Luka Majcen: First win in ISL is not far away

Punjab FC skipper Luka Majcen feels the team is on the right track.

Certain players become synonymous with teams, and Luka Majcen and Punjab FC share a similar bond. The Slovenian striker stunned the I-League last year with 16 strikes that encouraged them to win the title and secure the promotion to the Indian Super League (ISL).

Majcen got off the mark straightaway in the top tier, scoring once in their opening fixture against the Mohun Bagan Super Giant. He also found the back of the net away from home against Mumbai City FC earlier this month. The 34-year-old is undoubtedly the most prominent figure of the team that is finding its feet seven games into the season. Majcen speaks with a sense of assurance that indicates that he acknowledges the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

“We cannot be totally happy with the campaign so far. We want to win games as well. We didn’t expect that we would just keep winning like last year. But, every game, we learn something new. Some games are better, some are worse. But, we are trying to improve from each game. I think we are on the right track. We had some positive things against Jamshedpur FC. We had a clean sheet, so we will try to build upon that too. The first win in the ISL is not far away,” Majcen honestly assessed Punjab FC’s campaign so far.

The club can always draw confidence from their outings in the I-League last year, where they topped the table 10 points clear (52) of the second-placed Sreenidi Deccan FC (42). Majcen was at the forefront of their charge and revealed that the team was eyeing this promotion to the ISL right from the offset of the 2022-23 campaign.

“The first meeting that we had, I was still at home in Slovenia, we had a team Zoom meeting and we said that we are aiming for the title and nothing else. In the end when we succeeded, it was so much sweeter. That’s why we were there, working very hard in training every day with a common goal in mind,” the striker said.

Given his reasonable experience of playing football in India, Majcen has also been tracking the progress the sport has made in the country lately. He was appreciative of the improved work ethic of young Indian stars off the pitch, saying that emerging players are now quickly adapting to the holistic lifestyle changes that one has to inculcate to succeed as professional footballers.

“Indian football is growing year after year. Speaking about youngsters, a lot of things come with that, not only on-field factors but also with the lifestyle and how much these players invest outside of the pitch. I can see more and more Indian players doing all those things necessary to be sharp and be 100% in every practice session. You can also see that in the games, different records that they are breaking and the results of the national team too,” Majcen signed off.

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