1. How does it feel to make a comeback at Mohun Bagan again?

Ans: Oh, I know myself and my strengths. I knew that it was just a matter of time that I would return to mainstream football. I had good offers from Goan clubs and East Bengal had called me just after the end of last season. But I am glad to be back at Bagan and it feels great to be back.

2. Douglas, before you joined Mohun Bagan this season or rather just a few days back, most of the media had already written you off. Some said that Douglas is finished, some said that he is too old an horse and over aged, did this serve as an extra motivation for you to take it as a challenge to prove them wrong ?

Ans: See, after all the performances that I have delivered all through these years consistently, I really don’t need to prove myself before anybody anymore. This mentality is so typical of Indian media, especially Kolkata media. Just look around the whole world! Look at AC Milan. Just check the ages of the players except for Kaka who is in mid 20s, others mostly above 30 and I am just 33!  Nowadays, these news reports really don’t bother me. Tell me some thing - Shall I be able to ask anything to you about Cricket? No! - Because I don’t know anything about that game. It’s the same thing about the media over here. Many of them do not have much knowledge of the game.

3. What about your relationship with Subhash Bhowmick and what was your experience?

Ans: He was like my father, my mentor when I was in East Bengal. He really helped me a lot. I liked his coaching. He faced few problems in his personal life and everybody wrote a lot of things about it, but that was his personal life and not his professional life. However, in Mohammedan Sporting, unfortunately he behaved in a little different way, may be because he was worried the officials may remove him from coaching.

I have learnt a few lessons, never ever to try to change others and points others mistakes which I tried to do in the past. I tried to change few players as I found they were making mistakes but I was misunderstood because of that. I will never attempt to do that again. I know I can’t change the world.

4. Lets talk about the Big Game on 6th now.  What are your feelings about it?

Ans: Oh, this is a very important game for everybody. We have to play in a very planned and organized manner. Don’t expect a very high standard of football on that day, but you expect a lot of tactical play. Remember its East Bengal who will have to come out and attack. They are the ones who are lagging in the points table and they will be harmed even if it’s a draw. So we have this psychology of theirs in our mind and hence our coach will play cards according to that. We have some strategies in mind, but I cant discuss that over here. Hope you understand.

5. The East Bengal Coach – Mr. Bhattacharya has today challenged you in a leading Bengali daily that he is hell bent on breaking the ‘Douglas Myth’ this 6th of November. How do you react to this?

Ans:  Firstly, I do not read news on derby these days.  Well, I trust in God and believe in myself, I don’t find any reason for retaliating to these statements. Let people say what they want to. I will do my own work on the field and let my actions speak. Then after I have got my desired result, I can think of giving him some answers, though I really don't like that exactly, it is not my nature.

6. What are your personal goals for this match?

Ans:  Yes, this match is very important for me. But I am very relaxed and am not getting overworked thinking about this match. Usually I am more relaxed while playing derby matches, be it for Mohun Bagan or East Bengal rather than playing against small teams.  I know what my coach wants very well and I know what I am capable of delivering to my team and I shall do just that.

7. Douglas, you had been with Mohun Bagan last year too. What changes do you find in this team as compared to that of last year?

Ans: Last year our team was quite good but few players were very egoistic and we were not playing as a team, some players were more interested about themselves, about their style and was not thinking as a team. This year, our coach is seeing to that we play as a combined unit, as a team. Football is a team game, 2-3 individual brilliance cannot yield us good result every day, we have to play as a team and till now Mohun Bagan is doing that and like the attitude of this coach. We have the most experienced heads in Indian Football in our team. We have a bunch of very creative midfielders who can ease out the pressure off the defenders. Last year, some of the players believed in the individual game more than that of the team game.

We have a bunch of young and promising players. I like Lalampuia. He is an extremely talented player and very good skillful footballer but he has to be a little more disciplined in his personal life and little ambitious and he can be a gem for Indian football. Ayan is very good player but since he is very young, he does not have the maturity to play for 90 minutes but in future he will definitely be a good player. He needs to be more patient and go on learning. Football is a continuous phase of learn. He needs to understand that. I like the PIO, Gobin a lot but his style of playing is not matching with the style here. He has a great sense of the game, has a strong build up and is a great one touch footballer. Everytime he is passing the ball at his first chance and expecting a return from the fellow players and not getting the pass. He has to hold the ball a little, run with the ball. He needs to understand that in India, he will have to play it the Indian way. I have asked him to see more of Indian football rather than of EPL or other leagues. He will have to hold and control the ball longer. If he can see to these things, he has a great future. Rahul Kumar too is a great prospect. If we set our goals right and play accordingly, we are the team to clinch the NFL this year. We will score goals in all matches, our offence is great, we have the likes of Baichung, Barreto and Lalampuia, so we don't have worry regarding that, but the main problem is in our defence, especially since few key players are injured. I will try desperately to see that Mohun Bagan does not concede goals. Since our attacking force is very good, I do not have go and attack much other than during corner or free-kicks.

8. Its now almost two seasons that you are with Mohun Bagan. What differences do you find between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?

Ans:  See, on paper, East Bengal may show that they are very professional, but it is not so. The officials interfere too much into the technical things. They don’t let the players play with a free mind. And the worst part is that, those officials (I wont say the names) who understands the least about the game used to speak the most in East Bengal. In Mohun Bagan, the atmosphere is very good. Players can play their own game with an open mind and hence its very congenial. But of course, the supporters are the same for both teams. I have tremendous respect for all the supporters of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

I like few things of Mohun Bagan and their officials. Firstly, they do not interfere with players and coach. In other teams, I have seen officials and nontechnical persons shouting at players for making missed passes during practice which does not take place at all here. In other teams, officials do not ask players whether they are fit or not, many times they force players to play with injury. In Mohun Bagan, coach and officials ask players if they are fit or not and always prefer to give chance to players who are 100% fit. Only one thing that lacks slightly in all clubs of Kolkata are lack of proper gyms. Hopefully these will be rectified in recent future.

9. After you suffered that nasty injury while at East Bengal, did you think that you would make such a stupendous comeback ?

Ans: I knew very well that I would be back and in a big way. It was just that, I restarted with a wrong team. See, my injury wasn’t that serious. I could have stayed in India for the surgery too. India is a great place for the surgeries, but India isn’t the ideal place for the recovery phase after that. Hence I had to go back to Brazil.

10. How do you feel that Indian football has evolved during your long stint in India ?

Ans. Football in India has improved a lot. Not only have the improved in the technical aspect, but their overall outlook about the game has changed. Players are a lot more professional and the physical fitness too has improved. Since their fitness has improved, the speed of the game has also hastened but the infrastructure has to improve more. More and more stadiums like Howrah and Barasat has to come up. Another thing, ground condition has also improved tremendously and our ground is one of the best grounds in Kolkata and that's why you are seeing great football from our side this season.

11.  Before we wrap up our discussion, how do you cherish the goal that you had scored in front of the FIFA Present (Sepp Blatter) last season against East Bengal.

Ans:  Oh, it was a great moment, but not because the FIFA president or some other celebrity was present over there, but because I had helped my team win and get three points. I had proved to everybody that Douglas can still decide the fate of games in Indian football.


Thanks a lot for your time Douglas, and all the very best for the match on 6th !