Hyderabad FC’s latest signing Francisco Sandaza heaped praise on the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) and is looking forward to his ‘new challenge’ of playing India. Speaking to the official Hyderabad FC website, the forward expressed his excitement after joining the Hero ISL and thanked the club as well as his new head coach Manolo Marquez for giving him the opportunity to prove himself in the league.

“Firstly, I want to thank the club for showing confidence in me. I am excited and happy to sign for the club and I hope to meet my new teammates soon. The fans have been fantastic and the heartwarming messages that they’ve sent me have been comforting,” Sandaza said.

“This is a new challenge in my career. I have heard good things about the league and have ex-teammates who play here, who also spoke about the league highly. The Hero ISL is a young league and is improving in quality every year, and I cannot wait to make my debut in this league,” he added.

The Spanish striker is the sixth foreign signing for Hyderabad, who have secured the services of Joao Victor, Joel Chianese, Lluis Sastre, Aridane Santana and Odei Onaindia as well. Sandaza comes to India with a wealth of experiences having played in six countries and is sure to add quality to the Hyderabad attacking unit.

The 35-year-old attacker also hailed Hyderabad’s head coach Marquez, saying, “Manolo is a very famous coach in Spain. He has experience of working in La Liga, one of the best leagues in the world, which could be important for our club. I am sure he is building a great team for the new season. I have heard good things about his training methods and how he deals with players so I cannot wait to start working with him and my new teammates.”

Hero ISL 2020-21 is set to be hosted in Goa behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Sandaza assured Hyderabad’s fans of a strong campaign. “I can assure the fans that I am going to give my best on the pitch every game. I will do everything I can to add goals and assists to the side and help us win games. I hope it will be a good season for all of us. We will fight as a team till the end of the season, and I also want to remind the fans that we are all in this together,” Sandaza concluded.