An in-form FC Pune City travel to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi to take on Kerala Blasters FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 on Thursday. Marcelinho has been instrumental for the Stallions this season and already has five goals and four assists to his name, taking Pune to second on the league table. The Brazilian shared his thoughts on Indian football and his stay in the country with indiansuperleague.com before the game. Here are the excerpts.

You’ve been travelling all across India – which is your favourite place?

First of all, I love all of India. I love the beach places, so Goa and Kerala are the two best places. I also travel with my family in the Kerala backwaters. I love to be here in Kerala. It’s something different.

Which is your favourite Kerala food?

I ate fish this one time. I love fish curry but not too spicy.

Who is the most promising Indian player this season?

I’m very surprised with the Indian players. With every year, they’re becoming better. Few of them are Ashique (Kuruniyan), (Sandesh) Jhingan, the goalkeeper of Bengaluru (Gurpreet Singh Sandhu). There are a lot of quality players. I think in the next couple of years, Indian players will play in Europe. It’s very important for India to become better every year. It’s very nice!

Any message for the fans before the game?

(It will be a) good game. I love to be here. The fans are fantastic; when you see all the yellow people. I enjoy a lot here.