The foreign players have to come here to play and to teach-Zambrotta

The Italian spoke ahead of his team’s game against league leaders NorthEast United FC.

Delhi Dynamos host NorthEast United in their first home game of the season in the Indian Super League and speaking to the media ahead off the game manager Gianluca Zambrotta said his side are prepared for the test of the league leaders. His predecessor Roberto Carlos tried to instil an attacking philosophy into the team with good results. Reflecting on the contrasting approach between the Brazilian and himself Zambrotta said, “Each coach has a different way of playing, a different mentality and different philosophy. I respect other coaches and their styles. But, I like my team defend and attack as a unit.” The Italian also pointed out that in a short tournament like the Indian Super League where you have a quick turnover between matches it is important to analyse each opponent individually and to prepare his team for the different challenges posed by various teams. The former World Cup-winner denied the assertion that his team was intimidated by the strong partisan support they witnessed in the game against Kerala Blasters in Kochi and explained that it motivates the players to raise their game when they play in a packed stadium. “It is not intimidating to play in front of 60, 000 supporters. For the coach, for the players it is a great motivation. Tomorrow we hope that all the Delhi Dynamos fans will come out and support the team because we need them to get behind the players,” he elaborated. The trio of Emiliano Alfaro, Katsumi Yusa and Nicolas Velez have spearheaded NEUFC’s fine start to the season and the former Juventus defender said that although the Highlanders play a defensive style of football they have very fast counter-attacks and it will be up to his team to negate their influence in the game. He also added that he’s very happy with the local talent at his disposal and that their level is increasing day-by-day. Zambrotta stated that though the level of the ISL was good it can grow and improve in the coming years. When asked if there should be more Indian players in the teams he added, “It is import to prioritize. The foreign players have to come here to play and to teach. If they just come here in the last year of their professional career to have a holiday it’s not good for Indian football. It is also important to have a good scouting network to find good young players who can grow in the future and the club’s must also invest in good coaches.” Photo © ISL Media [KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]