Chennaiyin FC’s Italian coach Marco Materazzi said the people of Chennai have been bravehearts, and showing courage in the face of adversity.
Referring to the recent floods in the city, he said: “I have never seen anything like that. To see the folks of Chennai struggling, but still have the strength to smile and start over again, should make India proud.
“My thoughts go out to the people who have the strength to start over.”
With the Chennai airport closed until December 6, the Chennaiyin FC team travelled by road to the Tirupati air base, flew to Mumbai by a chartered flight and then took a three-and-half hour road journey to Pune to play its last ISL league match against FC Pune City here on Saturday.
The team, minus the injured Raphael Augusto, practised at the Balewadi Stadium under lights.
When asked about player fatigue, he said: “When you have games like this, the distance you travel doesn’t matter. I think in this situation the people who suffer are the citizens of Chennai. For privileged people like us, it doesn’t matter if we have to travel one or two days.”