Self-belief helped Mumbai City in ISL 2020-21, says Raynier Fernandes

The midfielder won the league with the Islanders last season.

Khel Now was able to get hold of Mumbai City and Indian National Team midfielder Raynier Fernandes for an exclusive interview. The 26-year-old midfielder spoke about his thoughts both on his club and international Career. Raynier won both the League Winners' Shield and the ISL title with Mumbai City earlier this year, in what turned out to be a very successful season. He was also included in the national squad in India’s friendlies against Oman and UAE.

Reflecting back on last season

Raynier Fernandes won everything there was to be won in the domestic season with Mumbai City. The midfielder reflected back on the happenings when he spoke to us.

[KH_ADWORDS type="4" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] 

“The season went very good at the start. Just in the middle, there were some flaws. We couldn’t be at our best. We came back from that and the entire credit goes to the team, the management, the staff, the medical staff, the coaches and everyone. All the credit goes to all of us, whoever was there in Mumbai City because if we weren’t a family, we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we have achieved.”

Individual Performance

Despite the successful season with the team, the former Mohun Bagan midfielder failed to record an assist or a goal, despite doing so consistently in the previous seasons. The 26-year old spoke on how he adapted his game this season to suit the situation.

“I will just talk about the ISL. First two seasons when I was at Mumbai, it went good. It was a new journey for me. I too tried to achieve whatever experience, I got goals, I got my assists, obviously the entire team was involved in it. This season, yes, it was a flaw, like it was a little drawback. Not that I have  not attempted or never done anything individually, I tried my best. From my side, I have not contributed in a goal or an assist, but it’s not the end you know.”

[KH_ADWORDS type="3" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] 

Never stopped Believing

Despite the two accolades it was not a smooth ride for Mumbai City throughout the season. The midfielder however credits his team's resilience as the secret to their success, despite the ups and downs.

“It was not like there was a moment that it turned. First match itself we lost against NorthEast, I remember that. They got a penalty and we lost. That match also had a very bad injury for me. The first match of the ISL and I get a groin injury. So, it was a bad start for me as an individual also," Raynier Fernandes said

“But, the only thing we did was not let it affect us in our training. We never gave up, we just believed in each other and we just continued doing our hard work. The coach, the doctor, everyone gave their 100% and that’s how we managed to go 10 unbeaten or 13 unbeaten games."

On Sergio Lobera

Sergio Lobera joined Mumbai City last season as their new head coach. Raynier reflected on how it was like to play under him and how he adapted to the Spaniard’s tactics.

[KH_ADWORDS type="2" align="center"][/KH_ADWORDS] 

“Every coach has their own plan and that’s the reason they are a coach because they have to come and educate us and they get to teach us. They are like a normal teacher to us. You have to firstly respect it, obey it and you have to believe in them. Because if you don’t trust their process it won’t go like how it should.

“It is very helpful for an individual player to get a coach like him. Because he is a coach who wants to keep playing and play a game that I like. Tiki-taka. I like that. It helps me a lot because that’s how I always want to play. When I got to know and I was coached under Sergio Lobera it was very good because you get to learn a lot. One important thing is that when you keep playing with the ball your confidence of receiving the ball goes higher. You make your own decisions after that.”

Difference of Playing for club & country

There is a certain similarity between the playing styles of Sergio Lobera and Indian national team coach Igor Stimac, as both rely more on possession-based football. On being asked if this similarity helped in his gameplay the 26-year old responded, “We don’t have a lot of time with the national team to bond with all the other players that is one lack that the national team has because you see, we train for 6-7 months and suddenly for one and a half we go for the camp and again we go back to our respective teams. So, the bond that is needed, that is not there right now.

“Now we are adapting, but it is taking some time. Igor Stimac is a coach who likes to keep the ball and it’s very good for the Indian national team. As a coach he wants to play, he wants to get the camp early, but it’s very difficult with the pandemic. So, it is difficult for him as well. We have to believe in him, we still believe in him, all the players of the national team, we believe in him, we believe in his plan.”

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News |ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

Thoughts on India’s FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign

Although India’s hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup have ended, they have managed to qualify for the third round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Despite not being a part of the squad that featured in the recent qualifiers, Raynier Fernandes shared his thoughts on India’s qualifying campaign.

“Last year when we played against Qatar, it was so good to see. Because it is really difficult. These players in Qatar, they play in the European leagues and everyone, they have foreigners and all. But, we as Indians, we did such a great job in both the matches and the entire journey of the qualifiers. Yes, we didn’t get the results that we wanted. All the players who played, everyone gave their level best. They gave everything, it’s just the result was not in our favour, but the boys did so well."

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.