PANAJI: Ayush Chhetri has started just one of FC Goa’s 11 games this season, a far cry from his regular place in the team last season. Yet the midfielder believes he is a much-improved player, training with and watching seniors in the team.
Ayush played 20 games and clocked 1260 minutes under Carlos Pena last season. This year, his time on the field has reduced drastically. The midfielder started the last game against weakened Hyderabad FC for the first time and has just 91 minutes to his name in the Indian Super League (ISL) under Manolo Marquez.
“This season, there are a lot of good senior players in the team and I learn a lot from them,” Ayush said during the pre-match media interaction. “I am learning a lot watching the seniors. I also learn from coach during every training session. I have improved a lot and am a better player than last season. I’m happy with my current form.”
Ayush was an automatic choice in midfield starting alongside Edu Bedia last season. Now, the 20-year-old has to battle seniors like Rowllin Borges and Raynier Fernandes, both former internationals.
Coach Manolo Marquez admitted that it’s not easy for Ayush to break into the starting 11 with seniors all around but was impressed with the midfielder’s work ethic during training.
“Ayush is a clear example of someone who wants to arrive at the top level. He is always training with very high quality. Sometimes (on the field), you can make a good or bad pass, that’s part of football. It’s a game of mistakes. I’ve always said that I like to train youngsters but not every young player with talent reaches the top.
“Ayush is a clear example of where he wants to be (with his talent). For me, this is a good problem, a nice problem (with the options) in some positions. With wingers, there’s Boris, Udanta, Yasir, Brandon, Nemil, Brison, Noah. It’s a good problem for the coach, but I’ve told them that everyone has to know what is their role in every single game,” said Manolo.
Goa are the only unbeaten team in the ISL this season and face their biggest test against leaders Odisha at the Kalinga Stadium on Friday.
