When the majority of the 25,531 spectators were cheering on Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai during their Hero Indian Super League Season 2 match against Delhi Dynamos FC earlier this week, there was an area in the stadium which was surprisingly full of Liverpool FC supporters, all decked out in the traditional Reds outfits.Liverpool were not in action for sure but the supporters, representatives of the Official Liverpool Supporters Club of Chennai aka Madras Kop, were there for former Reds left-back John Arne Riise representing Delhi Dynamos FC. Only recently Madras Kop got its official membership from the legendary English club.The Madras Kop members’ joy knew no bounds to see Riise in action. Last year too, they were gratified by the presence of Luis García. “It is amazing, it’s a dream come true for us. We had seen Luis García on TV, he won the Champions League for us. We always wanted to go and watch Liverpool play in Liverpool or other parts of England during the Premier League or the Champions League but it just wasn’t possible,” one Madras Kop member told indiansuperleague.com.According to one of the members, García, who played for eventual champions Atlético de Kolkata last season, honoured them with his jersey after a game in Chennai. The Madras Kop members were unanimous in thanking the Hero Indian Super League for bringing their Liverpool idols to Indian soil.“Thanks to the ISL, we saw García in the flesh. We saw him score a goal, then after that he came and gave us his match jersey which was great. We are just hoping that we get to see Riise again, maybe closer this time around. It’s just an immense pleasure.”Be that as it may, their love for Riise didn’t really translate to any love for Delhi Dynamos FC. “We are all basically from Chennai, so we are obviously all Chennaiyin FC fans,” another member said.The Madras Kop members had a great outing as Chennaiyin FC beat Delhi Dynamos FC 4-0 thanks to an inspiring performance from Colombian striker Stiven Mendoza, who scored his 10th goal of the season in the thumping win.“Last season Mendoza wasn’t in his peak form but he is at his peak this season. He is absolutely brilliant this season. Right now, there is a huge Mendoza following in Chennai and we are no different,” enthused one of the members.
