It’s official! Delhi Dynamos FC have confirmed the signing of French international winger Florent Malouda, best known for his 6-year-long stint with Chelsea Football Club. Having enjoyed a successful career on the club circuit as well as with the French national team, he will join the Roberto Carlos-coached Hero Indian Super League (ISL) side for Season 2015.Born in French Guiana, Malouda began his professional career in France playing for several domestic leagues, including Ligue 1. After having spent time at clubs Châteauroux and Guingamp, his career graph started scaling up with Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais. His four seasons at the club helped him add 32 goals and 42 assists to his tally in a total of 181 appearances. The attacking midfielder’s career shot further up when Premier League side Chelsea FC signed him in the 2007-08 season under manager Jose Mourinho. The era that followed allowed Malouda to share the dressing room with celebrated players like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Andriy Shevchenko, current Mumbai City FC player-head coach Nicolas Anelka, and hone his skills under the tutelage of managers such as Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Carlo Ancelotti.Following his stint in England, he spent a year each at Turkish club Trabzonspor and French club FC Metz. Known for his work on the flanks, Malouda’s strengths include a good shot as well as a strong left foot. This could be seen as a welcome opportunity to synergise with Gustavo Marmentini dos Santos, Robin Singh, Chicão, and not forgetting, Roberto Carlos. His years of experience in the esteemed football leagues of Europe could serve as an inspiration to the Delhi side.Fans of Delhi Dynamos were thrilled to see this news byte feature in a West Bromwich Albion vs Chelsea game in the ongoing Premier League. His former teammate Didier Drogba, too, sent his best wishes, “all the way from Canada” for a wonderful season ahead.In a Skype conversation with TV presenter John Dykes, Malouda said, “Two months ago in London and I gave him [Prashant Agarwal, Delhi Dynamos President] my word. When he told me Roberto Carlos would be my coach, I had a strange feeling because I played against him during the World Cup in Germany, 2006. He is my idol.”Speaking about the nation’s capital, he mentioned, “It’s a new challenge for me – new city, new culture. I can’t wait to start because at this time of the year, I’m on the pitch, but now I’m about to start pre-season in September, so this is a strange feeling.”Click here to watch the full video of Florent Malouda’s TV chat with John Dykes. Delhi Dynamos will play their first Hero ISL match on October 4th in an away fixture against FC Goa.
