Chennaiyin FC’s Italian coach Marco Materazzi said the people of Chennai have been bravehearts and are showing courage in the face of adversity.
With the Chennai airport closed till December 6, the Chennaiyin FC team travelled by road to Tirupati Air Base, flew to Mumbai by a chartered flight and then took a three and half hour road journey to Pune to play the last ISL league match against FC Pune City here on Saturday.
The team minus the injured Raphael Augusto practised at the Balewadi Stadium under lights.
When asked about the plight of the locals in Chennai following heavy rains and floods, Materazzi said: “I have never seen anything like that. But to see the folks of Chennai struggling, but still have the strength to smile and start over again, should make India proud. My thoughts go out to the people who have the strength to start over.”
To another question if the team is travel fatigued, he said: “When you have games like this, the distance you travel doesn’t matter. I think in this situation the people who suffer are the citizens of Chennai. For privileged people like us, it doesn't matter if we have to travel one or two days.”
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