CHENNAI CROWNED ISL CHAMPS
LAST-MINUTE MENDOZA BLITZ DOWNS GOA 3-2
All the big names associated with the Indian Super League (ISL) have said it is the challenge of helping football in India develop that got them here. Stiven Mendoza, 23, walked the opposite route on Sunday night: It is the ISL that made him a better player, he said.
With the glittering Golden Ball and Golden Boot sat on the table, Mendoza said he doesn’t have words to thank coach Marco Materazzi and Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani for trusting him last year. “No one knew me then. That gave me the possibility to go to a better league,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
“Here, I got the skills and motivation to get to a better team. I have a three-year contract with Corinthians and I will be back with them in January, hopefully taking a lot of confidence from my performance in ISL2 where I am proud of what I achieved. I am waiting to go back and play my best for Corinthians,’ said Mendoza.
Two days before the final when the mood was a lot calmer, FC Goa coach Zico had told HT this about Mendoza: “If he keeps same performance in big centres of football, sure. Because in Corinthians, I think he has played some five games. If he shows the same football like in India, in South America and in Europe, he has a big chance playing for Colombia.”
Before the final, Mendoza had told HT that his hattrick against FC Goa was special “as we were winless going into the game but produced a great team performance.”
Even when Chennaiyin FC were on t he brink of elimination, Mendoza said: “We have quality so we have always believed in ourselves and even more importantly, our togetherness made a big difference.” So it fit that Mendoza would refer to the collective when asked how he felt after missing the penalty. “I was confident my teammates would step up and I stayed calm.” GOA MISS CEREMONY FC Goa didn’t come out for the presentation ceremony after the final and no one came for the post-match media conference either. The FC Goa media manager was not available for comment. By the time Materazzi and Mendoza were finished with their media conference, Zico and his team had left the building.
I t was l ear nt t hat Chennaiyin FC’s Elano Blumer had tried to pacify an agitated FC Goa official but got surrounded by them in front of their dugout. What happened there wasn’t clear but Goa team and officials went in soon after.
Here, I got the skills and motivation to get to a better team. I have a three-year contract with Corinthians and I will be back with them in January, hopefully taking a lot of confidence from my ISL performance
STIVEN MENDOZA, CFC striker