Saturday 5 November 2016 12:20, UK
New York City FC's Stiven Mendoza is good enough to play for a top-flight club in Europe, according to his former employer.
New York will be hoping the 24-year-old Colombian will be in top form when they look to overturn a 2-0 aggregate deficit to Toronto FC in their Eastern Conference semi-final second leg at Yankee Stadium, live on Sky Sports 3 on Sunday night.
Mendoza, who is on a season-long loan from Brazilian side Corinthians, lit up the 2015 Indian Super League, with two goals in the last three minutes of the final, handing Chennaiyin the title with a thrilling 3-2 win over FC Goa.
And Chennaiyin co-owner, Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan, revealed he was thwarted in his efforts to re-sign Mendoza for this season due to City boss Patrick Vieira's faith in the Colombian forward.
"Stiven was a game-changer for us and will always be part of the Chennaiyin family," he told Sky Sports.
"He was an integral part of our title-winning campaign last season and was the league's highest goalscorer. His pace and control are very hard to defend against and we were very keen to bring him back to Chennaiyin this season.
"But Patrick Vieira was very keen to hold on to him because he needed him and Stiven is having a great season and has scored some important goals.
"He's a very talented young footballer and to have team-mates like Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa - for a 23-year-old like him - is absolutely brilliant. I don't think the day is very far away when he is playing for a top-flight club in Europe."
Chennaiyin, managed by World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, were crowned ISL champions against all odds last season, rising from bottom after eight matches to qualify for the end-of-season semi-finals.
Their journey was made harder by the floods that swept through Southern India last year, forcing them to play out the season in Pune, more than 700 miles from Chennai.
"I am hugely proud of what we did last season," Bachchan said. "We climbed the table and qualified for the semis after the floods hit, and we couldn't play at home, but the boys played with so much emotion, especially as underdogs in the final against Goa, in Goa.
"And the reception the boys got back in Chennai was magnificent. It was an amazing journey and that's what football is all about."
