I don't think at this point it is possible to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the ISL: Zambrotta

The Italian has stressed that his team will play to win against NorthEast United...

Ahead of the away match against NorthEast United, Delhi Dynamos head coach Gianluca Zambrotta met the scribes before a scheduled practice session of his team at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Tuesday. “NorthEast United is a very powerful team, one of the strongest sides in ISL. They have very good players, for these reasons tomorrow’s game will be a very intense game, I hope,” Zambrotta commented on being asked, how he rates NEUFC since the teams first met in Delhi last month. Interestingly, the Highlanders have never tasted a win against the Lions so far in the Indian Super League, when asked whether he feels that this could play a psychological factor in tomorrow’s game. Zambrotta denied it. “It’s very important to play the next game very well. We are focusing only on tomorrow’s game and the past performances have no bearing on the game tomorrow,” the former Italian World Cup winner said. In his initial days in the ISL, Zambrotta was once quoted as saying that he would love to bring Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Delhi Dynamos for next season. When asked on this by Khel Now Correspondent Himangshu Rajkhowa, the Lions coach said laughing, “Well, It was a joke, I played with Zlatan, but I don’t think at this point it is possible to bring him to the ISL. But you can’t say that it will never happen. No, you can bring him in the future but for now it’s nothing but a joke.” Delhi are now second in the table with an assured spot in the playoffs. On being asked how important tomorrow’s game against NorthEast United is he said, “It’s very important to win. We want to keep the winning habit. We will definitely play for a win.” Delhi have scored the most goals in the league so far i.e. 26 goals, but surprisingly they have conceded 15 in 12 matches. On being quizzed whether the defence is a bit of a concern for the team he denied by saying, “No,no problem with the defence until now but we will surely work on our weakness.” Sitting in a comfortable position, Delhi can surely test their bench strength against the Highlanders to give a much needed break to some of their top players. But the veteran Italian has another view.“At this moment, I am not thinking about the starting eleven. It is very important to keep the winning momentum, but we can try our bench in the last moments tomorrow, as of now, I can’t say anything in this regard,” he signed off. Accompanying him was former of NorthEast United man Milan Singh who was part of the Highlanders in 2014 and heshared his emotions on playing on his home soil against his home team. “I am really happy that my team is in a comfortable position securing twenty points already.It’s been great to be a part of this team. It is always a pleasure to play in my home (NorthEast). I think it will be a great game tomorrow for both the teams,” the 24 year old central midfielder from Manipur said. Photo © Getty Images