Mumbai City FC have renewed the contracts of their three foreigners for another season, IFTWC can confirm.
“The Islanders have extended the contracts of Argentine Striker Jorge Pereyra Diaz, and Australian versatile defender Rostyn Griffiths for another year. While Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera’s extension clause has also been triggered and he is prepared to stay at the club as of now,” a source who has been closely monitoring the three deals informed IFTWC.
All three players were an essential part of Mumbai City FC’s remarkable campaign in the 2022 Durand Cup where they went on till the final and ended up as runners-up, and in the 22/23 Indian Super League season, especially in their 18-match unbeaten run to win the ISL League Shield. The Islanders also reached the semi-finals of the Indian Super League in the playoffs stage and lost on penalty shootouts.
32-year-old striker Diaz scored 11 goals and racked up 6 assists in 20 ISL matches along with one goal and three assists in four matches in the 2022 Durand Cup. The Argentine had a 28% goal conversion rate and 0.55 goals/game along with a passing accuracy of 74.16%, Diaz was a menace in the final third for the opponents.
Diaz with his pace and physicality, makes him a fearful poacher for any team he plays. Along with his goal scoring prowess, he is also known for creating chances for his teammates as he is often seen to be doing throughout the season.
Meanwhile, Noguera also played a significant role in the midfield, controlling the game and also running the show, and creating waves of Mumbai attack. The 33-year-old Spaniard had 4 goals and one assist to his name in the ISL this season.
Notably, Noguera was being brought in as a late substitute in most of the matches to manage the remaining time in the game and get the results in the Islanders’ favor.
Noguera had a pass accuracy rate of 82.89% in the league. With an average of 32.15 passes per game in the limited time of 903 minutes he got, Alberto still found a way to have a 20% Goal conversion rate.
Noguera also had 11 interceptions and 15 blocks along with 55 tackles showing that he provided defensive cover whenever needed other than his usual attacking role that had him shooting and crossing.
Rostyn Griffiths turned out to be an obstruction for the opposition attackers in the Islanders’ defense. His towering presence was highly beneficial in both defense and attack, especially from the set pieces. For instance, despite playing as a center back Rostyn managed to score a goal and register an assist in the ISL this season.
Griffiths had a passing accuracy of 90.29% and 44.24 average passes/game and thus he plays an important part in Mumbai’s philosophy or preferred style of play of keeping the ball and building attacks from the back.
In the ISL alone Rostyn had made 43 clearances, 23 blocks, 14 interceptions, and 28 tackles. The Aussie defender who can also play equally well as a defensive midfielder attempted 11 shots in the league and created two chances and crosses each in the 17 matches he had played. He formed a formidable pair in defense along with Indian international Rahul Bheke and Mehtab Singh to prevent all the rival invasions.
All in all Mumbai City are on a mission right now, to maintain their performance from last season and build an even stronger team for the next season as they have obligations to win domestic competitions such as Durand Cup, Indian Super League, and the Super Cup.
Along with that, the Islanders will have the honor of representing India in its last AFC Champions League campaign for the next couple of years. In the last ACL campaign, Mumbai City finished second in the group just behind Al Shabab, and also did the unimaginable thing by winning two group stage games, and also fetching the most points by an Indian club in the ACL.
This season the Islanders will be aiming a little further though by getting out of the group stages and reaching the West Zone knockout stages of the competition as coach Des Buckingham said in the press conference about the rise and growth in standards of ambitious Mumbai City FC side with each and every passing season.
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