Defender Denzil Franco’s first outing for a Kolkata club proved to be a winning one as Atlético de Kolkata went on to trounce Mumbai City FC by a 3-0 margin in the inaugural match of the Hero Indian Super League at the Salt Lake Stadium here tonight. The adventurous Goan right back later shared his thoughts about the game in an exclusive interview with indiansuperleague.com. Here are some excerpts…Denzil, it’s the first match of the ISL, and you won 3-0. How do you feel?I can’t ask for more. This is the best possible start for us. The teams usually take time to perform well as they first have to settle down during the tournament. I’m glad we achieved that in the first match itself and our performance was good, though there’s a long way to go.You won the Amul Fittest Player of the Match award, do you attribute that to your stint in Spain?The stint did help me. I’ve been saying that we need to send our players abroad so that they get the kind of exposure that we did. The facilities in the stadium, the grounds, the training methods and the food that Atlético de Madrid use in Spain were made available to us and it helped us a lot.Did you expect this kind of crowd to turn up and support Atlético de Kolkata?Football is a religion here in Kolkata, and I’ve experienced it while playing. There was never a doubt about the kind of support for the Kolkata team. I expect the crowd to be the same for all the matches and give us a boost, and I hope that they enjoyed today’s game!What is your say on the two strikes, one from Fikru Lemessa and the other from Borja Fernandez?Absolutely world class. I have no words to describe them. They’re both world class players, and such players will help take Indian football to the next level.Your thoughts on the Spanish contingent? They’re doing a great job, especially under such weather and ground conditions. They are used to training in Spain at high altitudes, and I must salute them for adjusting so well; they are only going to get better and fitter as we progress.
