INACIO NORONHA
NAGOA: The team members of the India U-17 World Cup squad are all set to put to practice what they have learnt over the last few months in Goa during their training sessions, as they fly to New Delhi on Tuesday, ahead of their Group A matches of the FIFA event.
Matos coached team is all set to ply their trade in their first ever FIFA tournament as the last day training session at Nagoa saw the lads have some light drills in front of handful of spectators.
Dhiraj Singh the goalkeeper of the U-17 Indian team said, “We had incredible training sessions. The coaches have prepared us well for the event and we are really looking forward to that. The team is set to fight the battle of glory.”
The team which was earlier coached by Nicolai Adam also gained overseas experience as they played friendlies against some of the European clubs.
“We had a great experience during the last few years and we learnt a lot during the international matches and the exposure we got was excellent. Hopefully we can implement all that we learned in the coming event,” he added.
Mario Aguiar, the goalkeeping coach for the U-17 team said, “It’s their ability to prove it now. We have done our job, let them do their job. All the best team India”.
While many worry of the physical fitness of a team, mental conditions cannot be ruled out completely and Dr Sorup, the mental conditioning coach said, “We have mental aspect education for the players followed by individual session with players,”
“The players are thought to control their emotions on and off the field. Moreover, they are prepared mentally before the match,” Dr Sorup explained.
Further on he added that for every player there is a personal and professional baggage and the players have to manage them to focus on the game.
