CHENNAI: Come Saturday and
Romario Jesuraj
will face a team from the city where his journey began.
FC Goa will face
Chennaiyin FC in an
Indian Super League (
ISL
) encounter and though Romario never played for Chennaiyin, he has a deep connect with Chennai.
Romario was all but a young boy when he moved to Chennai from Dindigul leaving everything behind. He then made his way up before playing for Chennai City FC in the I-League.
He came into prominence in 2018-19 when the I-League newbies made history with a title. In the next year, he travelled to Kolkata to join Mohun Bagan and though he had a bittersweet experience there, he is still an I-League medal winner. Now with FC Goa, Romario wants to make it three in a row.
“FC Goa is now my home and family. My Chennai chapter is now in the past, though I am forever indebted to the city this is my future,” Romario told TOI on Friday.
“Winning the I-League title with Chennai City was one of the best moments of my life. We came out of nowhere and weaved a fairytale. We had an excellent coach (Akbar Nawas) who has helped me grow. He taught me what professionalism is and taught me how to improve as a player.
"Also playing with the Spanish contingent at Chennai City has helped. But now my goal is to win the ISL title for Goa and we are doing everything that we can,” he added.
The present crop of Tamil Nadu players is exciting. Players like Soosairaj, Nandha, Edwin, Michel Regin and Romario are helping put the southern state back on
Indian football
map.
“We have all played together and we are very tight bunch,” Romario says. “We still talk to each other almost every day we are always there to encourage each other.”
The year 2020 has not been easy on anyone because of the raging pandemic and it has been particularly hard for ISL players who are now trapped in a bio bubble.
"We all get frustrated. We cannot leave the hotel floor, we can't go outside, we have to play in an empty stadium. It takes a toll on all of us. Also with a hectic schedule of ISL we hardly get time to recover before we have to play again. But such is the format and we have to try and find a way to win given any circumstance."
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