Subhasish Bose eager to lift ISL trophy

Mumbai: Subhasish Bose has emerged one of the top defenders in the Indian team since last year but the 23-year-old hasn’t been able to grab title despite coming close to it, twice. After good showing for India in the AFC Asian Cup in UAE he is determined to lift Indian Super League Trophy with Mumbai City FC.

He was part of Bengaluru FC last year, but they lost to Chennaiyin FC in the final despite topping the league standings. He led India in the SAFF Cup but only to lose final 2-1 to Maldives despite dominating the tournament. In the Asian Cup, India showed so much promise with 4-1 win over Thailand but failed to qualify for the knockout stages. He is determined now to go the distance with Mumbai City who are placed second on the ISL standings.

“At the end of the day everybody wants to win the trophy, I also play to win the trophy. I made debut in ISL with Bengaluru FC last season but we couldn’t lift the trophy. Now I am keen to lift trophy with Mumbai City FC,” he told this paper on Thursday.

Mumbai City was unbeaten in eight matches before going for international break and they will resume campaign by taking on Bengaluru FC at Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday.

“We have combined well and hope we start well after the break. We have six matches remaining and will give our best.”

Despite a good showing in SAFF Cup and Asian Cup, he couldn’t hide his disappointment of missing out on glory. “SAFF Cup was a good experience for me. Unfortunately we lost in the final. In the Asian Cup we played very well against Thailand and also did well against UAE to create chances. Against Bahrain we were more defensive, it wasn’t the plan but we couldn’t attack much,” he rued.

Bose was all praise for coach Stephen Constantine who resigned after the Asian Cup. “I made my debut for India under him and learnt a lot from him along with senior players. We have to improve more individually and as well a team. This team is for the future,” he observed.

The Kolkata born left back credited Mumbai City coach Jorge Costa for his improvement. “He has been a big player and a great coach. I have learnt a lot from him in terms of positioning and all,” he said about the former Porto skipper who won Champions League in 2004.