Nationalities get blurred when the mind gets enamoured by the culture and language of the new address of employment. This is the case of the Fijian striker Roy Krishna, who has developed a great affinity with the land of his ancestors ever since he arrived in India.
Krishna is a rare instance of a foreign player singing the Indian national anthem prior to kick-off in the Indian Super League (ISL) matches.
“When I first landed here, I felt I had been here before. My ancestors left Indian shores 140 years ago but I was surprised to see hundreds of fans waiting to receive me when I came to Kolkata.
“It revived the mental connect that I always had with this country. The fans were chanting my name, Krishna, the way I like to pronounce it and that made me feel more at home. I always wanted to come back here on a holiday to experience what I saw in the Bollywood movies,” said Krishna during a chat with ISL’s YouTube programme, In The Stands.
A legacy to remember: Roy Krishna poses with a special jersey, marking his 100th match in the Indian Super League. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports / ISL
“I learnt Hindi in school and it was easy to understand the Indian national anthem. I like the culture and food of this country and my child was also born in Goa in India. I feel greatly connected to this country,” Krishna said, when asked about the reason he joins his Indian teammates in singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
Having scored 54 goals in the 102 games he has played so far, Krishna, who has made India his second home since arriving to play for ATK in 2019, flourished in his role as a fine striker.
After ATK, he also turned out for Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC before joining Odisha FC, where he has has already scored 12 goals to be in the race for the Golden Boot again.
-Amitabha Das Sharma
Story of two different halves
Two years ago, Hyderabad FC was on a high, winning its maiden ISL title after beating Kerala Blasters in the tiebreaker in the final. But now, it is languishing at the bottom of the 12-team table with just one win to show from its 21 matches (at the time of going to the press).
Ivan Vukomanovic, the Blasters head coach, feels that the case of Hyderabad proves that clubs have a lot of work to do.
“When you have an ISL club like Hyderabad, getting the trophy two years ago yet dropping in this kind of situation, it means that every club has to find a possible formula...how to function as a club, how to stay independent, sustainable, financially stable, which we, in our club, are taking care of because you cannot just go away throwing out money for something that you don’t have,” said Vukomanovic.
“The difference between teams at the top of the table and the bottom will be even bigger. The gap will increase because the product is not there. . .”Kerala Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic on future of ISL
“I think, may be, improvement in a way about salary caps, especially for one group of players... I cannot find any club in the league who, at the end of the year, are saying that they are in a profit. I suggest that it should be changed.”
“In my honest opinion, at the end of the this season, I would give Hyderabad also one kind of medal because of everything what they were going through, with all the bans and with all the problems they had. Hats off to them, they are still fighting with enthusiasm.”
The ISL will have one more club next season — the I-League champion Mohammedan Sporting Club —but Vukomanovic feels that it will not change the scene in the league, which is virtually a story of two different halves.
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“If you speak about next year, there will be one more club and everybody is saying may be that will improve the quality...I don’t think that will be the case,” said the Serb, pointing out that the difference between the top six teams in the ISL and the bottom six is huge.
“The difference between teams at the top of the table and the bottom will be even bigger. The gap will increase because the product is not there... there are not enough players who will fill all the gaps. (If given a chance) I will tell the clubs to invest in training centres, developing young players and the youth system, give them time to grow up.
Trying to implement those projects and trying to improve. Because, these guys will grow up and become an important part of the young national team and senior national team. This will also help the national team improve because the present format never thinks. At the end, the end product is the national team ...if it keeps going like this, there will never be results with national teams.”
-Stan Rayan
Chennai in the hunt
Chennaiyin FC, making a late surge to qualify for the ISL-10 playoffs, has its fate in its own hands, needing four points from its last matches.
It’s latest win, 2-1 against Jamshedpur, was an important one for Owen Coyle and his men. Given the team’s impressive form, one would expect the Marina Machans to have more support in their first home match since the ISL resumed after the international break.
ALSO READ: ISL 2023-24: Chennaiyin FC hosts NorthEast United in do-or-die clash for playoffs
The diary entered the venue just in time, expecting a healthy turnout. Making his way towards the press box, he was welcomed by the familiar sight of the sprawling green, where the players were in position for the national anthem. But the stands were a sorry sight to witness.
Where’s the love?: With Chennaiyin FC on the brink of playoff qualification, the home support for the team was underwhelming. | Photo Credit: PTI
With the team on the brink of playoff qualification, the home support for Chennaiyin was underwhelming.
The official attendance record said 4000, and when Rei Tachikawa headed in the opener, the only cheers were from the Jamshedpur players celebrating the goal.
But the narrative changed in the second-half, as Chennaiyin mounted a successful comeback, courtesy of strikes from Rafael Crivellaro and Rahim Ali.
Once the referee blew his full-time whistle, confirming Chennaiyin’s win, 4000 suddenly seemed like a lot, and the sight of the players doing Viking claps with the fans was a pleasing sight.
-Aneesh Dey
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