The24-year-old footballer was named the captain of Chennaiyin FC ahead of the ISL 2021-22 season and has singed a two-year contract extension with the club.
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Anirudh Thapa is one of the most efficient and reliable midfielders in Indian football right now. The Chennaiyin FC player recently signed a contract extension with the Indian Super League (ISL) club. With the deal, the 24-year-old will continue to feature for the club he joined in 2016 until the summer of 2024. The youngster has already made 24 appearances for the Indian national team and has been a pivotal part of Igor Stimac’s plans. The Dehradun-born footballer was named the captain of Chennaiyin FC ahead of the ISL 2021-22 season. Having made his mark for the Marina Machans in the title-winning campaign in ISL 2017-18.
???? ? ????????: @AnirudhThapa‘s magical spell continues for 2️⃣ more years! ??#AllInForChennaiyin #Thapa2024 pic.twitter.com/gYpuqh51rB
— Chennaiyin FC ?? (@ChennaiyinFC) May 21, 2022
Thapa was brought into the CFC squad as a replacement to injured Dhanachandra Singh in 2016. It wasn’t easy for the youngster, as he played just one game for the Marina Machans before seeing himself go out on loan to Minerva Punjab. Even after his return to the CFC, the following season, he had to wait till the third match to make an appearance on the pitch. Thapa grabbed the opportunity with both hands, impressing the coach John Gregory and went on to become a regular starter in the team.
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The youngster made 16 appearances for the Marina Machans and played a pivotal role in the title winning 2017-18 season. He played 757 minutes of football, scoring two goals and registered one assist. He was more of a box-to-box midfielder, who had the ability to make usual contributions in both the attacking and defensive department. He finished the season with 14 crosses, 395 passes, 18 tackles and 10 interceptions. Meanwhile, Thapa’s best ISL season was in 2019-20 when he registered six assists and one goal in 20 appearances for CFC and played a key role in their run to the final, where they eventually lost to ATK. He is now an integral part of the CFC set up. At just 24, he is the leader of the pack.
Thapa came in as a development player for CFC after spending four years at the AIFF Elite Academy from 2012-16. He is now the second most capped player for the Marina Machans after Jerry Lalrinzuala (103). The 24-year-old has made 101 appearances across six ISL seasons, the AFC Cup and the Super Cup. “Thapa came here young. And in that time, he’s won an ISL title, established himself as one of the best in the country and also captained Chennaiyin FC for a season. He’s made himself in Chennai. And now he will be one of the key players to make the future of Chennaiyin FC,” said Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani after Thapa put pen to paper for the extension.
The versatile midfielder made his international debut against St. Kitts/Nevis at the age of just 19 in 2017 and went on to become a regular in the Indian team. He played all of India’s matches at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Qatar and scored his debut international goal in the 4-1 win over Thailand in India’s opening fixture. He was also part of India’s junior teams- U-16, U-19 and U-23 and a record two-time AIFF Emerging Player of the Year Award winner. Thapa is no doubt one of the best midfielders in the country. He is young, skilful and sublime.
The pocket dynamo is certainly capable of controlling the midfield and has good ball distributing ability, He works his socks off for the team and at the same time offers a creative spark while going forward. Thapa has six goals and 10 assists under his belt in 87 ISL appearances. He will certainly grow as a footballer in the future and if he can add more goals and assist to his name, the youngster will surely achieve greater heights.
