Kolkata : SC East Bengal delightedly announced the signing of Australian defender Tomislav Mrcela on a year deal from Perth Glory on Tuesday , September 14 ahead of the preparations for the eighth edition of Indian Super League.
“I’m happy to have signed for SC East Bengal, and I have got good feedback about the club. I have friends who have played in India and also know a thing or two about the club, and they tell me how big it is in this part of the world,” said Tomislav, after putting pen-to-paper for the Red-and-Gold Brigade.
“I will look to add experience at the heart of the defence and take care of the locker room as well. The atmosphere within the team is very important and I will leave no stone unturned in doing what needs to be done for the team’s benefit. I also know how passionate the fans are here and it’s unfortunate that they can’t be in the stands cheering us. We play for them and we will do everything we can to make them happy. I can’t wait to start the season,” he added.
Although born in Perth, Tomislav grew up in Croatia joining the youth academy of RNK Split in 2001. After being there for almost eight years , Tomislav joined Jadran Kastel before signing NK Primorac 1929. He found himself into prominence at 20 years of age , after gaining his place in the starting XI of NK Imotski. He had phases with NK Mosor and NK Hvratski Dragovoljac before moving to NK Lokomotiva. After spending some time at South Korea, the defender returned to his home town for Perth Glory in 2018. Tomislav’s stellar performances in the club attires saw him named in the 23 man squad for Australia during 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP qualifiers.
Tomislav is the second foreign signing for the newly appointed head coach, Manuel ‘Manolo’ Diaz for SC East Bengal after Amir Dervisevic as the Kolkata side attempt to recover from the underwhelming ISL debut season.
