Midfielder Densill Theobald delivered a man of the match performance last Sunday to help his Dempo SC to a six-point lead at the top of the Indian Premier Professional football league as they got past Pailan Arrows.
Theobald was instrumental in Dempo’s 2-0 win at the Salt Lake Stadium with Nigerian striker Ranti Martins netting both goals.
The win took Dempo's tally to 43 points – which is six more than the second-placed Mohun Bagan (37) – from 20 matches while Arrows continue to remain winless with only eight points from 18 matches. The tournament will have a long 40-day break to accommodate national team's commitments and will see its 21st round resuming on March 24.
The Dempo management gave Theobald permission to return home for the Carnival weekend but the ex-T&T captain opted to remain at the club instead and focus on his readiness for the remainder of the season as he targets leading Dempo into the Asian Champions League.,
“Carnival is always there but playing in the Asian Champions League doesn’t come around too often,” Theobald said.
“I think it’s important for me to finish my career on a high and sacrifices like these will hopefully have long term benefits.”
Commenting on Dempo’s run, he added: “We had mixed results after a good start and since I’ve been back into the starting team, we’ve won four games, losing one and drawing one. Right now we are heading in the right direction in terms of winning the League and qualifying the Asian champions league.
“I never thought I would be playing in front of twenty thousand fans in our home games and that to me is signal that the game in India is becoming more and more popular. All the fans simply want to shake my hands when they see me out in the city and say’ just help us win the League Densill.”
The former Caledonia AIA touched on the current matter involving the 2006 World Cup players and the TTFF. Theobald was one of the players who opted out of the court proceedings during the early stages.
“Every person has their own decisions to make and they are entitled to it. I wanted to focus on playing football and my professional career. At the same time I cannot afford to say the current players are wrong for their current stance. I know some of them have not had successful days in football following the World Cup and this is their bread and butter.
They need to be comfortable so hopefully these monies they are receiving can help them live better lives and hopefully they will play a part in developing our football later on,” Theobald added.
“It made news here in India and journalists have been asking me about the situation. Aside from everything, I hope the troubles can be resolved and that the national teams, especially the Olympic side, can have the chance to play and represent the country in the best possible way. That’s what we all live for as players and officials at the end of the day,” Theobald concluded.