Hyderabad FC’s Laxmikanth Kattimani: Hero ISL has benefited the Indian team by helping players develop individually

Laxmikant Kattimani has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) this season. The shot-stopper has featured in 16 games for Hyderabad FC and has produced 36 saves along with three clean sheets.

Earlier in the week, Kattimani sat down for an interview with Republic Media Network, in which he talked about Hyderabad FC, the growth of Indian Football, and more!

Speaking about HFC, Kattimani revealed the togetherness in the camp, “What differentiates this team from the others I’ve been at is the togetherness and family-like feel among the group. The foreign players and the Indian players; the technical and non-technical staff all work hard together as one unit and this reflects on the pitch”, said the 32-year-old.

“I think that now at the grassroots level, every coach wants to win matches which helps players to have strong and winning mentality at a young age. This is very important for the development of all young players and keepers.”, said the goalkeeper in reference to instilling a winning mentality among young players and its effects.

With many teams in the Hero ISL looking to develop young players and especially, young goalkeepers, Kattimani thinks that focussing on the basics is crucial for their development.

“My advice for young keepers will be to learn basic goalkeeping skills, work hard in every training session, be mentally strong and work hard to get good at playing out from the back. As a keeper, all of this is very important now.”

Talking about the growth of Indian football since the inception of the Hero ISL in 2014, he said, “We all know that ISL has helped all Indian players to improve individually and we can see that when our Indian national team plays. I believe that we are not far from playing in a World Cup as the development of players has improved in the last few years.”

Currently, Hyderabad FC sits at the top of the league table, and with four matches left of the regular season, HFC fans will hope that their core of Indian players like Laxmikant Kattimani continue their good form and deliver their first Hero ISL Winners Shield and Hero ISL Cup.