Bengaluru, June 17: Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Mumbai City FC have completed the signing of Croatian defender Mato Grgic from NorthEast United FC.
Grgic made his ISL debut last season with the Highlanders and established a solid partnership at centre back with fellow countryman Mislav Komorski for the first half of the campaign to help the Highlanders reach the semifinals of the competition for the first time in their history.
With Grgic and Komorski holding fort at the back, NorthEast ended the league phase of ISL 2018-19 with the meanest defensive record, letting in the least number of goals (18).
📺 | It's official! Mato Grgic has signed with @MumbaiCityFC! 🖊️#HeroISL #LetsFootball #ISLTransferWatch pic.twitter.com/Z1d742cGdH
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) June 17, 2019
The combination was disrupted after Komorski's injury, which severely handicapped the side in the latter stages of the campaign.
The Croat affected a whopping 148 clearances and 32 blocks in his 19 matches, proving his impeccable positional awareness in the backline. Grgic also captained the side during the second leg of their semifinal tie against eventual champions Bengaluru FC.
"We've reinforced our backline by bringing in Croatian defender Mato Grgić who had a spectacular #HeroISL5 & helped @NEUtdFC reach their first ever semifinal. He will look to replicate those impressive performances with us too!," Mumbai City FC announced on their Twitter handle.
We have reinforced our backline by bringing in Croatian defender Mato Grgić who had a spectacular #HeroISL5 & helped @NEUtdFC reach their first ever semifinal. He will look to replicate those impressive performances with us too! #ApunKaTeam🔵 #TheIslanders pic.twitter.com/hq5GqthxER
— Mumbai City FC (@MumbaiCityFC) June 17, 2019
At Mumbai City, Grgic will join up with his former NorthEast United colleague Rowllin Borges, who moved in the same direction earlier this month.
(Source: ISL Media)