India’s most famous soccer players

Indian soccer is actively developing. And although its level is still far from what the athletes of the European championships show, there are many talented athletes in this country. Many of them could perform decently in international tournaments, and on teams of a more prestigious level. Some have already signed contracts with foreign clubs or defended the honor of Indian soccer abroad at the beginning of their career.

India’s best players

The level of Indian soccer is gradually rising. Even now the country has players whose skills may well compete with those of many famous athletes from Europe. Interestingly, horse racing tips India are in much greater demand. Horse racing is now considered the top sport in the country.

Sunil Chhetri

One of India’s most famous soccer players. Sunil Chhetri is the capital of the Bangalore club, which plays in the local super league, and he is also the main player of the Indian national team.

Chhetri’s fame extends far beyond his country. He is ranked alongside such players as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. And all because of the forward’s high output. Even though Sunil is already 38 years old, he is still in good physical shape and is the face of the national team, the star of FC Bangalore.

The professional career of the famous Indian striker began in 2002. Then he played for Mohun Bagan, a multi-sport club that helped develop talented Indian athletes in many ways. Unfortunately, the soccer branch of the team ceased to exist in 2020.

But Sunil didn’t get to play there for long, because he soon moved on to another professional club, JCT FC. It was sponsored by a large Indian conglomerate, and at one time even played in the Punjab Super League. But the club also broke up in 2011, and Chhetri’s career continued with the Delhi team.

For the national team of the big Indian city, the striker managed to score 6 striking goals and three of them in the match against Gujarat. After this tournament Indian striker noticed “Kansas City Wizards”, and in 2010 Chhetri went to play in the American Major League Soccer. It is noteworthy that before him, performances in prestigious foreign leagues could boast only two of his compatriots.

But after a year, the Indian footballer returned to his homeland. He began to actively play for Chirag United in 2011, and in the next period again moved to Mohun Bagan. After playing in his homeland, the Indian forward moved to the Sporting KP reserve team, the Portuguese top division.

But his achievements for his country’s national team are outstanding. Thanks to Sunil Chhetri’s goals, the Indian national team has been able to win the Nehru Cup on several occasions. The last time the victory was achieved was in 2012. In addition, Sunil was involved in winning battles in the SAFF championship, which the national team won three times (the last time was in 2021).

In 2008, India was able to win the AFC Challenge Cup, which helped the national team break into the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years with success.

The Indian Football Federation has named Sunil Chhetri player of the year the highest number of times compared to other players in the country, 7 times. He was also voted the best player of the year in his last season, 2021/2022.

The Indian striker has received valuable awards for his achievements. In 2011, there was the first trophy, the Arjuna Award. In 2019, there was the Padma Shri, which is considered the fourth most important award for Indians. In 2021, he became the first soccer player to receive the Khel Ratna Award, which is only given to athletes with outstanding athletic achievements.

The awards were given to the athlete for a reason. He has done a lot for the development of Indian soccer. He could have played in the English soccer division in 2009. The club Queens Park Rangers signed the outstanding Indian forward for 3 years. But the move didn’t happen due to bureaucracy. It turned out that the British government rejected the Indian athlete because his national team is below the top 70 teams in the FIFA rankings.

Sunil Chhetri reacted rather calmly to such a statement, which belittled the honor of many athletes. The footballer thanked the management of the club Dempo, which supported him despite the forward’s desire to change team. He also said that he will not stop and will do everything to promote the level of Indian soccer. Chhetri has kept his word, because, for most of his career, which is successfully continuing even now, the footballer plays exactly in Indian league clubs.

Sahil Tavora

The footballer was born in 1995 in Goa. At the beginning of his professional career, he trained under the auspices of the Brazilian School of Football, a popular club for future champions, which has branches in many Indian cities.

Sahil Tavora signed his first contract with a soccer club at the age of 18. It was Dempo SK, a popular club in the Indian Professional League. During the period when Sahil Tavora played for it, the Indian team managed to win many important titles. Among them are the National Football League Cup, the Federation Cup, and the Durand Cup.

Sahil Tavora stayed at Dempo SC for 1.5 years, after which he was recruited by the Indian Super League club Goa. He is famous for the fact that for the first time in the history of Indian soccer, the team managed to break into the group stage of the AFC Champions League, which is held among Asian clubs.

After Goa, Tavora was invited to another Indian club. It is called Mumbai City, after the city where the team’s soccer stadium is located. It is one of the leaders of the championship, which in one season managed to take two prestigious trophies – the ISL Cup and the League Winners Shield.

After Goa, the Indian player was called to play in the fourth division of Portuguese soccer. Teams, there can not be called super professional, but experience in the European championships can boast only a few Indian players. At the club SC Alvarenga, the promising striker stayed just under a year, and in 2019 he moved to another team.

At the moment, Sahil Tawora continues his career at another Indian Super League club called Hyrabad. It is a young and promising team that was founded in 2019. In its first year, the team managed to reach 10th place in the Super League standings, which is a pretty good result for a newcomer.

Anirunda Thapa

A young 24-year-old midfielder who plays for his country’s national team and is captain of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. The soccer player began his passion for the sport at the age of 10, and initially, he played at St. Joseph’s Academy. After a few training sessions, he was already playing in the local league, and at the age of 14, the talented athlete was invited to the national under-14 team.

After successful performances in the AIFF Regional Academy in 2012, he moved to the AIFF Elite Academy, which soon gave him international experience. The promising player was spotted in the French second league, Metz because the Chennaiyin club sponsored some games in this division.

Almost his entire career as a midfielder is associated with this club. He had played for the team since his youth but played for Minerva Punjab in 2016. However, his career didn’t work out there, and the following season Thapa returned to his hometown club again.

Anirunda regularly helped his team, but Chennaiyin did not always achieve high results. Among the personal achievements that the player has received is the award for the best young player according to AIFF. He received these during the 2017/2018 and 2019/2020 seasons. In addition, together with his clubs, Anirunda Thapa won the following tournaments:

• The Indian Super League/Chennaiyin finished first in the 2017/2018 season and second in the 2019/2020 season. Second place in the rankings.
• Team India. First and second place at the SAFF (2021 and 2018, respectively), first place at the Intercontinental Cup in 2017 and 2018, and bronze in the 2019 King’s Cup.

Despite leaps and bounds in his club and national team luck, during the 2018/2019 season, the midfielder admitted in an interview with fans that he felt the quality of his game and skills had increased. And soon, in the 2020/2021 season, he became the most prolific scorer in the Indian league, surpassing his national teammate and Indian soccer superstar Chhetri.

India’s soccer players may be unknown to most fans of the sport. But in their homeland, they are already legends. All thanks to their outstanding personal achievements and efforts for the national clubs and the national team. Scorers like Thapa and Chhetri are of interest even to foreign divisions. And that means that Indian league players may soon actively meet in American or European championships.