Modou Sougou- Rowllin Borges is like Patrick Vieira

The Mumbai City FC forward also discussed about his side, his teammates, the ISL in the exclusive interview.

Modou Sougou might appear as an intimidating character; for, such is the persona and aura that encapsulates his character on the field.

Off the pitch though, we came across a man as jovial as one could be to an unknown journalist ready to barge questions at him.

“Sorry my friend, I was just taking a shower”, he said for the short delay in what was the appointment time for the interview. I didn’t mind though. Whatever time he could take out for the interaction was precious enough for this story. “My experience with the club has been positive,” were his words to commence the chat. “When I arrived here, actually our target was to be in the top four and I see how the team was when I arrived and this season how the team has improved.”

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But Modou Sougou isn’t a blasphemous bloke who emanates optimism just for the sheer sake of it. He’s deadpan honest whenever required and it was further clear when he stated, “Oh, we didn’t start good this season. Our ambition is to be in the top four. When you see the qualification (standings), we are not there yet, because how we start was very difficult. We start with lot of players who had injuries. I think now you will start to see the real face of our team. We still believe we can do something this season but let’s see, the future will tell us. We are the best team in away games but at home it is contrary. The next two games, we will play at home and we will have to change that.”

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“For me it is football”, Modou Sougou reminded me of his coach Jorge Costa’s words as the Portuguese often says this in the press conferences. “In football, some stuff, you cannot control. What we did was to be focused on us, to not have doubts. Because even sometimes when the results go the way you want and you still have doubts, it can be negative for the team. The most important was what we did in preparations and in preparations we felt that we were a really strong team. The coach pushed us to continue to believe in us.”

The Senegalese attacker has a charm about himself. He is neither over confident, refrains from bragging boisterously about his own past records or the team, but still manages to send out a sense of belief to the fans. “You see, in difficult games like Bengaluru and ATK, you saw a good Mumbai City FC. For us, it is really positive. We have to be good this way. We have to be more constant,” were his words reflecting upon the team’s performances this season.

On Finding Balance

Mumbai City have kept only two clean sheets; the ones that came in the first couple of games. As Costa reiterated last month in Mumbai, they conceded silly goals aplenty ever since. That rakes of instability in the defensive line but the Mumbai City forward thought otherwise. “For me it’s not only the defense. For me it’s the whole team. We have to find the real balance. We have to win 1-0 or 2-0 and finish the game with a clean sheet. If we found that balance, we will be a very dangerous team. If you see we have one of the best attacks, we score so many goals.

“But we need to find balance. For me, it’s my opinion, it’s better to win a game 1-0 or 2-0 rather that 4-3 or 5-4, you know what I mean?” Sougou asked. “Now, the team does not have any excuse. Before we had excuses but now it’s not the case,” said the 35-year-old, putting out a strong message ahead of the second half of the season.

“I think Lucian Goian did well here in Mumbai City. I was happy too and he is good as a person. But football is like this, the players, they come, they move and the team stays. Me too, tomorrow I can go. Rafael Bastos, all players; many players went this season, new players came, they are good players who are here. And we are happy with the defense we have."

On Whether Mumbai City Is Missing Lucian Goian

“Mato, Sarthak, Pratik, these players represent Mumbai City FC well. I remember the first press conference; the coach said that he was proud of the players we have and that we change things around. So he believes in us,” Modou Sougou answered when quizzed whether Mumbai City was missing Lucian Goian’s influence in the ongoing season. The Senegalese not only commiserated a bit regarding the centre-back’s departure but also put light on how the team was coping to cruise well even in his absence.

It has been an interesting season for Modou Sougou in the sense that he scored 12 goals in the last campaign, was one of the highest goal-scorers in the league. However, ever since Amine Chermiti’s arrival, he has been shunted to a wider position which means that he hasn’t bagged a goal yet in his seven matches this season. However, the player looked unperturbed by this tactical move.

“The coach told me that it is for the balance of the team. It’s better for the team that I got to play as the winger. It’s true if you play winger, you will score less, and you will have more possibility to assist than score. For me, I am a professional. Even if they say something and it’s not good for you but it’s good for the team then you have got to do it, you know what I mean?”

On Amine Chermiti

Modou Sougou continued, “If you compare, I will give you an example; me and Amine (Chermiti). Amine can play only as a striker. Me, I can play striker and also as a winger. If the coach needs me as a winger, I have to do my job. For me I have to do it with happiness because if you do something and you are not happy, it can bring negative things to the team and we do not need that.

“If I play as a winger and I don’t score much but (if) in the finals we are the champions, I will be the most happy in the world. But if I play as a striker and score so many goals but if we don’t win the title, for me that mean nothing. The most important is where we will be at the end of the season.”

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But it’s bound to irk when a new striker comes and takes over the spot that you owned last season, isn’t it? Not so much for Sougou. “Amine is a friend; he is a friend like other guys. He’s one guy I appreciate because he is a nice guy, has a big heart. It’s with all the new players, not only Amine you know; Amine, Larbi, all the Indian players.

“It’s why we are a strong team. When the coach says we are a family, we go to eat out, we stay together, we play basketball, and it helps us to improve as a team. The first time Amine was here, I gave him some advice. Because when you arrive you think the league is very easy. But you have to know the league is difficult and you have to work hard and he understood that and that’s why he has done well.”

On Tactical Changes This Season

Elaborating on the tactical alterations that Jorge Costa has made in his second season, Modou Sougou stated, “The biggest problem when I arrived here is how you finish the game. The teams they are very organized at the starting of the game. But when they start to lose, they lose that organization. In Europe, that’s not the case. In Europe when they lose, they continue to believe in the organization that they have at the starting of the game. So, this, we worked hard to change! In the beginning it was very complicated; I can give you some examples.

“Last season when we lose 5-0 to Goa away, we did so many video sessions to correct the mistakes that we did. After that the team improved. I think this is one of the best things that the coach did, to keep the tactical organization even when you are losing, and in some games we are losing, but we keep our organization and then we are nearer to score than to suffer.”

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He had some encouraging words about the league too. “For me, it’s tactical,” regarding how the brand of football has evolved throughout the course of his time with the club. “Tactically all the teams have their own identity. It’s why the ISL is so interesting because every time you see one game, the result is unpredictable. Even when you see, the next game we will face Hyderabad. On paper when you see, ah, Hyderabad aren’t so good. For me they are a very dangerous team. Where they are, it’s my opinion that is not there place because they have a very good team. Because us, if we want to beat them, it’s one of the most dangerous games for us. That’s my opinion.”

“There are some younger players who are playing, like Raynier, whom everyone knows. But there are others who are not playing, like Pranjal, but they are doing really well in the training and have a big future,” Sougou said about the newer lot of footballers in the squad.

However, Modou Sougou stole the show with his words in Rowllin Borges. “Borges has one characteristic that is really important. The physical type of Indian players, the players who play on the wings are not that tall. Borges has something, for example, if I ask you to give me a player who is as good physically as Borges in India, you cannot tell me one.”

Modou Sougou's ISL Five-A-Side Team

Sougou continued, “It’s why he is very interesting. For me, it’s like Patrick Viera from France. You know Patrick Viera?” I nodded. “It’s the same with Borges. I think physically, he is very interesting. Technically and tactically, he is one of the best in India. I hope we keep him for as long as possible because for me he is very interesting and a very good player. If Mumbai City wants to do good, I would advise them to hand over tomorrow a new contract to Borges!”

Finally, I asked him to pick a five-a-side team from the ISL. “For me, the best goalkeeper is Amrinder. In the midfield, you have Paulo Machado, Borges and Mato. But, in striker, I would take Coro,” he concluded.