Abu Dhabi: Mumbai City FC’s marquee player-cum-manager Nicolas Anelka is pleased with the way his players are progressing during their ongoing pre-season training camp in Dubai.
With temperatures here in the UAE soaring above the 40 degrees centigrade mark during the day and with humidity touching 70 per cent at times, the training sessions been confined to indoors or late evenings.
However, these testing conditions are ideal for the team’s preparation ahead of the second Indian Super League season starting next month, according to 36-year-old former French international Anelka.
“This is an excellent start to our ISL Season 2 preparations. The facilities are great here in Dubai and the team seems to be getting along and gelling well with each other in just the first week of pre-season,” Anelka said in a statement on Wednesday.
The camp is a first opportunity for Anelka, who has played for top European clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid, to get to know the Mumbai players properly.
“It’s the first time that some of the international boys are meeting the entire team and the entire experience has been great for everyone,” revealed Anelka, whose side will be playing local outfit Bani Yas on Friday and have further friendly matches lined up against Emirates and one more UAE-based club on September 6 and 9 respectively.
“Our target is for the entire team to be in the best possible shape by the time we reach Mumbai and we are all working very hard towards it.”
Mumbai City CEO Indranil Das Blah also believes choosing Dubai was the best option.
“Dubai has been great for the team so far, they have enjoyed practicing in world-class facilities. In a truncated league format like the ISL, pre-season becomes even more critical and we couldn’t have chosen a better destination for our pre-season. The team will hopefully be hungry to win and be as fit as possible by the time they return to India,” he said.
However, the only blip in this camp for Mumbai City is the absence of their key player and India’s star forward Sunil Chhetri.
The Indian national team skipper is unavailable until September 9 as he is busy preparing for India’s World Cup qualifier in Bangalore against Iran on September 8.
Subrata Paul, who will be the first choice goalkeeper for Mumbai City in the ISL, is also on national duty. Paul and Chhetri will only get three days to train with the team in Dubai before they heading back to India on September 12.
“Chhetri and Paul are both professional, senior players. They know what it takes to play at the highest level and how to be part of a team. So no concerns with them not being part of most of the pre-season camp,” Blah said.
