CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC have pulled off a coup, re-signing Colombian attacker John Stiven Mendoza for the second season of the Indian Super League.
Mendoza, who was one of the stars of the tournament last year, comes on loan from Brazilian giants Corinthians. Mendoza had joined Chennaiyin last year after the expiry of his contract at Colombian outfit Envigado and played a key role in Chennaiyin finishing top of the league standings. The 23-year-old scored four goals in seven starts for the club.
“I am very excited to join Chennaiyin FC on loan for the second season of the ISL. It is an honour playing for Corinthians in Brazil and I have been enjoying my experience there. But I had some fantastic moments in the ISL last year so I would like to thank Chennaiyin FC and Marco for giving me the opportunity to come back. I am grateful to Corinthians for agreeing to this move and I know that this time there will be more expectations from me. It was wonderful to be at Chennaiyin FC last year both on and off the pitch so I can’t wait to get started again and especially play in front of our home fans at the Marina Arena. Last year I couldn’t play the full tournament due to injury but this time I want to remain fit throughout and help Chennaiyin become the champions,” Mendoza said.
Chennaiyin coach Marco Materazzi was also elated with the signing. “I am very happy to have Mendoza back with us for this year’s ISL. We had been working very hard for our foreign signings and always knew that it would be difficult to find a player of Mendoza’s calibre. So the best solution was to retain Mendoza and I am thankful to Corinthians for the agreement. Mendoza was one of our best players last year but he is still only 23 and thus there is plenty of room for improvement,” he said from Chennaiyin’s pre-season camp in Perugia.