ISL 2016: Playing 14 matches in 2 months is too much, says Diego Forlan
Mumbai City FC have managed to bolster both their attack and defence this season, with the intention of securing at least a semi-final berth this season. Chief among their numerous signings is Uruguayan, Diego Forlan, who has arrived in Mumbai from his home country, where he scored 8 goals in 31 appearances for Club Atlético Peñarol.
Speaking about playing in India, the former Manchester United and Atletico Madrid striker spoke positively about his experience till now, “This is my second time in India. I was here in 2010 as well. We have a good team this season. We know the club didn’t qualify for the play offs in the last two years, so we’re looking forward to that challenge and do our best”, he said.
Mumbai boasted of players like Anelka and Ljungberg in their previous seasons but Forlan wished to make no comparisons, “It’s a really difficult league. Every team has good players. You have to play many games in a really short period of time. We will need everybody to be fit. I won’t compare myself to anybody. I am only thinking about 3rd October”, said the ace striker.
Despite receiving offers from clubs from England, Forlan wanted to play in India, “I used to watch the games and the news when I was living in Japan and in Uruguay. I saw that there are many good players and many people in the stadium. I know India is trying to make football an important sport here”, he said.
He spoke about the other factors on which he took his decision to play in the ISL, “There are nice stadiums. They show the game well on TV. It’s similar to the Premier League. There’s a difference, of course, but they’re trying to do it. Plus, the duration of the league is very short and also the offers the players receive are really good. That’s why the ISL is really attractive”, he concluded.
Coach, Alexandre Guimarães has begun his tenure at Mumbai City FC on a rather positive note. The team from Maharashtra held their pre-season in Dubai where they played four friendly games. They ended up winning two and drawing the other two.
Mumbai City FC will begin their home campaign against NorthEast United on 7th October in the newly built Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri.
However, four players - Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Amrinder Singh and Lalchhuanmawai Fanai will be absent for five matches since their parent club Bengaluru FC have qualified for the AFC Cup quarterfinals.