Over the last few years, Marcelinho has been one of the colossal figures in the Indian football circuit. He is undoubtedly one of the best foreigners to play in Indian Super League, and so do the numbers say. The former Flamengo youth product made his ISL debut way back in 2016 and since then he has made India his home and has been scoring and assisting for fun.
While Marce continues to train hard in Brazil and aims to make a comeback to India, IFTWC managed to get Marce on an Instagram live session, where he spoke about his time with Odisha FC, ATK Mohun Bagan and the things that went wrong between him and Odisha FC’s former head coach, Stuart Baxter.
“Everything went okay in Brazil. I had a shift in my career where I decided to play here in Brazil. I had a good outing with my new club. Although we failed to reach the final nevertheless it was a good effort altogether. Now as the season is over, I’m back home. I am definitely looking to the new opportunities that’ll possibly fall into places.”
There’s nothing secret about Indian Football fan’s love for Marcelinho and the amount of support he gets from all the fan bases of India, speaking about that Marce quoted,
“During my stay in India, I had an amazing start with Delhi Dynamos. I felt fully motivated to play in India. It was something different to play alongside a great player like Malouda. He is an amazing person. He makes the job easy for you by putting the ball between the spaces. The fans were passionate as well. I felt special in India.“
Marcelinho’s take on Personal Development
“Over the course of my time in India, I’ve developed strategically. During my time with Delhi Dynamos, I played mostly as a winger. I had an offensive look towards the game. While in Pune, I played behind Emiliano Alfaro and played more of a leader kind of role. The same goes for my time with ATK Mohun Bagan. So overall, I have developed strategically during my time in India.“
What went wrong at Odisha FC?
“I think the procedure of the coach affected the entire team’s performance. The management of Delhi Dynamos were all good to me. When the transition to Odisha FC occurred, I was happy to play for the club. The coach made many wrong choices. The management did everything to make the players and environment happy but the coach wasn’t in line with us. I couldn’t play offensive football under him. I went straight up to the coach to tell him that I’ll not be able to play what he expects me to play, that is defensive football. For the first time in my life, I was left in my hotel for two days. I trained alone. But I am a professional player. I tried to show good behaviour and I continued with it. I don’t want to talk about many things. After his ridiculous interview, everyone knows what kind of a person he is. I don’t want to talk about him.“
Marcelinho’s comeback after joining ATK Mohun Bagan
“I think the management of ATK Mohun Bagan knew me both as a person and a player. Earlier when I had just signed for Hyderabad FC, the coach had made a call to me. But I was not available at that time. But now, when the management of ATK-MB approached me again, I did not think twice. The coach knew about my playing abilities and I was happy to help the club. The big comeback against Kerala Blasters was one of the most memorable moments of the last season. I was very happy to score the goal which proved to be a turning point in ATK-MB’s campaign.”
Marcelinho’s verdict on ATK Mohun Bagan
“I think the tradition of the club sets them apart from others. They make life easy for players. The club provided good facilities to the players. Inside the bio bubble, the players stayed together. I must appreciate the league organizers. They protected the players. It was a friendly environment inside the hotel. The boys had a fun time together watching movies and playing video games.”
Marcelinho’s take on Indian Players
“The Indian players are learning in the way. They have become physically stronger than before and tactically sound. I think this makes a lot of difference. Players like Apuia, Sumit, Paul, Ashique impressed me a lot. They have something different in them. Each season we can see a new group of players and there will be more good players in the future. India is heading in the right direction. No matter what happens in the short term, the fans should keep supporting the players. I don’t want to be critical in this case. Indian players are really good.“
Marcelinho on referees
“I think there is nothing wrong with the referees. They are just humans. It is not easy to make decisions under pressure. I see improvement in the quality of referees over the years. It’s okay, the coaches need to stop shouting at the referees. During my time with Pune City, I used to do the same. But the time has come to respect the referees and we need to respect them.”
Marcelinho’s future plan
“I want to come back to India. I have massive respect for my fans for their support. I was really happy to play football for ATK Mohun Bagan and I want to come back to India. The door is open. I am available for new offers and at the end of the day let’s see who offers best.“
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