Will try to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Delhi Dynamos, says Gianluca Zambrotta
Delhi Dynamos head coach Gianluca Zambrotta has expressed his wish to persuade Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to play for the capital club, once the Swede quits European football. Zambrotta was also optimistic about the ISL developing into one of the top leagues in the world.
Delhi Dynamos have had a reasonably good start to the third season of the Indian Super League (ISL) winning a match and drawing another under new coach Gianluca Zambrotta. Adding to the promises, the Italian has expressed his desire to bring Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to India once he calls time on his journey in the European leagues. Zambrotta, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, played alongside Ibrahimovic at AC Milan for two seasons.
“Given his fan following in India, I think Zlatan would want to come and end his career here. On my end, I will definitely try and convince him to play for Delhi Dynamos,” Zambrotta told Indian Express in an interview.
After taking over the reins as Delhi Dynamos head coach in July this year, Zambrotta revealed that his former Italian teammate Alessandro Del Piero, who also played for the Dynamos in the first season of ISL, convinced him to take up the job.
“Del Piero told me good things about the club and their sincerity towards football, which convinced me that it is the perfect opportunity for me,” Zambrotta said.
Zambrotta led the Delhi side to a 3-1 win over defending champions Chennaiyin FC in his first game as Delhi Dynamos'
“I am happy to have a professional set of players on my team. This allows us to work hard and the results from the first two matches are a good testament to the way they have been responding to our training sessions,” the 39-year old said.
Explaining his philosophy as a coach, Zambrotta said, “My philosophy is that the footballers should be training hard every day, even on non-match days. It is critical that the entire team operates in a planned manner and attack and defend wherever needed.”
The Italian also believes that the ISL will be among world's top league in the near future.
“India will soon be a big destination for international football. Given the level of competitiveness in the Indian Super League and the quality of Indian players, I am sure it will be amongst the top five football leagues