Aitor Monroy: Training with Aguero, Torres and Forlan was amazing for me

The Jamshedpur FC midfielder also spoke in length regarding the Indian youngsters and what they could do to reach the next level.

Jamshedpur FC had a disappointing 2019-20 season in the Indian Super League as they finished eighth in the league table failing to qualify for the playoffs again. However, amid all the adversities, one of the positives for them was their Spanish midfielder, Aitor Monroy.

The 32-year old did not miss a single minute of last season when the other foreigners were being sidelined with injuries. In an interactive Instagram live session with the ISL official handle, Aitor Monroy spoke at length with Anant Tyagi regarding his time at Jamshedpur and Indian football as a whole on Wednesday.

The Spaniard began by speaking about his career, "I played a lot of futsal in the beginning, 4 vs 4 matches and then I joined RSD Alcala, a club from my locality and from there I joined Atletico Madrid second team. I spent a few years there and then I started moving out as I thought I needed more experience in different countries. I moved to Romania played for a small club there (CSM Ceahlaul), we had a good season and then I joined CFR Cluj, one of the very important clubs in Romania."

"I played in the Europa League with them, then I moved to Moldova and from there I went to Israel. It was not planned and I was a little afraid but it was a good experience and I spent two years there. Then I returned to Romania again and then went back to Spain and finally came to India and I am very happy here."

When asked about his experience at Atletico Madrid, Aitor Monroy quipped, " Training with (Sergio) Kun Aguero, Fernando Torres and Diego Forlan was amazing for me. For me, Aguero had a great impact on my career."

"I support Atletico Madrid all the time, it is my club from my junior days. One player whom I like a lot is Juninho Osvaldo, Brazilian attacking midfielder, amazing player and I like to play like him though he is not my position," the Spaniard laughed.

Speaking about his experience in India, the centre midfielder opined, "It is difficult to adapt because the football in India is different from that in Romania, the style is different. You also need to adapt to the culture and in football, a lot of players are moving to different countries and if you don't adapt then it becomes very difficult."

The former Atletico Madrid reserve man played every single minute for the Men of Steel in the 2019-20 season, registering staggering statistics in the process. When quizzed where he heard about the ISL for the first time, he revealed, " I heard about the league from Javi Lara, he played for Kolkata. I know him from Spain and he is a very good player. Also, I called Tiri and asked him about the country and the league and I had good feedback. Also, Jamshedpur had a tie-up with Atletico and they know me very well so it was easy. Everyone told good things about the country and the league."

Aitor Monroy felt that the squad was really strong and filled with talent in every position but incessant injuries to their star players made things difficult for the Men of Steel. Players like Piti, Sergio Castel and Noe Acosta were sidelined and therefore he feels that they were unlucky last season.

"When you lose important players, it is very difficult to replace them. It was a difficult period for us. We had a very good squad but were unlucky last season. The club was always supportive, we need to continue the same way next season."

The Spaniard also praised the young Indian players who are doing well in the league and feels that they need to play more and keep working hard to rise to the next level.

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"I think India has a lot of young talents. But the players need more and more minutes and all they need to do is compete. I feel we have very good coaches in the league and they are teaching a lot. This is very important for young talents. At our club, there are very very good young players and in some time, they will be on the national team and they need to keep on improving.

"The youngsters are working very hard always trying to improve. It is not easy to play your first season in ISL, it is important to support them and try to help them rise to the level they want," Aitor Monroy opined, who has been very impressed with NorthEast United midfielder Lalengmawia.

When quizzed about his future, Monroy was very open with his choices as he expressed his desire of staying at Jamshedpur FC for the years to come. "I want to be here, I will be. I expect to stay so many years here. I am very happy here. When you are happy, why change?"

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Lastly, the Spaniard spoke about the Jamshedpur FC fans and how their support changed the scenario for the team despite the troubled times the team went through due to injuries.

"The first time I went on the pitch for Jamshedpur FC it was against Real Kashmir, it was a friendly game and the fans were crazy. There were so many people. Then the match against Odisha - we were a player down and the fans kept us pushing and we won with their support," he recalled before signing off.

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