Kerala Blasters captain Adrian Luna said the impasse over the start of the Indian Super League season made the players realise the importance of the game in their lives.
“These five months without football, we realised how important football is for all of us; for our families, for all the people working in the club,” Adrian Luna said.
The Uruguayan playmaker was speaking at a press conference in Goa ahead of the Blasters’ season-opening Super Cup fixture against Rajasthan United. Luna was asked whether the Blasters consider themselves favourites against the I-League opposition.
“Before the game people will say, this one is the favourite, the other one is the favourite, but at the end of the day it is 11 against 11. Anything can happen. It is a football game.
“We have to take it very seriously, because for us this competition is very important. We have a strong personality, a strong belief in the team, and a strong belief in the club.
“We have to show a winning mentality and then of course people will say who is important. For us, it is about the game itself,” Luna said.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to start its domestic season with the Cup competition as the ISL remains suspended.
The ISL, which was due to begin in September, has yet to start because the AIFF and its then commercial partner, Football Sports Development Limited, failed to renew the Master Rights Agreement.
In an exclusive interview with Onmanorama, Blasters’ head coach David Catala had said the long break before the season was difficult. “We didn’t know what would happen, about the league and everything… five months is too much.. without working. I love doing my job, but it is difficult,” Catala said.
