ISL: Still have a lot of respect for Delhi, says Pune City's Pereira

Pune City FC striker Marcelo Leite Pereira, who played for the Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament last year, said on Friday that he still has a lot of respect for his former club.

Pereira, who played alongside the likes of Florent Malouda last season, said playing for Delhi was good experience but since he is now with Pune, he will adjust himself to the playing style of his new team.

The Brazilian striker also said changing teams is a part and parcel of professional football and adjusting to new environs is business as usual for him.

Riding on some brilliant play from the striker, Delhi made it to the semis-final of the tournament in the last season.

"I respect my connection with Delhi but as a professional player the colour of my jersey has changed and so the new team is my priority," Pereira told the media here.

"We often change teams. So it is very normal for us. And yes, if I score a goal against Delhi I am definitely going to celebrate," he added.

In the ISL, Pune City has not performed as per expectations. In the first season they only managed to win four games out of 14 and finished Sixth.

In the second season, they again won only four matches to finish seventh and in the third season they finished at the sixth spot.

Commenting on the preparations for the upcoming season, Pune coach Ranko Popovic said: "We dont go by records. We will try to play good game. We will not think about how many matches we have won instead we would like to go ahead one by one."

"We would definitely want to play the semi-final but that won't be out goal. Our goal is to reach the final and win it," he added.

--IANS

gau/ajb/bg