Jamshedpur's Nerijus Valskis - Young Indian players need to play 40 games per season

Nerijus Valskis created quite a stir last season in the Indian Super League (ISL) at Chennaiyin FC. The Lithuanian forward scored 25 goals and picked up the Golden Boot Award as Chennaiyin powered their way into the final.

Valskis has decided to follow coach Owen Coyle to Jamshedpur FC for the 2020-21 season but he remembers his time at Chennaiyin fondly. The striker heaped praise on Chennaiyin’s star Indian duo Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte and suggested that they need more games to keep improving. 

“They (Anirudh Thapa and Lallianzuala Chhangte) are very good guys, they are quiet, very good professionals and they work hard,” opined the former Chennaiyin FC star during an Instagram live chat on Sunday.

“They (Indian players) need more games. They should go abroad because when you go abroad you grow more. Maybe to Europe or another country where there are more games per year. For Indian players, when you are young you need to play 35 or 40 games per season. Last year we played 20 matches. Thapa is a quality player, he is very fast and he has time to improve,” said Valskis.

The star footballer reminisced his time at the Southern outfit and picked playoffs against FC Goa in Chennai and the league stage game against Hyderabad as his most memorable fixtures.

“The game against FC Goa at home was the best. It was an incredible game with an amazing atmosphere in the stadium and amazing support. If fans come in every game in the stadiums like that Indian football will grow much faster. Also, I remember the match against Hyderabad because personally for me and the team it was an important win.”

Valskis also gave his opinion on playing at a centralised venue without fans this season. He said, “It will be very difficult to play without supporters but this year the decision has been taken due to safety. What can we do? We must play, we must go ahead and enjoy it. The fans also want to see football matches.”