Arata Izumi provided the star-turn in Atlético de Kolkata’s 3-2 win in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League against Kerala Blasters FC on Tuesday evening. Izumi, born to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, came on for Jaime Gavilan in the second half to score a brace to help the defending champions register their fourth win in nine matches. Izumi, who has also represented India at the international level, spoke to indiansuperleague.com shortly after the match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and shared his thoughts on his brilliant outing. Here are the excerpts from the interview.Lots of drama in the game, Arata. What are your thoughts on the match?It was a very tough match for us and a very difficult one for them as well. No one could have predicted the game to take such a turn. In the end, getting those three points is really huge for us."No one could have predicted the game to take such a turn."Arata IzumiIn the pre-match conference, you mentioned that Kochi is a place full of special memories. Was it an emotional outing?It’s proof that Kerala is my lucky place. Firstly, my mom came down from Japan to watch my match. I scored two goals, the team won, got those three points – all in front of my mom! Secondly, Kochi is also the place where my national debut took place for the India team against Palestine. I will never forget that day!What would you like to say about the crowd today?They are simply amazing. Even during warm-up sessions, they would come in large numbers, with many of them cheering for us as well. It feels good to see that Kerala fans are passionate about football and they cheer, not only for Kerala Blasters but for us as well! I really appreciate them.
