Exclusive - Matti Steinmann: SC East Bengal can show ISL their class in Derby

The 25-year-old spoke about his move to India, working with Robbie Fowler and ambitions for his new club.

“It’s Robbie Fowler who changed my mind and convinced me to make a move to India” said newly-signed East Bengal midfielder Matti Steinmann in an exclusive interview with Khel Now.

 The 25-year-old German who recently made the move to the Indian Super League (ISL) from Wellington Phoenix said, “I had another two years contract left with Wellington but I was not ready to spend the whole season in Australia and thus took a release from them. At that very moment my agent came up with an offer to play for Robbie. I had previously done well against him and my agent also suggested that East Bengal is really interested to make the move. Thus I decided to come to India."

While explaining the major reasons behind this move Steinmann asserted, “It seemed to be a great opportunity as I was excited with the new challenge.” He further shed light on the fact that it was the former Liverpool legend who played a key role in making the switch possible as he said, “Fowler was the biggest part of this move, he called me with an offer from East Bengal and introduced me to the club's rich history. After that I did some research about the club and got to know about its legacy. It was a proud moment for me to join one of India's biggest clubs”

On the other hand, this season marked a lot of transfers from the A-League to the ISL and it’s the former Australian top tier players who further convinced the promising German to join ISL. Steinmann stated, “I spoke to Steven Taylor and Gary Hooper who signed for Odisha FC and Kerala Blasters this season. I got positive feedback from them and it was quite interesting as a lot of A-League players made a move to the ISL this season. I thought it shows great development of the Indian league”.

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The German also shared his thoughts on Fowler’s coaching philosophy and told about his 'strong affection' for it, “I played against his team twice last season. He comes with a really strong and professional mentality which attracted me. Robbie always prefers playing with the ball and loves to keep possession, which I like the most.”

Matti Steinmann who played for Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga 2018-19 seemed quite confident regarding the first Kolkata Derby clash against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan. “It’s a great opportunity for the club to kick-off the season with a derby like this. It’s going to be an interesting game for all of us, as we can show the league our class. I am very confident that we can get a win out of the first game and can make a good start for ourselves in the league."

“Its going to be pretty challenging for us to stop them but I am pretty confident on our team and its strong enough to force them to defend us not the other way around” roared Steinmann when asked about the challenge facing “Krishna- Williams” in the derby.

This summer window has seen a lot of arrivals from A-League to the ISL. When asked about the possible reasons Matti Steinmann said, “I think the league is getting better each year and with big clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan joining, it is becoming more interesting and competitive for the overseas players to join. A lot of good coaches are heading to the league which also makes it a better option for the A-League players to choose.”

Steinmann is expecting 'to make things positive as much as' he can. He said, “It’s the first season for me and also the club in the ISL. So, we along with our great fans will together try to achieve great things and hopefully will be able to end the season on a high note,” as he signed off.