KOLKATA: East Bengal's new Japanese recruit Yusa Katsumi said on Wednesday he wants to end the city football giants' title drought in the I-League, while downplaying the importance of winning against his former employers Mohun Bagan.
Katsumi was Mohun Bagan's captain and won the I-League and the Federation Cup with the green and maroon brigade during his four-year stay at the club.
"I will never forget Mohun Bagan. I had a great time there and have a lot of happy memories," Katsumi told reporters at a press meet here.
"My target is to play well. Winning the derby is not the sole intention. I want to win the I-League. East Bengal have not won the league for a long time and I want to end the drought. Khalid (Jamil) is a good coach and I am looking forward to working with him," the 28-year-old playmaker said.
Katsumi said he had a word with East Bengal's Trinidad and Tobago forward Willis Plaza and the latter gave him advice.
"I spoke with him and he gave me some advice. My first target is to win the first match of the season and then take one match at a time," he said.
Katsumi, who attended Japan's training on the eve of their match against England in the Round-of-16 FIFA Under-17 World Cup clash, said his heart cries for his country who lost 3-5 on penalty shootouts.
"My heart cries for Japan," Katsumi said.
The I-League starts in the first week of November.