I set the game on fire: Delhi Dynamos winger Dos Santos on his ISL stardom

When Gustavo dos Santos burst onto the Indian Super League last year with a couple of stunning goals, it was clear that his talent was special. Two goals — one after rounding a couple of defenders before fooling the keeper, and another where he suddenly cut to his left foot before unleashing a cracker in off the bar made him the superstar of Delhi Dynamos’ stuttering campaign. At that time, his build was slight and he had no facial hair. He was a bundle of energy down the wings, a master of dribbling and this was the perfect stage to showcase his abilities. A year later at 21, he is almost six feet tall and sports a wispy mustache. He’s clearly put on some muscle and his voice has broken through the barrier of youth. [caption id=“attachment_2496220” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gustavo dos Santos Marmentini of Delhi Dynamos FC. ISL[/caption] One thing hasn’t changed though is his approach on the pitch: “I set the game on fire. I am very chilled on the pitch, hate losing and am always willing to score goals and give more than a hundred percent,” Dos Santos told Firstpost in an exclusive interview in Delhi. Dos Santos’ style comes with it’s drawbacks as well - while he oozes of creativity and tricks (his favourite being the ’nutmeg’), his tactical discipline has come under fire. This goes for any player who is so attack-minded. Even the great Cristiano Ronaldo suffered from the same deficiency early in his career. “I am trying my best inside and outside the field and nobody is perfect so I make mistakes as well. But because I am young, I am here to develop and Roberto Carlos is helping me a lot with all this because he was kind of the same as well.” Dos Santos is calm, measured and takes his time before every answer. But he is candid as well, describing his persona off the field as someone who gets ‘stressed out’ easily. He’s also pretty straight forward when it comes to admitting that the fame and recognition he gets in India is a huge pull for him to return to play in the ISL — especially with so much top talent getting diluted in the quagmire of footballing talent in his home country of Brazil. “I enjoy the attention in India and yes, I get more attention here. It’s bigger here for me — the affection people show towards me is amazing and obviously everyone enjoys hearing people scream your name. Definitely this is one of the reasons I like playing in the ISL.” He also doesn’t hold back describing the way he thinks when he’s taking on a defender — which seems natural, but is in fact very calculated. “I analyse my opponents before every match. I find out which their stronger foot is and now probably even they know that I am better with my left foot. But I’m developing my right foot as well so that I can trick them. It’s horrible when the defender is winning the one-on-one battle in a game so I hate it when I get blocked out, so I keep trying different things again and again till I beat him,” he says. So this is one smart guy — despite leaving home at the age of 11 to join Atletico Paranaense’s academy, Dos Santos managed to study late nights and finish his formal schooling. His favourite subject, apart from the obvious Physical Education (PE) is history. It’s just hard to see such an instinctive footballer have such a well-rounded personality. The winger has seen fewer minutes this year because of the incredible competition in the side for a starting XI berth, but whenever Dos Santos has come on, the game sparks into life. Carlos has mainly used him from the bench in a team which boasts the likes of former Chelsea forward Florent Malouda and Liverpool left back John Arne Riise. But Dos Santos is still one of the few players retained by Delhi after the squad and staff overhaul since last season, when the side finished fifth. “It’s different this year in terms of motivation and the sheer quality of the squad. I am not saying that last year was bad, but this year is certainly an upgrade,” he said. Dos Santos ended with five goals and two assists last season. He’s already opened his account this year with the solitary goal in Delhi’s precious 1-0 win against Atletico de Kolkata at the Salt Lake stadium. On the pitch, you can expect him to set games on fire more often. What about off it? “I’m hooked onto soap operas.” So, is that where he gets his ideas? You’ll have to find out for yourself in the next episode of Dos Santos in the ISL. The writer tweets @TheFalseNo9