In an exclusive interview with Bikash Mohapatra in Pune, Arata Izumi, the first foreign born player to get a national call-up, talks about his surprise selection, his career and Indian football in general.
'I'm looking at it as a chance to play international football, to represent India, and to hopefully inspire other players with a similar background to me, to show them that they can come to India and do the same thing.'
Substitute Arata Izumi rose to the occasion and struck two late goals to lead Atletico de Kolkata to a 3-2 victory over Kerala Blasters in an exciting Indian Super League (ISL) football match in Kochi on Tuesday.
Playing their first International match at home after the Nehru Cup, India suffered a 2-4 defeat against Palestine in a friendly football game at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The first Person of Indian origin to find a place in India's football squad, Japanese-born Arata Izumi says accepting the country's citizenship was one of the 'toughest decisions' of his life.
Defending champions Dempo's I-League title hopes went up in smoke after they went down 2-3 to Pune FC in Pune on Friday.
Former champions Dempo suffered a shock 1-2 defeat at the hands of Pune FC in the first upset of the Federation Cup football tournament in Guwahati on Monday.
Inspired by the presence of Brazilian great Pele, defending champions Atletico de Kolkata climbed to the top of the table with a 2-1 win over last year's runners-up Kerala Blasters in their first home match of the Indian Super League.
A last-gasp goal by substitute Momar Ndoye helped FC Pune City beat FC Goa 2-1 and secure their first win in the Indian Super League football at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao on Saturday.
India failed to capitalised on the many chances that came their way and lost to Afghanistan 0-2 in the final of the 2013 SAFF Championship at the Dasrath stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
Pune FC rallied from a goal down to beat Shillong Lajong 3-1 and open their Hero Federation Cup football tournament campaign on a winning note at Tilak Stadium in Vasco.
National football team coach Wim Koevermans has announced his squad of 21 players for India's two international friendlies which are scheduled to be held this month.
Odafe Okolie scored twice from the penalty spot to guide Sporting Clube de Goa to their first win at home as they rallied to beat Mumbai FC 3-2 in the Hero I-League, in Margao, Goa, on Sunday.
The Indian football team's disastrous performance at the international level continued as it went down 0-3 to Tajikistan in an international friendly in Khujand, Tajikistan, on Wednesday.
The Indian football team's disastrous performance at the international level continued as it went down 0-3 to Tajikistan in an international friendly in Khujand, Tajikistan, on Wednesday.
Defending champions Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) will kick off their Indian Super League campaign against a formidable Chennaiyin FC coached by World Cup champion Marco Materazzi on Saturday.
An injury-time goal by captain Sunil Chhetri saved India some embarrassment in a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their second group match at the SAFF Football Championship in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
India beat Maldives 1-0 on Monday to make the SAFF Cup final for a record ninth time.
Pune FC's dream of making it into the AFC Champions League group-stage came to an end after a 0-3 defeat to Vietnamese-side Hanoi T&T FC at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi (Pune) on Wednesday.
Star striker Sunil Chhetri was bought at Rs 1.20 crore at the first-ever Indian Super League's auction featuring 10 domestic football players in Mumbai, on Friday.
Iain Hume struck his second hat-trick of the season as defending champions Atletico de Kolkata today became the first team to seal a semifinal berth following their 4-1 rout of FC Pune City in the Indian Super League football tournament at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday.
The Indian football team squandered a first-half lead to eventually go down to AFC Challenge Cup Champions Palestine 2-3 in an International friendly in Siliguri on Monday.
Ranti Martins missed a penalty and the chance to score his 200th goal in the country's top league.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances