Kalinga Super Cup: Mumbai City will give their 100% against tricky Inter Kashi, says Nikos Karelis

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) ‘The magic of the cup’ is a saying as old as time, which signifies the unpredictable and inspiring nature of a knockout tournament, where underdog teams can defy expectations. With I-League runners-up Inter Kashi having defeated Indian Super League (ISL) runners-up Bengaluru FC in the Round of 16 of the Kalinga Super Cup, Mumbai City is ready to give their 100% in their quarterfinal against the UP-based franchise.

In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Mumbai City FC’s top scorer this season, Nikos Karelis, talked about the Super Cup, the game against Inter Kashi, their exit from the ISL Playoffs, and his experience of playing in India.

Q. Thoughts on Mumbai City’s 4-0 win over Chennaiyin FC in the opening round of the Kalinga Super Cup?

NK: It's very important to start the game with a win, especially when it's a knockout stage, and that's very important for us. We know we didn't end the season well. We didn't expect that, as we are from Mumbai City, and we tried everything from the first game to show that we are here to win the cup. We want to speak inside the pitch and not outside by talking and not working and not doing the right things.

Q. How important was it for Mumbai to score four goals in the opening game, given the dearth of goals this season?

NK: It's important for the team to have many goal scorers, let's say, because maybe one time you go, you have chances, it's a bad day. But when other players also contribute to the scoring, it's better for the team. It's very nice. But this comes through the hard work that we have put in and through the confidence of the players. And all together, we're trying our best every time. (OK, maybe we didn't score so much this year or this season, but we know what to do.

Q. How is the team preparing to face underdog Inter Kashi in the quarterfinal

NK: It's very tricky, especially the Super Cup, but we need to stay really focused on this game because we know Inter Kashi this year played well. They have some really good players, and they knocked out Bangalore. You need to be careful about that. The only thing that we need to do is to keep our way of style with them, not to get dragged into their game, what they want to do inside, but to stay positive on what we can do inside the pitch. We now have two more days to train and to see them also, and to speak with the coach about tactics and everything. We will give 100% for that game because we already know that it's going to be a tough fight. So we want to win and to pass to the next round.

Q. How has the team reacted to the loss against Bengaluru FC in the ISL Playoffs?

NK: It was very hard for us, for the team. We know that when I came here, I knew that Mumbai City is one of the best teams here. They have a lot of trophies. We knew what we had to do.

It was very hard for everyone. Disappointed, of course. We had some days to relax and take this out of our minds, and this is what we try to do. We try to work out as much as we can. With the coach and his philosophy to push everyone to the limit for the best outcome. And for sure, we bounced back as we saw in the first game.

Q. Captain Lallianzuala Chhangte scored a brace in the opening game. How important is it for him to be in good form for the team in the Super Cup?

NK: Chhangte is really important for us. He's a very good player. He's our captain. He has the quality. He has the confidence. He has the experience. He has everything in the package to help us. I don't agree that he didn't start well for us. He did his job, he did everything he could to get us where we are here. If you don't have the numbers, it doesn't mean that you don't contribute to the team.

He is contributing a lot, especially inside and outside of the pitch. So it helped us a lot, and as the season was going, you can see that also with the assists and the goals, he contributed a lot to our position where we need to be. And it helped us a lot. Who doesn't want an Indian player who plays for his national team to play for Mumbai City also to get goals, assists, but it's not only this. He contributes a lot inside and outside of the pitch.

Q. With one season in Indian football now under your belt, how would you describe your experience in the league and with Indian fans?

NK: I was not expecting this professionalism from the club and in general from the league because I didn't know a lot of players playing here. I didn't have many things on my mind before I came. So when I came, I saw that we really try to work as well as we can with the things that we have. The team tries to give you everything that you can do outside of the pitch.

Especially when you are an international player and you come for the first time to India, it's very important to go as fast as possible to adjust with the team. So they did that with every foreigner that came this year and also with me and my family, we are really happy here. We had an amazing time.

We are sad that we didn't have the trophy for the season that we finished, but still, we have the Super Cup, and we'll try our best to win this and to go home, let's say, with the trophy.

About the fans, they show us that they really support us. Even when we had a not really good season this year but they were there. They were supporting us, and they gave us the extra push on the pitch when we played home games. It was a pity because we also wanted to give them back the fight that they had. We tried everything in the game, but sometimes, as I said, in football, even if you try your best, it doesn't mean that you will get something.

It's very tricky, especially the Super Cup, but we need to stay really focused on this game, because we know Inter Kashi this year, they played really well. They have some really good players, and they knocked out Bangalore. You need to be careful about that. The only thing that we need to do is to keep our way of style with them, not to get dragged into their game, what they want to do inside, but to stay positive on what we can do inside the pitch.

We now have two more days to train and to see them also, and to speak with the coach about tactics and everything. We will give 100% for that game because we already know that it's going to be a tough fight. So we want to win and to pass to the next round.

--IANS

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