Indian players have potential to play in European leagues but are shy: Florent Malouda
Mumbai: French footballer and former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda is all charged up and ready to rumble on the Indian football turfs with Delhi Dynamos in the second edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) that kicks off on October 3 with defending champions Atletico de Kolkata taking on Chennaiyin FC. The Roberto Carlos-coached Delhi outfit, however, will start their league with an away game against FC Goa on October 4.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Hero ISL Media Day, in an exclusive chat with this correspondent on Saturday, Malouda, who has made a colossal 80 appearances for France and has scored nine times for them including one in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, opens up on his glorious career and his ambition after stepping foot on Indian soil. He also pointed out that that humility will go a long way no matter how much success one attains. Excerpts from the interview…
Q: Having so much of European football experience, what pushed you for a stint at Indian football and why Delhi Dynamos?
I was in contact with Prashant (Prashant Agarwal, President of Delhi Dynamos) last year but didn’t know much about Indian football. I wasn’t ready for this kind of an experience because it is a short league and at the same time you can be on loan for the rest of the season, so I wasn’t ready.
I was waiting for feedbacks from a few of my friends like Nicolas Anleka and I saw that he was very positive about the first season. Then when I had the opportunity to sign for Delhi Dynamos I didn’t hesitate and I gave him (Prashant) my word in a hurry at the end of last season, and then I was really focussed on preparing for this new challenge.
Q: What are you looking forward to in this season?
It’s my first ISL and my first time in Delhi which is Robin’s (Robin Singh) town. For me it’s totally new but I have a lot of foundation. I have come here to win the title like it’s the same for everyone in the squad.
Q: Has Robin taken you around Delhi?
I’m still waiting (laughs). He told me he would take me to a sushi place, but yes he has taken me to places and I’ve tasted Indian food. I have tried biryani and I like it.
Q: Your thoughts on the Indian players at Delhi Dynamos.
Indian players are very shy and very respectful. All of them have potential to play in European leagues but they need to get used to the pace and the pressure that European football demands. There’s no miracle. I know very well, I come from French Guiana. When I arrived Europe I was 15, there are things that you learn in Europe that you cannot learn in French Guiana, it all comes with work and I have seen very talented players who are not working and who can’t make it in any league in Europe, so I think it’s the way you want to learn and the effort you put in day in and day out because its not only once when you want to be successful. Everyday you need to have that discipline and capability of reproducing hard work.
Q: How are you helping the Indian players up their game?
In training it’s always the same old story. You have basic things that you have to do that even the best players in the world do during a training session. The secret is all about hard work. There are a few differences but you need to communicate and spend time with each other.
Q: How was your time with the team training in Denmark and Sweden?
It was very different from the Delhi weather (laughs). I’m not too used to that weather. We went to an amusement park and we had a lot of fun there. It was my first time in Denmark. I didn’t stay too long. But I think for the Indian players, it was a cultural shock for them.
Q: You faced a lot of difficulties living away from home while you were young, despite that you carried on pursuing studies and football. What motivated you to go further?
Its part of my character, I have a very strong character. Even sometimes when it is difficult, you have to overcome it, then better days will come ahead. I cannot complain because football is the best job in the world. I have been able to travel all over the world thanks to football, but what motivates me is to be the best in whatever I do and I always try to prove something. I have come to prove that I have an ambition. Even when I used to play at the grass root level, I always played to win, there’s always that competitive spirit in me.
Q: Any major incidents in your life that changed you as a person or a footballer?
No major incidents but in life you have ups and downs. You need to remain humble even when you achieve success and when life is down, you need to think about life in a different way. I am not someone who likes to complain. I like to speak more about solutions. In life you do face difficulties but you need to be strong to keep going when it’s difficult.
Q: You have given Chelsea vital performances which helped the team during the famous ‘double’, which one will you pick, English Premier League (EPL) or FA Cup? Why?
I would say the EPL. It’s the most difficult league in the world and the Champions League too because I went to Chelsea to win the Champions League. Even when we won a lot of trophies, there were a lot of difficult times. It was very nice to lift that trophy, the first London club to do so. For us, it was a magic moment.
Q: You have been under different managers, Guus Hiddink, then Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho for a brief period. How would you rate all the three of them?
All of them have a different vision and they see football differently so you get a lot of experience working with different managers. They all helped me to be the player and the person that I am today because they all brought different solutions to the problem I was facing. They helped me a lot to be successful. All those managers have won trophies and I knew them as managers and then I had to learn to know them as men as well.
Q: Who’s your best friend in the football fraternity, what’s kind of a rapport you share with him?
There are a few, not one. I am very close to Didier Drogba, Michael Essien as well. I played with him (Essien) in Lyon and Prashant knows him as well. Michel and me, we have the same character, Didier and me, we are friends with opposite characters (laughs).
Q: You got a lot of messages from Drogba and Salomon Kalou congratulating you on your new endeavour. Do you keep in touch with them? What are their views on the ISL?
We played together and we are friends. Because Drogba and Kalou are my friends, they support Delhi Dynamos as well. We keep in touch, we follow each other’s result with our teams. And you never know, maybe in the future they may come to India and play in the ISL, that’s the idea, to give exposure to this league, to the country and to the culture.
