Izumi Arata joins Indian Super League side FC Pune City

Pune, June 29: Indian Super League side FC Pune City have signed Indian midfielder Izumi Arata from Atletico de Kolkata.

The 33-year-old midfielder had an impressive with the Kolkata franchise in his debut season. He was a key member of the sqaud which reached the semi-finals of ISL last season.

After the completion of Arata's signing, FC Pune City CEO, Gaurav Modwel said, "A very experienced and versatile midfielder, Arata stood out for me among the Indian players in ISL 2 with a tally of 5 goals. I am extremely excited to have him in the squad and feel he has a critical role to play. Moreover for our supporters, it's an added joy to see him return to Pune."

Arata too shared his thoughts after signing for his new club. He said: "I am very excited about playing for FC Pune City. I'm familiar with coach Habas and have also played a lot of my career in Pune FC. I am eager to connect with my roaring fans in orange army. So in a lot of ways, it's like home coming for me and I am looking forward to it."

Izumi Arata is an Indian origin footballer with an Indian father and a Japanese mother. After plying his trade in Singapore for a couple of seasons, Arata came to India in 2007 and joined I-League giants Kingfisher East Bengal FC.

In the succeeding year, he went to Mahindra United and played for the corporate outfit for a year before joining Pune FC in 2009. Pune FC remained his home for nearly half a decade. After Pune FC disbanded its senior side Arata went Mumbai FC and also played in the Indian Super League for Atletico de Kolkata.

Current FC Pune City manager Antonio Lopez Habas who was at Kolkata for the last two seasons is glad to reunite with his old pupil. The Spanish manager said: "Arata's work ethic and commitment to the team he plays for is unparalleled. He is a great reader of the game and has characteristics that will integrate with my style of play. He fits perfectly into our plans for the coming season."

OneIndia News