Larsing Ming (L) predicts a bright future for NorthEast United FC.Larsing Ming Sawyan is a man who wears many hats – entrepreneur, football official (he is president of the Meghalaya Football Association and vice-president of the All India Football Association) and latterly co-owner of the NorthEast United FC which will compete in the upcoming Hero Indian Super League. It was in this capacity that indiansuperleague.com caught up with Sawyan during a club event in Mumbai. Here are some excerpts from an exclusive conversation…What made you go ahead with Ricki Herbert as coach?One thing for sure is that Ricki is someone who has a lot of experience. Also, importantly, he has been the coach of a start up in Australia, an A-League franchise. So he has been through the rigmarole of setting up a team from scratch and being at the helm of affairs in a similar situation. He has also visited Shillong a couple of years back with Wellington Phoenix when they came down to play Lajong, and therefore had a clear-cut understanding of the ground realities in the region.We saw Herbert as New Zealand manager at the World Cup in 2010. As one of the underdogs in the tournament, they had to opt for a more defensive approach. What style of play are you expecting your team to play under Herbert?From what I gather and understand, the boys we have like to keep the ball on the ground, and that fits into Ricki's philosophy as well. He’s excited to play some fast, attractive football. I think that NorthEast United is going to be a very exciting team to watch. Of course, when one forms a football team, it's important to concentrate on all elements of the game, whether defence or attack, and I think we're reasonably balanced on all fronts."NorthEast United is going to be a very exciting team to watch"Larsing Ming SawyanThe core of your team is quite young. A lot of people think that’s a disadvantage. Do you think otherwise?I think that there's a good blend. Because of the fact that the ISL allows many foreigners in the squad, we have blended a lot of local youth with a high level of international pedigree and experience. In such a short duration where matches happen every other day, it will require teams to be very resilient in terms of fitness and endurance, so I hope that age will eventually play a role and ensure that we end the tournament with the same tempo we had at the start.Has that been a strategy – to balance Indian youth with international experience?I think that the players we have brought in have experience. But you will find that we have a good blend of age even among international players. We have a striker who is in his late 20s, some players are below 25 as well, so there's a good blend of age and demographics among foreigners, but they do bring in a lot of experience and knowhow.Does the fact that your Indian contingent know each other well from Lajong going to play in your favour, as players take time to get familiar with one another?This is part of our long-term plan, and I think that these boys are going to be playing together for the next four years. The fact that they are already a team has a certain amount of advantage, and as mentioned earlier, this advantage will reap greater rewards in the years to come.
