all the game time is going to do for his career going forward.
“I need to just keep myself motivated and focused because this is the time for me to grow as I get a lot of matches to play which perhaps other players don’t. So I look at it in a positive way that I’m getting to play a lot and I can try new things out in these matches.”
The focus he talks about is going to be paramount in the coming weeks as his season isn’t done yet. Chennaiyin currently top their group in the AFC Cup, with seven points from their three games.
Thapa considers it a ‘big challenge’ saying, “Not only for me, but also the club as it’s the first time Chennaiyin FC is playing in Asia. In the ISL this season we didn’t do that well; we were a bit off. So when the AFC Cup came we had that motivation that we must do well here as it is one of the biggest tournaments ever for Chennaiyin.”
Change in mentality and tactics
The ISL season was one that Chennaiyin would ideally like to seal away in a bottle and toss into the ocean as they set some unenviable records, finishing with the lowest ever points total for a team after the league phase.
“You could say that we didn’t have the luck in some of our matches. Each and every player gave it their best, but things didn’t go right for us. Everything we tried to do backfired on us,” says Thapa on what went wrong for them.
He believes a mentality change as well as a tactical change has brought about the change of fortunes towards the end of the season, reflecting in their Super Cup and AFC Cup campaigns.
“The mentality and we had to change some tactics as well as the positions of the players. Even for me, last few matches I’ve been playing as a winger or an attacking midfielder while in the ISL, most of the time I played as a defensive midfielder. So we did make a few changes and as a professional it was important for us to stay focused.”
From super sub to starter
After largely being an impact player off the bench during much of Chennaiyin’s title-winning campaign in 2017-18, Thapa has been a full-fledged starter this season. He tells us about what that has meant in terms of adaptation for him, admitting that it wasn’t easy in the beginning.
“I didn’t know how to approach the game. I wasn’t sure whether to take more chances, whether to be more attacking or play safe. I was quite confused. But now I’m getting to know the game better; I know when to slow the game down, when to move forward and read the game better. And when you start doing that, you are able to understand the players better, see if they are under pressure and know where the chances are coming from, how physical a team is.”
His diminutive physique has often led to him receiving the rough treatment from opponents as they look to weigh him down. Thapa knows that it’s something that he’s going to be targeted with for a long time and is keen to find a way to get around it.
“Obviously if I can’t grow my physique, I have to add other things to make up for it. Now being a short guy, I have a low centre of gravity, so I can push through and make some swift movements. But yes, I need to work on something which can hide my weakness.”
What does the future hold?
With his stock rising since bursting on to the scene, there has been palpable interest around the country from other clubs for his services. So will Thapa consider a move away from Chennaiyin?
“Right now I have one more year with the club and everything Is going good. I was once a supporter of this team and the next season I signed with them. So it was a big thing for me, being a football fan and suddenly becoming a player for the same club.”
He does though leave things open for what is likely to happen in the future: “For me I had a dream of playing for just one club, but I can’t say, if other teams show some interest. For now I’m happy here and everything is going good, but I can’t say what will happen in the future.”
