Mumbai City FC striker Adam le Fondre has made a good start to life in the Indian Super League with four goals in five matches so far, but feels there are few aspects the league and its Indian players could do well to work on.
Le Fondre, who has spent most of his career playing in England including a season in the Premier League where he scored 12 goals, feels that Indian players can produce an entertaining brand of football but few chinks in their armour are holding them back.
“I think that one of the big things that are lacking over here is probably the game intelligence rather than technical ability, because there’s a lot of good technical Indian players,” le Fondre told reporters during an online interaction on Friday.
“Sometimes their decision-making lets them down. The Indian players would run straight down or force a pass where an extra pass would help create the opportunity. So the big difference between Indian and foreign players is this bit of game intelligence or game management,” he added.
The former Reading striker felt that Indian players will develop this aspect with experience, but need to pick the brains of the foreign players more.
“I think you should be watching players all the time, and they should be asking questions. The foreign players should be getting constantly interrogated,” he said.
“I understand that lot of Indian players started much later than what one would do in Europe, but as a player, you never stop learning. I am 34 and I always look at Aguero and the way he moves, he beats his man and how he finishes. The Indian players must do the same and try and get as much from the foreign players,” he added.
Mumbai City FC have made a dominant start to the ISL and are unbeaten in five matches after their opening game loss to NorthEast United.
Le Fondre revealed that he hasn’t found ISL to be too challenging so far but is yet to adapt completely is the nature of refereeing in the league.
“It’s not like that the standard isn’t great but sometimes they (Indian referees) can be a bit knee-jerk and ruin a game with decisions,” he said.
“In Europe or other parts, they take the context of the game into account more. Maybe if there are two quick yellow cards they don’t give the first one and give a warning. Here it’s a bit instinctive, very much a knee-jerk reaction to send someone off or brandish that second yellow card. As a player, you have to adapt to that but I’m still getting used to it,” he added.
Le Fondre had a great stint in Australia where he scored 48 goals in 65 matches for Sydney FC and admitted that he wanted to finish his career in the A-League. But the uncertainty surrounding the league following the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with a few financial problems facing Australian football made him look for a move elsewhere.
With India providing an alternative to Australia for several A-League footballers, the factor that made le Fondre take the plunge was City Football Group’s involvement at Mumbai City FC.
“As a footballer, you want to win leagues. With CFG there and Sergio Lobera as the coach, you know we have a good chance of winning the league. For me personally, playing for him I know I would also have a good chance of winning the golden boot if we get close to or win the league,” he said.
While team goals override personal accolades for le Fondre, he has tough competition for the striker’s position at the club from Bartholomew Ogbeche, a proven centre-forward in the league after his successful stints with Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United.
But the former Reading striker feels he can be a valuable member of Sergio Lobera’s squad as he can offer him everything that he needs from a center-forward.
“I have always found goalscoring very easy as I feel it comes naturally to me. So initially all I thought was about scoring goals. But as I moved up through the leagues I felt the need to be a better team player,” le Fondre said. “So I have developed that part of the game over the years. I am a very good player if you want to press upfront as I have a lot of energy and that’s what Sergio likes us to do,” he added.
Le Fondre is confident of Mumbai City FC going all the way this season and credits the team management for knitting together a strong group.
“We have a really good set of Indian and foreign players. The coaching staff too is really good. The recruitment at the football club is fantastic and it gives us a great chance,” he said.
After seeing the winning run end against Jamshedpur FC in the last game, Mumbai City FC would be keen to get back to winning ways but it will be a tough ask against Hyderabad FC who are still unbeaten in the league. But with the likes of Adam le Fondre in their ranks, Sergio Lobera would still feel quietly confident.
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