Karan Amin: “It felt amazing to make my debut in Mumbai.”

by Siddharth Yadav October 6, 2018

Jamshedpur FC made a best possible start to kick-start their ISL 2018-19 campaign with a fine 2-0 win against Mumbai City FC last Sunday. Mario Arques and Pablo Morgado’s strike in either half was enough to give Cesar Ferrando’s side all three points. But if there was one player whose night became far more memorable was Jamshedpur’s Mumbai-born Defender Karan Amin.

The 29-year old defender made his ISL debut in the last stages of the match to help his side defend a two-goal lead against the host Mumbai City FC. Karan is quite synonyms in the Mumbai Football fraternity as he plied his trade in the youth ranks of Mahindra United, Air India, and Mumbai FC before he got selected for Jamshedpur FC earlier this year.

Speaking exclusively to Footballcounter, Karan expressed his happiness after making his ISL debut against his hometown club Mumbai City FC. “It felt amazing to make my debut in the first ISL game of the season and that too against my hometown club. To be honest, it was a combination of anxiety and happiness.

When asked what went through his mind while entering the field, Karan responded: “Only winning and giving my best was on my mind till the final whistle. I was instructed by my coaches to do a specific job in defence. The first thought that came to my mind was, we cannot let the lead go away.”

For any professional football player, to make his debut against his hometown club is quite an emotional ride. On Sunday, Karan Amin felt the same. “It is the most special feeling for a player to play and make his debut in his hometown. It is an indescribable feeling and quite beautiful as well. I am thankful to Mumbai football for whatever I am today. I wish every footballer in the city makes it to a professional team and makes it big.”

Regarding the pre-match strategy, the 29-year old defender said: “The first game of the season, that too an away game is difficult in its own way. We got our 3 points. That was the plan all along. We had a month-long pre-season in Spain, where the coaching staff worked a lot with us.

We did not train and focused specifically on our game against Mumbai City because the coach already had a style of play. Mumbai indeed is a strong opponent and we had to prove a point. And, I guess, we just did that,” Karan concluded.