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I-League: Chirag’s Safar Sardar Idolizes Indian International Deepak Mandal
Goal.com caught up with the young Chirag defender….
20-Nov-2009 11:23:13 PM
Chirag
United defender Safar Sardar has been one of the most impressive young players
in the I-League so far.
At the same time last season, Safar was playing for George Telegraph after being released by Chirag in the summer.
He was one of the best defenders in the Kolkata League last season and after doing well in the second division and then in the Santosh Trophy for West Bengal, Chirag re-signed him this summer.
Safar is happy that he is playing at the very highest level now and is enjoying every minute of it.
Speaking to Goal.com he said, “I am happy that I could show Chirag that I am capable of playing at this level. They released me last summer and that motivated me to do well in George Telegraph and make a comeback.
“This is my first season in the I-League so I am relishing every minute that I am playing. I just want to keep improving and help Chirag get success.”
He further added that at Chirag the presence of Subrata Bhattacharya has made him a much better player and playing alongside the experienced Brazilian Eduardo Coelho makes it a lot easier for him.
“Our coach was a defender himself so I learn a lot from him. Other than that he gives me a lot of confidence and always encourages me.
“Du has a lot of experience so it’s good to play alongside him. We have built up a very good understanding now and that helps us a lot on the pitch.”
Safar then talked about his career ambitions and revealed the name of the one Indian player he looks up to.
“I am very happy at Chirag but there is a long way to go in my career so at some point I want to play for one of the big clubs of Kolkata.
“Personally I am an East Bengal fan so I would love to play for them one day. And of course like any footballer my dream is to represent the national team so hopefully that will happen soon.
“I have a lot of respect for Deepak Mandal. He is a very good defender and his achievements both for club and country are truly remarkable.”
Finally the defender talked about his team’s chances in the I-League this season and looked ahead to other tournaments also.
“Like any team we are playing in the league to win it but obviously first we want to be in a safe position.
“So far we have made a very good start and so there is a lot of self belief in the squad. It is unfortunate that we lost against Churchill but we didn’t play that badly and we were missing Edmilson.
“Now we are focusing on the Kolkata League, then there is the Federation Cup. After that once the I-League resumes in January we will be aiming to get back to winning ways,” he concluded.
Amoy Ghoshal
At the same time last season, Safar was playing for George Telegraph after being released by Chirag in the summer.
He was one of the best defenders in the Kolkata League last season and after doing well in the second division and then in the Santosh Trophy for West Bengal, Chirag re-signed him this summer.
Safar is happy that he is playing at the very highest level now and is enjoying every minute of it.
Speaking to Goal.com he said, “I am happy that I could show Chirag that I am capable of playing at this level. They released me last summer and that motivated me to do well in George Telegraph and make a comeback.
“This is my first season in the I-League so I am relishing every minute that I am playing. I just want to keep improving and help Chirag get success.”
He further added that at Chirag the presence of Subrata Bhattacharya has made him a much better player and playing alongside the experienced Brazilian Eduardo Coelho makes it a lot easier for him.
“Our coach was a defender himself so I learn a lot from him. Other than that he gives me a lot of confidence and always encourages me.
“Du has a lot of experience so it’s good to play alongside him. We have built up a very good understanding now and that helps us a lot on the pitch.”
Safar then talked about his career ambitions and revealed the name of the one Indian player he looks up to.
“I am very happy at Chirag but there is a long way to go in my career so at some point I want to play for one of the big clubs of Kolkata.
“Personally I am an East Bengal fan so I would love to play for them one day. And of course like any footballer my dream is to represent the national team so hopefully that will happen soon.
“I have a lot of respect for Deepak Mandal. He is a very good defender and his achievements both for club and country are truly remarkable.”
Finally the defender talked about his team’s chances in the I-League this season and looked ahead to other tournaments also.
“Like any team we are playing in the league to win it but obviously first we want to be in a safe position.
“So far we have made a very good start and so there is a lot of self belief in the squad. It is unfortunate that we lost against Churchill but we didn’t play that badly and we were missing Edmilson.
“Now we are focusing on the Kolkata League, then there is the Federation Cup. After that once the I-League resumes in January we will be aiming to get back to winning ways,” he concluded.
Amoy Ghoshal
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