Hyderabad FC's Parag Shrivas on loyal fans, goal celebration, relationship with teammates & more

The defender had moved from Bengaluru FC in the recent transfer window.

On the 2024 summer transfer deadline day, Hyderabad FC made a strategic move to rejuvenate their squad on the final day of the transfer window as they signed six Indian players who were free agents. The club secured the services of several talented Indian players, including the versatile defender Parag Shrivas.

Other than his defensive abilities, Parag has also demonstrated a knack for contributing to the attack. His accurate crosses, perfect throw-ins well-timed runs into the box, and long scoring shots have created numerous scoring opportunities for his teammates. His goal-scoring ability, as evidenced by already one goal this season, further highlights his attacking skills despite being a defender.

The versatile defender, who can play as a left-back, right-back, or center-back, has found a new home where he believes that he can continue to develop his skills and contribute to the team’s success.

Parag Shrivas sat down with Khel Now for an exclusive interview discussing various topics ranging from his transition to the story behind the celebration. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

On his transition from Bengaluru FC to Hyderabad FC

Parag had mutually terminated his contract with Bengaluru FC earlier this season during the summer transfer window. And then The Yellow and Black signed him to strengthen their backline. Talking about the transition from one team to another Parag Shrivas said, “As a professional footballer, it is important that you adjust and adapt when you change clubs. To be honest, even I was excited to move out of my ‘comfort zone’ in Bengaluru.

“I was struggling for a game time there but a big thank you to the coach and management at Hyderabad for believing in me and now it is on me to keep working hard, prove myself and keep contributing to the team as much as I can.”

On his impressions of the city

This is Parag Shrivas’ first season with Hyderabad FC. Parag who couldn’t get to explore much of the city in the limited time hopes to visit more places than he already has and learn more about the city.

“Coming to Hyderabad from Bangalore, was a very quick move. But it was not my first time playing in the city, I was here before in 2015 and back then football wasn’t this developed, there was only Fateh Hyderabad FC that used to compete but in a lower division.

“After that when I came to Hyderabad this season, I just got used to it instantly, It is a great city, gets a little silent sometimes but this could also be because I haven’t roamed around much because of our busy schedule, Most of the matches were away games and only two home games so, I didn’t get the chance to explore the place but yes, I have been to Charminar and explored the market there which I didn’t know existed.

“And since I love traveling and exploring new places I couldn’t explore much But Hyderabad is A very historic city with some great heritage and hopefully, I stay here for a longer time, I have two years for now, So maybe soon I get to explore more of the city and learn everything about it.”

On his relationship with his teammates

Parag Shrivas had moved just at the beginning of the season, But he has already gelled in with the team well. The defender believes that despite having less pre-season time, The Nawabs are settling in and are getting stronger with every match. Talking about rapport he emphasized how everyone in the team treats each other like family.

“We are still settling in as a team. We are improving every day in training and are only growing stronger by the day. The confidence is also on the rise and hopefully, we can build on the same and put in strong performances in the upcoming games. When it was an all-Indian squad, we did not get much time for preseason.

Suspensions

Parag Shrivas who was doing well defensively against Chennaiyin FC had initially picked up a yellow but another hard tackle had caused the referee to pull out a second yellow card resulting in a red card for Parag forcing him to leave the field immediately. Talking about that decision this is what the defender said

“I was unlucky to get that red card in our home game. I did make a couple of harsh tackles, and maybe the referee decided that I was a bit too rough that day. Things like this happen during a game but what is important is that I have learned from my mistakes and will try to make sure it does not happen again.”

On his shooting skills

Parag Shrivas’s goal against Mohammedan SC was a long-range shot taken by him. Despite being a defender Parag has always been trying to create chances and tries to take a shot whenever he gets the chance to. Talking about this skill he expressed his wish to try to keep shooting and scoring

Every day after we complete our training, we take a small break and then we have a short session of around 15 minutes for ourselves.

That’s when everyone works on their skills and I feel it is good that We have a dedicated time where we improve on particular skills like shooting and finishing. Even though I am a defender I also like to contribute to the team’s attacking strength. I do work a lot on my crossing too but yes, I like to work on my finishing and that certainly helped in the last game.

On the story behind his first ISL goal celebration

After the goal against Mohammedan SC, Allan Paulista and Parag Shrivas had a unique kind of goal celebration, The defender revealed the story behind the celebration. “You might be aware of the Marathi song Tambdi Chamdi and there was a trend going on about it.

“Since I am a Maharashtrian I love listening to Marathi music which also includes rap. And I am someone who believes that Marathi rappers are very few and are not mainstream. And since it was a song that was trending everyone knew about it.

“So I told everyone on the team that whoever scores let us try to celebrate the goal with this goal celebration, but I did not expect that I would be the one to score as well. It was a very good feeling and it was my first goal too if you see, So it will always be memorable and hold a special place for me,” Parag Shrivas commented.

🇧🇷 Brazilian Samba to Indian tunes 🎶Parag Shrivas and Allan Paulista were balling last night ✨️Watch #ISL LIVE only on @JioCinema, @Sports18-3, and #AsianetPlus!#MSCHFC #TheNawabs 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/2coDhBQrqJ

— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) October 27, 2024

Parag Shrivas on Deccan Legion and the loyal supporters

Despite having a difficult season last year, the club’s loyal fans – The Deccan Legion never gave up on the club, They not only support their club at home games but also travel to a few away games to express their support. Parag emphasized how important the fans and their loyalty are to the club at this crucial moment. “Yeah, I think the support has been great from them. Especially after a difficult last season, I noticed them for the first time at our first game against Bengaluru FC and I felt happy. The Fans are passionate I have met a few of them who are traveling to the away games too.

“I even got a lot of encouraging messages from the fans after my first goal and I hope they keep supporting me like this and it’s at crucial moments like this where the fan’s support is really important. If the fans keep supporting, players will have extra motivation to win the game.

“We start to develop a feeling that we at least need to get those points for the supporters. And I think that’s the case for all the players including me If the fans cheer then it’s like an instant boost for us knowing that we have the fans supporting us. It boosts the morale of the team in a lot of ways and hence fan support is very important in a league too,” Parag Shrivas concluded.

🙌 Thank you so much to everyone who turned up at MFA to cheer on the Yellow and Black!You guys kept us going till the final whistle 💛🖤#TheNawabs pic.twitter.com/Y9P3uWtTl4

— Hyderabad FC (@HydFCOfficial) November 30, 2024

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