Mumbai City signs former ATK and Jamshedpur defender Tiri
Mumbai City has signed former ATK, Jamshedpur, and ATK Mohun Bagan defender Tiri after releasing Mourtada Fall ahead of the 2023-24 Indian Super League season.
The 31-year old has put pen to paper on a one-year contract keeping him at the club till the end of the 2023-24 season.
He said, “I’m glad to be here and join Mumbai City. The culture at this club is highly spoken of across the league and the ambitions here are for everyone to see. I have played in India for a long time but I want to continue winning and I’m looking forward to defending the league title and winning trophies with Mumbai City. It’s a new chapter for me and one that I’m very excited to get started with.”
After playing more than 1000 minutes in five consecutive ISL seasons between 2017-18 and the 2021-22 season, Tiri missed the entirety of the 2022-23 ISL season with injury where Juan Ferrando led the Mariners to a maiden ISL title.
After coming through the Cadiz Academy and featuring for Cadiz B in 48 appearances, Tiri made his debut for Cadiz in the 2009-10 season coming off the bench in the 65th minute. Before the start of the 2011-12 season, the defender moved to Atletico Madrid B and was a regular figure in their defense making 85 appearances across three seasons.
ATK decided to bring the Spaniard to the ISL ahead of the 2015 ISL season and he continued with the club in the 2016 ISL season as well winning the ISL title with the erstwhile Kolkata-based club.
Before the start of the 2017-18 ISL season, one of the two new clubs introduced to the league, Jamshedpur snapped up the Spaniard in the player draft and Tiri made 48 league appearances over the next three seasons scoring three goals for the Red Miners.
Ahead of the 2020-21 ISL season, the newly integrated ATK Mohun Bagan snapped up the services of the Spaniard making 38 appearances over the next two seasons helping the club reach the playoffs in both seasons.
Mumbai City head coach Des Buckingham talked glowingly about landing the signature of the most experienced overseas player in the league.
He said,
“Tiri is a player I have tracked and enjoyed watching since arriving in India. He is a very good defender and possesses a lot of the qualities we look for in our players in this position.”
The Englishman further talked about how Tiri already knows the league well and would help the club win more trophies in the upcoming league season.
He concluded,
“His consistently high performances and understanding of the ISL will help him settle quickly and help us continue developing our play. I am very happy he has decided to join us and look forward to his experiences helping our team continue striving for success in the coming season.”
Tiri is the second defensive signing for the Islanders and would be a part of a defense that features three Indian internationals, Rahul Bheke, Mehtab Singh, and Akash Mishra. The trio would be looking to learn from the Spaniard and instil a sense of confidence in goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa who donned the No.1 jersey last season.