#TFGinterview: Dan Ignat's Indian adventure - of hard turfs, young teammates, bad starts and hopeful futures

IN THE END, perhaps his absence made a lot of difference.

Experienced Romanian defender Dan Ignat, a new recruit for Shillong Lajong for the I-League season, joined the club a month before the league started and on short notice became one of the defensive lynchpins in a team filled with young Indian talent. In the first two matches that Lajong played, they lost, but Dan's work-rate at the back and a growing understanding with his fellow defenders seemed to be strengthening the team. 

But disaster struck before Lajong could face Aizawl FC in the first NorthEast Derby of the season. Dan picked up a groin injury during practice and had to miss out on the match. When Lajong took to the pitch with a young all-Indian defence, the difference became apparent very soon. With a few crucial defensive mistakes and a missed penalty, defeat was inevitable.

Dan Ignat watched it all on his hotel room television. The 30 year old soft-spoken stopper from Drobeta-Tumu Severin sounded like he had already developed a deep affection for his new club, one that he has been with for less than two months, when he sat down with TFG to discuss his journey in India so far, and his aspirations for the season and beyond,

"It's been great, coming to India. I have played in my country Romania at second and first division, and third division football in Oman and Jordan. Then I came to Lajong and immediately got to play the two biggest clubs in the country, Bengaluru and Mohun Bagan, away from home at the very beginning. It was a great experience."

Although playing against the two title contenders was a fitting initiation into the I-League for the 6 foot 1 physically imposing defender, he said the losses did not help,

"This is no good for us. Shillong Lajong are a young team, and these kids need confidence and reassurance. Not winning the initial games was bad, and we need to start taking points from now on so the team can play more freely for the rest of the season."

One of the things that impressed about playing in India, Dan said, that the level of playing was quite high. But there are things about the I-League that bother him as well, and he was open about his concerns,

"The quality of football in I-League is very good, I can tell that from playing against Bengaluru and Bagan. But the problem is that quite a few clubs have stadiums with synthetic turfs rather than grass pitches. Although most of the Lajong players are used to playing on artificial turf in our own stadium, for me it's a little difficult. But for me, as a defender, it makes things tough for me during tackles. But it is the situation I am facing, so I go for the tackle anyway, no problem. This is football, and I have to adapt and plan for whatever conditions I am given to play in. Whether it's the turfs, or having a short pre-season and then immeidately playing 6 matches in 24 days... it's all part of the game."

And that's what Dan is preoccupying himself with, the game. He spelled out his mission in India in clear terms,

"I'm here to play football. Not to be a tourist and enjoy life. I want to play good football, help the team and strengthen my future. Because in India, with ISL and everything, it's a good condition to play in."

So was playing in ISL an ambition that Dan cherished, and a primary reason behind his coming to India? He dodged this one,

"I don't know... I think every player here would like to play in ISL. It's a good league... life has its surprises. We'll see."

Being aware of the ISL/I-League dynamic in Indian football, one thing that stood out to Dan was the way the season was shaped, with two shorter leagues making up the domestic calendar instead of a long, full-season league. He said, 

"I was surprised that here in India the league was so short. ISL runs for 3-4 months and I-League runs for 4 months. That's a very short time. In my career, every time I've played a full season, it's been a minimum of 10 months. But you are saying that ISL will become a longer league in the future spanning 9 months, so that's very good. That's normal and you get enough time to prepare for each game."

One thing Dan is yet to do in India, though, is to spend enough time in his adopted hometown. Shillong Lajong have played only away games till now, and he has only had a short glimpse of the Meghalaya capital city where his club is based,

"I'm yet to spend much time there but I can tell that it's a good city. Good people, too, and that's very nice. And my club, Shillong Lajong, they have some good staff, good members... all the people help you every time, so it's very good for the players."

Speaking about players, Ignat being a 30 year old player with international experience in a dressing room full of U-22 players, he has quickly become that guy in the team to whom a lot of players turn to for advice and to learn from his experience. Dan said he was enjoying helping his teammates out,

"I talk to the youngsters in the team a lot, I want to share my experiences with them any time I can, and help them out in different situations be it in training or during the game. But the most important thing for them is to work their hardest and listen to our head coach, Mr Thangboi Singto. Because he is a very good coach, and if the players respect what the coach wants to do with the team, it becomes easier for everyone, players and staff. I think it's important for these youngsters to play competitive games and gain more experience. That's the way they will get more confidence, and help us win points."

But Lajong today are at the bottom of the table with 3 losses out of 3 matches. What's not working? Dan dove into the two games he played and what he gathered from them,

"We played Bengaluru away in the first game, and I think the team was a little afraid. It's my opionion. I don't know, may be it's a bad opinion... but that's what I thought. I think we gave them too much respect. And in the match against Mohun Bagan when we were 1-0 down, my team had a very clear penalty. That was a big mistake for the referee to deny us that. And then instead of going 1-1 we went 2-0 down. Of course this is football, sometimes referees are under pressure and end up giving a 5-10% preference to the home team, or the seemingly better team. So we ended up losing again."

Now, Shillong Lajong as a team are standing at a critical juncture. They have lost their initial 3 matches, and what they have are 5 back to back home matches. If they are to make a stand and turn the whole campaign around, this is their chance. And Dan said he wanted the fans to play a big part in it,

"I want the supporters to come to the stadium in larger numbers. Because as you know, this is a young team. And these players need support to gain confidence so that we can push ourselves harder and go for wins. I promise that all the players will put give their all on the pitch, and I am asking all the fans to help us out on matchdays. Football is always better with having fans back you during games."

Dan is hopeful that playing at home and getting a couple of good results will turn Lajong's campaign around in a big way. And though he acknowledged that winning the league isn't a big possibility, he said that the club can still have a very good season,

"I want to play well every game and take maximum out of it. I think if we push hard we can finish among the top three in the I-League. Winning the league is tough this season, but when the Federation Cup comes around we will give it our best. It will be crucial to prepare well for every game, and respect the coach's wishes 100%."