Mumbai: Former Spanish football star Luis Garcia has seen the Indian Super League (ISL), in which he played for Atlético de Kolkata, grow in stature and has been impressed with the improvement shown by local players.
“I enjoy watching ISL and watching some of my team-mates. I have seen a lot of improvement in the league. A lot of Indian players are coming up and showing a lot of fantastic talent. So I am sure whatever happens, ISL is going to continue forward,” he said here on Monday.
“Who knows, I retired once many years ago (but) I finished here (in ISL) and I am not going to say that I have retired or I am not going to come here (to play in ISL),” the Liverpool legend said when asked whether he would be a part of the League again.
Garcia spoke to reporters after unveiling the UEFA Champions League Trophy, a part of Heineken’s trophy tour campaign.
The Spaniard said last year Kolkata (Atlético de Kolkata) did a good job.
“Hopefully we can see Spanish players continuing in the league,” he quipped.
On the upcoming UEFA Champions Trophy, Garcia said he would love Barcelona to be in the final.
“It is going to be beautiful three months until the final of the UEFA Champions Trophy). Teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid are going to be there. I will love (to see) Barcelona at the final,” he remarked.
Chhetri proud of Indian team’s ranking
Meanwhile, pleased and proud at the Indian football team’s best-ever current FIFA ranking of 101 in more than two decades, its talismanic striker and skipper Sunil Chhetri on Monday cautioned his teammates not to remain contented.
“I am happy. In the eleven years I have been playing for the nation, we have never reached this (101st) ranking. I am proud of the team. But what I meant (after that) was we should not get carried away,” Chhetri said here.
He spoke on the sidelines of the unveiling of the UEFA Champions League Trophy, as part of Heineken’s trophy tour campaign, by former Spanish football star Luis Garcia.
“We shouldn’t think that in two months we have done everything, crossed 40 teams and done better than them. We have jumped the rankings, because of the way rankings work,” the Indian captain said.
“If you lose an important tournament at home against not-so-fancy team, you lose (drop) 30-40 (places) in the ranking. It also depends on how many teams are playing, (their) importance, who is playing away. It (ranking) is very fickle,” he said.
According to Chhetri, India has done well, winning 11 of the 13 international games, but it cannot remain contented. He also termed India’s 1-0 win over Myanmar, a victory that has come after several decades, in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Yangon as an important one. (PTI)
