Materazzi resorts to cryptic answers in pre-Kolkata press meet

The Italian frequently interrupted quizzing journalists and even his own translator…

Chennaiyin FC take on former Indian Super League champions Atletico de Kolkata on Sunday night, with both teams finding the race to secure a place in the semi-finals more intense. With Delhi Dynamos FC and Mumbai City FC all but confirming their involvement in the knockout stages, the business end of the season will likely be highly stressful for both teams. Chennaiyin registered a 2-0 win against fourth-placed FC Pune City earlier this week, ending a five-game winless run that included two consecutive defeats. With just four games left before the culmination of the league stages, Chennaiyin might have earned a crucial win at the right stage of the tournament. Asked about the significance of the victory, Chennaiyin manager Marco Materazzi said, “It’s been important.” Maurizio Peluso earned plaudits from left and right after a fine performance in the 1-1 home draw with Mumbai earlier this month. However, he has since been absent from the squad through an injury and the Italian manager revealed that the 31-year-old winger had still not fully recuperated from his injury. He also revealed that no other player in the Chennaiyin camp was on the treatment table as of Saturday afternoon. Kolkata striker Iain Hume has picked up where he had left off last season, scoring five goals in nine outings so far this season. Playing as the secondary striker against NorthEast United FC he managed to score a last-minute equalizer to keep Kolkata’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive as the game ended 1-1 at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. Asked whether the Blues had any special preparations to stop the former Leicester City FC striker, he answered in the negative even before his translator could do his job. During the press conference, the 2006 World Cup winner appeared to have decided to make a statement as he proceeded to offer uncharacteristically short answers to every question thrown at him. For the final few questions, he elected to give away his answers even before the completion of the questions as he intended to drive home a message to the journalists in presence. Whether his antics were in response to the journalists’ choice of questions in the previous press conferences or the one-game ban in light of the shoving incident at Marina Arena after the Kerala Blasters FC game is unknown, but a Chennaiyin spokesperson stated that the former Italy international had been going through mood swings on the back of the ban. However, going by the nature of his responses, there should be a more serious reason behind his catastrophic change in attitude that currently remains confidential. Photo © ISL Media