‘RAISING STANDARDS MUST BE INDIA FOOTBALL’S GOAL’

PLAYERS starting at a young

age and upgrading training academies are crucial to lifting the standard of Indian football, according to Lalengmawia Ralte, who has returned from a two-week training camp at Lommel SK, Mumbai City FC’s sister club in Belgium.

The prodigious midfielder, known by the nickname, Apuia, scored his first goal for the Islanders in the 2022 Durand Cup final against Bengaluru FC.

Although Mumbai City ended on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline, the 21-year-old put on a stellar display in Asia’s oldest football tournament, as well as in the AFC Champions League earlier this year.

Ralte said he believed Indian footballers could compete with foreign players. “I think Indian players will be able to compete with or against them, but we need to have better academies. We need to start sending kids from a young age so they can follow the style of Europeans and then we can compete with them at any level,” he said.

“Training with Lommel SK in Belgium was a good experience for me. Learning new things with European players and being at the top of the game was a great experience. I gained a lot of knowledge, which is the most important thing for me.

“The training starts at 10am and ends around 11:30pm. At 12 they have lunch and then if there is a gym session, we do that after lunch. Later, they go back to their own homes.”

The training stint at Lommel SK was an intense experience, he added, compared to routines at Mumbai City.

“Training in Belgium was quite difficult since the intensity was high compared to other countries.

“The main difference was the intensity, but the training style was not so different. The intensity was so high that you don’t have much time on the ball and making quick decisions is a must. I had to adapt to the speed of the game as I was playing one or two touches and making quick decisions. My training at Lommel SK has helped me refine my decision-making on the field.

“It was not too difficult fitting in, but you need some time to fit in on and off the field. I didn’t have much difficulty fitting in though.”