Mumbai FC, the only club from the city competing in the AIFF I – League football championship, has always strived to be amongst the best in the country. Keeping that in mind, Mumbai FC Head Coach, Khalid Jamil, Manager, Henry Picardo and Deputy Vice-President, Atul Badgamia along with the other managerial support staff have spared no effort in selectively, hand-picking some of the top quality Indian and foreign players, while also successfully retaining the services of several players who proved their worth with the club last season, to build a solid, stable outfit for the 2015-16 I-League season.
The Mumbai club has managed to hold on to Japanese Taisuke Matsuge for another season. The 33 year-old Taisuke, an inspirational midfielder was the heart and soul of the team with his star performances last year. This season he will shoulder the added responsibility of leading the club as coach Jamil has put his full trust in the Japanese by appointing him as the captain.
“You can say that MFC has been the heartthrob of the fans and it’s still growing. It’s all because of the players performances which has got the attention of the fans and has filled the stadium. The team is expected to climb higher up the table than their previous seasons.” Henry Menezes said.
The team is expected to rely on their tried and trusted goalkeepers Sanjiban Ghosh and Kunal Sawant to take care of their citadel, while in defense the coach will look to new recruits, the experienced North Korean Min Chol Son and Anwar Ali. Mumbai boys Ashutosh Mehta and Allan Dias, both reliable defenders have retained their position and will be assisted by Pratik Chaudhari of Mumbai and Clyde Fernandes while left back Srikant Ramu joins the club from Pune FC.
India veteran and Mumbai hero Steven Dias has also joined the Mumbai club along with former India teammate N.P. Pradeep and Liberian Eric Brown.
“The team is doing well and they have trained hard for this grueling journey. All the players are fully fit and ready to take on any opposition. We recently won the Nadkarni Cup, which gave us a big boost. We have been doing fairly well in the MDFA Elite Division as well.” Khalid Jamil said.
The club, has also recruited a few crucial players, who all from Bengaluru namely, attacking midfielder Malem Meitei, Darren Calderia, who returns to the club after his successful stint in Bengaluru FC. Forward Karan Sawhney, defensive midfielder Asif K and goalkeeper Pawan Kumar are the other new signings.
The forward line is boosted with the arrival of Japanese Ryuki Kozawa. Ryuki last plied his trade in the PolishThird Division club. Ryuki has previously played in the J-League with Tokyo and Pattaya United in the Thai Premier League. Fan favorite Jayesh Rane returns to the forward line after a successful title winning stint in ISL. Another big signing is the arrival of the versatile Izumi Arata on loan from Athletico de Kolkata. Mumbai boys Cletus Paul and Rohit Mirza complete the forward line. The club has also recruited Under-22 players, Hitesh Sharma and Chingkhei from Tata Football Academy.
Mumbai FC, are geared up and eager to take on Shillong Lajong in their opening fixture at Guwahati on January 10, 2016
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