Mumbai City co-owner Ranbir Kapoor has urged the fans to fill the stadium to capacity and support the team in their quest for their maiden Indian Super League title. The city’s only professional football club as of now, failed to qualify for the playoffs in the first two seasons but topped the league stage last season before losing in the two-legged semi-final to evetual champions Atletico de Kolkata.
Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri Sports Complex proved to be a lucky venue for them and the likes of star players like Diego Forlan, Sunil Chhetri and Sony Norde brought spectators to the ground.
“We had some tough times earlier. Last year we topped the standings but lost in semis. This year we want to go a step ahead,” Ranbir said. “Coach Alexandre Guimaraes has promised a title this time,” he quipped.
Ranbir has played at the venue as he is also a part of the celebrity football series which pits Bollywood stars against Indian cricket stars annually. He is aware his players will need good support from the crowd in home games.
Last year Mumbai City, nicknamed as Islanders, made Mumbai Football Arena their fortress and the Bollywood star will want something similar this season.
“The club exists because of the fans and it’s your support that keeps us going. The Islanders are looking forward to the season, come and support us in big numbers,” added Ranbir, who has always reteirated that his vision is to make Mumbai City FC the most professional club in Asia.
This season there is no major star attraction in the Mumbai City FC team but it has the two best goalkeepers around in India, Amrinder Singh and Arindam Bhattacharja.
The squad has experienced Indian players in Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Raju Gaikwad, Sejnaj Singh, Sanju Pradhan and Balwant Singh
up front.
The foreigners, of which five are from Brazil, have done well during the pre-season campn in Valencia and coach Guimaraes has high expectations from the balanced squad.
Guimaraes wants players to play from the heart, like his boss Ranbir wants.
“My boss here has insisted that the players should play with their heart and they did that even in the pre-season,” the Costa Rican coach said.
“Also something very interesting is that even though was pre-season, the players felt bad when we lost a game during it, so this is very good for a coach and for our staff, when players have the feeling of not to lose,” he further said.
The ISL in its fourth year has already gained Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recognition with the victors able to represent the country in the AFC Cup play-offs. Mumbai City have won the award for ISL’s best-run grassroots programme for two years.
They also run and manage multiple leagues together with WIFA (Western India Football Association) and MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) and arrange training programme for coaches.
