John Abraham leads his winners out of the pitch.John Abraham wears his footballing passion on his sleeve. And it was no different today when his team, NorthEast United FC, pulled off a hard fought victory against Kerala Blasters FC in their first ever Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Guwahati. The Highlanders may be inexperienced in comparison to their opponents, but their energy and the vociferous fan support ensured that Abraham had the biggest smile on his face at the end of the game. Indiansuperleague.com caught up with the visibly thrilled Bollywood star for an exclusive chat. Here are some excerpts…First game, first win. How does it feel?Well, there was a lot of pressure on us. And interestingly, I remember Koke telling me before the game that if we win, it will be great for the spirit and morale of the team. I'm just happy with this win. It's amazing. I'm so happy. And all credit to Kerala Blasters who played fantastic and they really hung in there and they pounded our goal towards the end.The crowd has been fantastic today. The atmosphere at the ground has been beautiful...Oh, it's been amazing! Everyone who has come here has gone back saying ‘my God! What is the North-east about?’ We've got the best pitch, the best scenic beauty at the back and the most fantastic audience. And not to forget, the best players. We love our players, we love our boys. And trust me, the young kids playing at the age of 18-19... Give them three years and they'll be taking on anyone.Statistically, NorthEast United are the youngest team in the ISL playing versus the most experienced team. But there were no signs of any nerves from your team.Absolutely! We've played in a situation like this before. The young boys are used to big crowds. Being from the North-east, people follow football. This is great. This win means a lot to us.At the beginning of the match, you were taking a lap around the ground. You're so involved in this. What sort of energy is driving you on?Well, I did my cardio. (laughs) I did 400 metres, where I could've done more. I wanted to take a couple of laps more. But I think it was awesome. The crowd was so supportive with all the screaming. I wanted to rile the crowd up, get them motivated and the players did the rest. They were awesome.So, a fantastic two days for you. A very good opening ceremony and then your team rounding it off.Yeah, I believe we've got our toughest game coming up on October 16 against Atlético de Kolkata. And then FC Goa. Another tough one. Two very, very tough games!
