It is the start of the new Indian Super League (ISL) season. And one of the teams that would be desperate to kick start their season with a statement would be last season’s ISL Cup winners Mumbai City FC. The Islanders lost out the ISL Shield to Mohun Bagan and will meet their formidable foes in the opening game of the ISL 11th season. Ahead of the season, in an exclusive interview with InsideSport, ace striker Nikos Karelis spoke about his and his side’s ambition for the season.
The 32-year old ace striker from Greece recently joined Mumbai City FC in the summer. And he will be the main man in leading the charge or for the Islanders. With a huge responsibility on his shoulders, Nikos is not at all ready to shy away from a challenge. In fact, he is happy with the responsibility and ready to play in the country that has been so welcoming for him.
Nikos is very excited to be in India for the first time. He opened up about the love and the affection that he has got from the fans. “It’s the first time that I’m coming to India, with a great club as I see already from the pre season preparation. I’m really happy that I joined this club and, I’m looking forward to start of the season,” Nikos told InsideSport exclusively.
Ready to take ISL by storm – Nikos Karelis
Mumbai City have gone on to lose some of their key players. These include their star striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz who left MCFC after last season to join Bengaluru FC. And now Nikos has big boots to fill as he will be expected to fill the big shoes left by the Argentine forward. “I cannot go inside the game and think that, last season was a striker who score. I don’t know how many goals or that’s it. But I have to score goals,” said Nikos.
“I can see the team is very happy. They signed new players as me, John Toral, and the others. And, we are doing now really good job from, preparation to build the group, as we are new faces for this club. We’ll have to see the philosophy of the coach who have to adjust and have to learn each other,” Nikos added.
Aim to become Champions
Mumbai City FC is one of the best teams in the League. And a team that is known to win silverwares, the expectations would obviously be high. And the same is the case for the Islanders. And ahead of the start of the season, Nikos is ready to become champions of ISL
We’re at Mumbai City is to be champions. But, to do that, you need to to see every game differently. We need to focus in each game because there are many things to be sorted. Of course, there will be ups and downs, but we are aiming for the best of performance and to take as many points as we can. So in the end, we’re aiming to be winners on this Indian Super League,” Nikos concluded.
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