After spending all of last season on the bench of Mumbai City FC, Nathan Rodrigues finally made his debut this Indian Super League season and within five appearances, he has already got fans talking about him. (More Football News)
Rodrigues, a product of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) academy, joined Mumbai City FC last year but could not find an opportunity. He made his debut this year on October 2 against against Bengaluru FC at the Mumbai Football Arena. Since then, the 20-year-old has not looked back.
The youngster admitted that he was really nervous ahead of his debut and even on the field after his first ever ISL match began.
"Starting with the warm-up, I was completely nervous," he told the Times of India. "For the first five minutes (after kick-off) I was nervous, even upset with myself. I was wondering, 'What if I make a mistake?' Then my thoughts were, 'Can I make some good passes?' When the match started, I made some good passes, won duels too, and that's how I gained confidence."
With first-choice left back Akash Mishra out injured, Rodrigues has established himself in the Islanders backline. He has now started in five back-to-back matches and also registered himself on the scoresheet in the last two matches.
The 20-year-old scored against Kerala Blasters in a 4-2 victory for Mumbai City FC and then scored the lone goal in the draw against Chennaiyin during the league’s landmark 1000th match.
"It's a great feeling to score in successive matches, it's a bit confidence booster. I believe I can perform at a much higher level. The goals came from set-pieces. I stuck to my role, and what was assigned to me (during training). Now I have to be consistent with my performances."
He is now looking forward to do well in the league.
"I was happy that coach (Kratky) believed in me, he backed me. Since then, my only aim has been to do good and make him feel happy,” he said.
