ISL 2017: Delhi Dynamos sign Venezuelan defender Gabriel Cichero
Delhi Dynamos FC has further strengthened their squad for the upcoming season of the Indian Super League by completing the signing of 33-year old defender Gabriel Alejandro Cichero. The experienced Venezuelan becomes the fourth South American signing by the club this season.
Cichero, the first Venezuelan to wear the colours of Delhi Dynamos, won the 2008 Western Conference Championship in the United States with New York Red Bulls. At FC Caracas, his hometown club, he won the Venezuelan Championships twice in 2009 and 2010, along with winning the domestic cup competition in 2009.
Cichero is the 15th most capped Venezuelan footballer with 63 appearances to his name. The defender has also scored 4 goals for his country, including the match winner against Chile in the Quarter Finals of the 2011 Copa America. The defender is also part of the Venezuela squad for the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Capable of playing as a full-back as well, Cichero will offer new defensive possibilities to Head Coach Miguel Angel Portugal. The veteran defender will also bring in an enormous amount of experience to this Delhi Dynamos squad.
Upon completing his transfer, Gabriel Cichero said: “I am very happy to join Delhi Dynamos. Football is my life, and I will work hard and help the team to achieve the objective of being the champions of the ISL. Happy to see a lot of South American players in the team, the adaptation will be faster for all of us. I want to thank Coach Portugal and all staff of the team for this opportunity.”
Cichero previously plied his trade in Uruguay for Montevideo Wanderers, and has had short stints in Italy with Lecce and in Bulgaria with Vihren Sandanski. The 33-year old has also played in Ligue 1 with FC Nantes and RC Lens and was also part of Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. The full back last represented Deportivo Lara in the Venezuelan top division.
This will be Cichero’s second coming to India – the last time he was here was back in 2011 when Venezuela played Argentina in a historic match at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
“Gabriel is a player who will bring a lot of experience and leadership to the Delhi Dynamos this year. He has represented Venezuela numerous times and has played in extremely high profile tournaments. This shows the quality of player Gabriel is and his ability to go up against some of the world's best. Gabriel is going to be a tenacious defender for the Lions this year and I can't wait to see the havoc he will inflict on opposing teams,” Delhi Dynamos Director Rohan Sharma said.