From Mourinho to Materazzi to us…

Of the 49 foreign players who entered the player draft for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), former French defender and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Bernard Mendy was the top pick.

The 33-year-old, who is set to marshal Chennaiyin FC’s defence, spoke to The Hindu on ISL, its role in Indian football and on manager Marco Materazzi.

Excerpts:

Why did you choose ISL?

I had the choice to stay in France, but I accepted this challenge. I have played in England, France and Denmark. So, why not here? My agent spoke to me about it. Then players like Olivier Dacourt and [Nicolas] Anelka made my choice easy.

Were you easily convinced?

I didn’t know much about Indian football. I knew cricket was big. But here, we now have a good project for the Indian players. So I came here to see what I can do and help the Indian players get better.

What role do you think ISL will play?

We can help everybody: the players, the academies. PSG now has an academy in Delhi. Why not in Chennai? It will be good for the city. The younger generation likes football. They watch Cristiano Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi and want to play like them.

What are your first impressions of the Indian players? Where do they lack — technically or physically?

It has been good. They want to learn. Some are strong and some small. I like one guy called Abhishek [Das]. He listens a lot and asks a lot of questions. He wants to learn. Everybody wants to learn. But, with him, it’s more. He also plays like me in the defence. So he is like my little brother.

You were the top pick at the player draft. How did it feel?

I was happy to be the first. But I have a lot of responsibility along with Elano, and [Mikel] Silvestre. I am a leader and I need to prove that every time.

How is Materazzi as a manager and what are his tactics?

I was very surprised. I know him as a very good player, but he has been a good manager too. He is, basically, a bit defensive. He played under [Jose] Mourinho who is number one in the world. So he is trying to use what he learnt from Mourinho. You can see that in the training sessions. It’s flowing from Mourinho to him and from him to us.

People talk about how you beat Roberto Carlos once; close to 100m in 10.5 seconds. Do you still have that pace?

Yeah. But you should ask the Indian players. It’s funny. Every club I go to, they watch that video. I’ll do my best here too. I might not play in the same position [right-back] because I will be used more centrally. Since we will be playing every three days, the players might not be fit enough for every game. So, I can play at right-back too.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/from-mourinho-to-materazzi-to-us/article6479043.ece