The team from the capital, Delhi Dynamos FC will be hosting a charismatic FC Pune City side in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2018-19 curtain-raiser at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Lions seem determined to play some scintillating football under newly appointed head coach Josep Gombau, considering his Spanish roots.

Ahead of the club’s season opener, indiansuperleague.com caught up with their midfield maestro Marcos Tebar, who returned to his old club in the summer, having been a part of rivals Pune City last season. Here are the excerpts from the exclusive interview:

On his Hero ISL journey.

It’s been very good so far. The first season I enjoyed a lot playing for Delhi Dynamos, because of that I came back here this year. Second year, I played for FC Pune City and that was a very successful season for every Pune fan. And, I’m here again!

What made you come back to Delhi?

Well, I enjoyed playing for Delhi Dynamos a lot. I think this is a great stadium to play in and they have good supporters also. Josep Gombau, the head coach, contacted me and I couldn’t say no because he’s got the same idea of football that I have. I think this is going to be a great season.

Describe your relationship with your teammates.

So far, it’s been very good and we went for pre-season to Doha. We have worked hard to make the first game of the season as good as possible and I think we are in good shape and we will show it.

Thoughts on facing your former club in the opener?

It’s going to be a special game for me because I played there last season and I got friends from the team. Well, it's going to be a tough game because they have a great squad and I think we are ready for that.

Will your previous experience with Pune City help you against them?

Yes, the head coach asked me some questions about the players, about the type of football they like to play, but they have a new coach. So everyone from Pune City told me that this year is a new idea and they are changing a lot of things, but obviously, I know the players and how dangerous they are in attacking positions. 

With Marcelinho out, who do you think the threat will be from the opponent end?

Well, I think, (Emiliano) Alfaro and Ashique (Kuruniyan) are very dangerous because they are great players and they have good pace. If Marcelinho is not there, I think they are the two big threats for us.