Mumbai City FC confirmed the retention of Haitian winger Sony Norde ahead of Season 3 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) on Tuesday. The fleet-footed winger, who was recently away on national duty featuring in Haiti’s last Copa America Centenario match against Ecuador, became a regular starter for Mumbai City FC last season. He scored three goals besides providing three assists along the way to end last year as Mumbai’s top chance-creator. Speaking to indiansuperleague.com ahead of the new season, Norde said that he had decided to come back largely because of his unforgettable experience with the team last year.“Even though we did not make it to the semi-finals last season, I had a great experience with the club and I really wanted to come back and fight for the fans and hopefully be champions this year,” said Norde.Mumbai City’s away form was a matter of concern last season as they could manage just one win out of seven matches. That too came very late in the season as they beat Atlético de Kolkata in the last match of their campaign. Norde believes they need to work on their away form this season for better results. “We'll definitely look to improve on our away form. We also need to play with confidence and leave the last two seasons behind us,” opined Norde.Mumbai City finished sixth after an inconsistent 2015 season but Norde managed to impress a great deal. His most memorable performance came against ATK in a 3-2 away win when he scored a brace. Asked if he was pleased with his overall contribution last year, the 26-year-old winger responded in the affirmative but also acknowledged that he could do a lot more. “Yes I was happy but I feel like I have a lot more to offer. I want to score more goals but on the whole ensure that we get more wins under our belt as a team,” he said.Norde also commented on India’s football crazy fans who act as a source of motivation for him when he’s on the pitch. “The Indian fans are very passionate about the clubs. The number of fans you see coming for matches here are huge and it really drives me to work harder and give them something to cheer for,” he said.Mumbai City will have a new coach this season in the form of Alexandre Guimarães and the Haitian international said he was looking forward to working under him. “Mr Guimarães is a very experienced manager. He has a great view for the upcoming season and I can't wait to start training under him.”Norde, who is expected to play a key role in Mumbai’s campaign this year, has set his eyes on the semi-finals as the minimum target for the season. “I would obviously love to win the league. But we will start by aiming for a top-4 finish and then take it from there. The fans have always backed us and I want to give them something to celebrate,” concluded Norde.
