Published 17:19 IST, October 11th 2019
Mumbai City FC eye ISL cup, aim to resolve woes both on and off-field
Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC are eyeing to go past the semis stage and lift the cup as they gear up for the 2019-20 season to commence
Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC are eyeing to go past the semis stage and lift the cup as they gear up for the 2019-20 season to commence. With the experience of coach Jorge Costa and captain Paulo Machado, Mumbai City FC will be keen to keep their unbeaten run of nine games to continue while also focusing on performing better in the semi-finals and in laying the groundwork in order to reach the finals. With the club struggling to bring in more fans to support the side along with trying the right combination for the team in order to taste success, the players and the coach of the Mumbai City FC are optimistic about turning around their fortunes in the upcoming season. A shift to a new venue has not hampered the spirits of Mumbai City
FC's players as they are already prepared for the competition and are ready to return to action.
Coach Jorge Costa lays down team's roadmap
The former Portuguese footballer expressed his delight to be back with the Mumbai City FC for the new season and said that he was looking forward to making it bigger and better than the previous year. Addressing the chemistry in the dressing room, coach Jorge Costa said that he was very happy with the players that were given to him and reemphasized the need to perform better than what they did in the previous edition. Talking about the difficulties faced by the team in the city, Jorge Costa explained that the players had started off their regular practice routine over two months ago but faced disruptions due to the bad weather in the city. "It was a different ore season this year. We are working for over 2 months. There are some problems because of the weather. We are even ready to play tomorrow. At this moment we are not a perfect team, but we have to invest more time and efforts to become better day by day", said Jorge Costa
Low fan-following a concern for Islanders
Mumbai City FC has been struggling to establish a strong fan base for themselves and have not been able to figure out an apt solution to attract more fans. The Islanders recently shifted out from DY Patil Stadium to Andheri sports complex - a smaller ground with a lesser seating capacity. However, one of the co-owners of the team is very happy about the move and explained that while they were not able to fill in the huge DY Patil Stadium with fans, they could at least manage to fill in 75% of their new ground and aimed to strengthen the fan community of the Islanders. The team captain Paulo Machado had some valuable suggestions to increase the fan following and said that if they could manage to attract more kids to the matches, then the parents accompanying them will also pick an interest and this, in turn, will lead to a spike in the numbers. Apart from this, Machado also suggested in players taking personal efforts to spread the word about their team and active campaigning on social media.
Updated 18:01 IST, October 11th 2019