Saturday sees the return of Hero Indian Super League (ISL) football to the home of the defending champions, as Chennaiyin FC take on FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The home side will be hoping to get a better result this time around after having suffered defeat in their first game of the season against an inspired Bengaluru FC outfit.

The two-time champions are one of the favourites for the title yet again, and would be asking for trouble should they take Goa lightly, given the Gaurs’ impressive display against NorthEast United FC on Monday. Ahead of the encounter between the two coastal clubs, indiansuperleague.com caught up for an exclusive interview with Chennaiyin’s Jerry Lalrinzuala to get a sense of the mood inside the team camp. Here are the excerpts:

Thought on the last match against Bengaluru.

Yeah, the last match we lost. Everyone knows that we are the defending champions, but Bengaluru are very good because they have good strikers and they are good at defending as well. We tried our best, but we lost. It’s gone now and in the next game, we have FC Goa. We need to focus on that match. 

How excited are you to play in front of the home fans? 

In Chennai, at our home ground, it feels nice to play because the fans support us and they cheer for us. So, it’s nice to play at our home ground and I feel good to play in the stadium. 

Is the match against FC Goa going to be attack vs defence? 

No, this year they have a different team. FC Goa have new players, most of them are good at attacking and they are very good in defending as well. Last year, they conceded too many goals, but this year they will try not to concede. It is a tough match for us. 

How has Hero ISL contributed to your success? 

When I played in Hero ISL, I gave 100 % in every match and I thought I can play for the national team. I worked hard and because of that, I think, I got the call-up to the national team. 

On your favourite fanboy moment. 

First time when I played in the Hero ISL, (the moment was when) one of the fans saw me. I was very surprised because of the love he showed towards me. I feel so good when I see my fans.  

Message to the Indian U-16 team that lost in the Asian Cup. 

The U-16 team was very good. I think they have good players and they work very hard. I wish them all the best for the upcoming tournaments.