Kollam: Real Madrid are one of the richest football clubs and arguably the most supported team in the world. The club boasts of great legacy, legendary players and a flamboyant football style. The Spanish giants also have a stellar reputation for developing young talents.
In 2006, the club, in association with Universidad Europea de Madrid, created a university school specialised in sports and its relationship with management, health, communications, and leisure/recreation. The school has students from all over the world and one of them is Karthik Thulasi, a native of Chavara in Kerala's Kollam district.
"It is one of the best universities in the world to study sports management. The course provides the perfect framework for classroom learning as well as sports training. We get a chance to train with some of the former Real Madrid superstars and current players such as Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas, and conditioning coach Javier Mallo. All of them possess vast knowledge and experience and the interactive sessions with them have been empowering and rewarding. The aim is to keep learning from them and improving with every passing day," says Karthik.
Born and brought up in Muscat, Karthik started playing the beautiful game at the age of seven. His family returned to Kerala after Karthik completed Plus Two and he was pursuing a BBA programme when he got admission at the Madrid-based university.
Karthik had applied for the course and the scholarship programme offered by the university while doing the undergraduate programme. After completing the BBA course, he reached Spain in November. The scholarship helps him take care of a substantial part of the living/tuition expenses.
The Master's program focuses on different areas and is designed for university graduates and working professionals from the different sectors linked to both professional and amateur sports.
The training sessions are held four days in a week between 9 am to 11.45 am. There will be a practice match on the fifth day followed by a rest day. The classes are conducted between 3 pm to 7 pm everyday.
"In fact, I had been selected to the youth team of Segunda División side CD Leganes, but was forced to let go of the opportunity due to linguistic barriers. Later, I attended the trials conducted by lower-tier club Deportivo Pravos and made it to their youth team. I'm the only Indian player in the side as of now," he says.
The 23-year-old's ultimate dream is to play for a first division club in the La Liga. He hopes that the training stint with Real Madrid would help him fulfil his dream.
Karthik is the youngest of the two children of Thanikkattu Thulasidharan Pillai and Rajeswari of Mukundapuram in Chavara. He has a brother, Ajay Thulasi.