Former Portugal defender Henrique Sereno feels young India international Anirudh Thapa has it in him to play club football in Europe. The central defender, who won back-to-back ISL titles at ATK (2016) and Chennaiyin (2017-18) was all praise for his former teammate Thapa while speaking duirng a Live Instagram chat with Chennaiyin fan group Super Machans.
Thapa was also a part of the triumphant Chennaiyin outfit. "We had many good young players like Anirudh Thapa. He can play in Europe. He is a very good number 10 and has very nice skills. We also had Jeje (Lalpekhlua) who is a great striker," Sereno said.
The 22-year-old Thapa has impressed with his game while turning out for both his club and the national team.
The Portuguese added, 'We had so many players. Even the players who didn't play a lot like Keenan (Almeida), (Fulganco) Cardozo, they had amazing skills but they didn't get many chances but they were good in the training. That was the key to success."
Asked about the best Indian player in the title-winning Chennaiyin FC squad, Sereno said, "The strongest Indian player in the club was my captain Dhanpal Ganesh. He is very strong.
"Usually, Indian players are not too big. Dhanpal used to win every single ball in the midfield. He used to communicate well with the defenders."
But the top player overall in that Chennaiyin team was Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto, he said. "Raphael Augusto for me was the best Chennaiyin player. He was very skilful. He could have played for any team in Europe but he chose to play in India. For me, he was the best I had played at Chennaiyin FC."
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