By Abhishek Roy, IANS
New Delhi : Along with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), the Essel Group has also turned its attention to football, launching the Mumbai Football Club (Mumbai FC) and roping in several prominent names in Indian football.
Among those who have joined the new outfit is mid-field player Abhishek Yadav, Mumbai FC’s sole representative in the national squad who admitted that joining the club was a “calculated risk”.
“It was a good initiative and I have worked with all the people associated with the club. Let’s see what happens in the future,” Yadav told IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Nehru Cup football tournament.
“Everything looks fine for the time being as David Booth is the coach and Henry Menezes the manager. There are also some good players who have signed and hopefully we will do well,” said Yadav, who left former National Football League champions Mahindra United to join Mumbai.
The Essel Group, led by media baron Subhas Chandra, launched the club to add some glitz to Mumbai football. It comes as an exciting development that could have far-reaching consequences for the development of grass-roots football in the western megalopolis and raise the standard of the game in the country.
As a first timer, the new club has been granted permission to take part in the Elite Division of the Mumbai league and would also take part in the second division national league.
When asked about the risks of moving to a new club and play in the second division rather than staying on with Mahindra, Yadav said: “It is a risk but money was also a factor. But I am pretty sure that we will make it to the top flight of the national league.”
Menezes brings with him a unique combination of player-manager, having played for the country for eight years, before making the transition into full-time football manager, and gaining the reputation of being among the top managers in the country at Mahindra United.
Booth is an experienced international coach, having been the national coach of Myanmar and Brunei. He also worked in Britain, Ghana, Vietnam, Thailand and Maldives. He is also a qualified Asian Football Confederation (AFC) instructor and has enjoyed prolonged stints with leading clubs and was also the chief coach of Mahindra.
Yadav has worked with both Booth and Menezes at Mahindra and the burly midfielder seemed confident that things would work out for him at Mumbai FC.
“As of now my decision to join Mumbai FC looks as if I have taken a calculated risk. It would be really disappointing if we don’t qualify for the Professional League next year,” said Yadav.
He also lauded the efforts by corporate houses that come forward to promote Indian football.
“We as footballers should also come forward and support them (corporate houses). It is good that they are coming forward and pumping in money, which is the most important thing we need for the development of the game in the country,” Yadav stated.
Incidentally, the Kanpur born Yadav has come a long way since his national debut at the 2002 LG Cup in Vietnam, where he scored the winner in the dying minutes of the final to help India lift the trophy. It was India’s first major win in football in 28 years after the bronze medal win in the 1972 Asian Football Championship.
“That has been the best moment in my career so far. It was my first international tournament as it was for Stephen Constantine, the national team coach,” recalled Yadav.
“I wish we could do it again at the Nehru Cup. I am pretty confident that we can win this tournament as we have some quality players,” he said.