FC Pune City have surprised quite a few with their performances of late, and have enjoyed a long spell in the top half of the table. Several of their recent success have been attributed to the team organisation, but organisation can only succeed when there is good understanding within the team.For anyone who observes Pune City behind the scenes, at training sessions, and around the city, the bonding and camaraderie in the team immediately stands out. The team spirit is exemplary, and indiansuperleague.com caught up with midfielder Saïdou Mady Panandétiguiri to share his experience of how this diversely talented team has gelled in India.Panandétiguiri has played across the world, having had stints in Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Malta and South Africa, before his current spell in India. “We have a lot of players who come from everywhere, and then there are also the Indian players. Everyone has a different mindset and background,” he related. “But as you know, football is something collective and universal. We all speak English, we speak Hindi, and we understand each other, and yes, my experience in India has been good and the people here are very nice too.”The well-travelled footballer related how his stops in other countries have prepared him to adapt quickly to his new surroundings. “I’m from Burkina Faso, have lived in Belgium; it is a whole different outlook. When I went to South Africa, it was yet another outlook. I’ve had to make adaptations quickly, know how to speak with the people to know what they want and what they don’t want,” he said of his experiences.Along with his experience at the club level, Panandétiguiri has also turned out for the Burkina Faso national team more than 50 times. The experienced midfielder has some sound advice for budding footballers. “The most important thing I can advise budding footballers is to be very strong mentally, and be very professional. Because, to be an international football player, a professional player, is not easy,” he emphasised. “You have to take care of everything; your body, your lifestyle, your levels of performance every day - not every game, I mean every day – in training and in games. You have to be very strong.”Panandétiguiri went on to explain further the necessity of mental strength in order to make it as a professional footballer: “You can compare football to a fight. You have to roll your sleeves up and go at it. If you go easy, it’s hard to survive. You have to be strong mentally. You can say, ‘Yeah, I have good technique’, but if you are not mentally strong, even with your technique, it gets tough. Me? I don’t have technique, but I am strong mentally, and that’s what helped me the most, and it can help every player who wants to play football at the highest level.”
