With more than 100 international caps in his kitty, Didier Zokora feels Indian Super League is a “fantastic” concept and he did not have to think much to join it.
The Ivory Coast World Cupper will be one of the most experienced players to join FC Pune City in the Indian Super League.
“ISL is a fantastic concept for Indian football and having played in Africa and Europe, I was very happy to have got the offer to play in India. I want to contribute to Indian football,” Zokora told.
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The 34-year-old Zokora, who turned out 123 times in Ivory Coast colours besides playing for Tottenham Hotspur in English Premier League and Sevilla in La Liga, said he was excited to have come to a new country.
“India is a new place for me and I believe this country should come up in football. I have enjoyed training with the Indian players in Turkey under very good facilities. The atmosphere is very good and we have gelled well as a group,” he said.
“The Indian players in my team are a talented lot and they need this kind of exposure (foreign training) and playing along with international players,” he added.
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Zokora, who also had club stints with AS Saint Etienne (France top division side) and Trabzonspor and Akhisar Belediyespor (both Turkish top tier sides), was also upbeat about the chances of FC Pune City in this edition of ISL, though they finished sixth out of the eight teams last year.
“We have a very good team with the likes of Adrian Mutu and other international players who have played in top leagues in Europe and other countries. We have some very talented Indian players,” said Zokora who normally plays as defensive midfielder.
“I think we can do very well this year under David Platt, who is also a very experienced person as a player and as a coach. We can go all the way this time,” he added.
Zokora, however, said that the three-month window for ISL is too short and felt it should be longer.
“Three months window for a league is very short and I think it should be made longer. It will be more beneficial for the Indian players if they play with this kind of top international players in a longer league,” he said.
Zokora wished that Ivory Coast and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, with whom he has played a lot in the national team, should have played in the ISL. Drogba had reportedly shown interest when contacted by an ISL franchise though he chose to sign for a Major League Soccer side.
“Oh, he (Didier Drogba) is a great player, a legend and an inspiration there in Ivory Coast. I wish he was here in ISL. I played along with him a lot in the national team and before that also. He should play in the ISL. That will do a lot of good to Indian football,” said Zokora who has been playing professional football since 2000.
Zokora and Drogba had attended the same academy in Ivory Coast in their young days.'