John Arne Riise bullish about retaining trophy

Without making an ounce of effort at masquerading, Chennaiyin FC’s marquee player John Arne Riise can easily pass off as a jaunty rock star. Swathed in tattoos all over his chiseled frame, the Norwegian is equally adept at fielding a volley of questions ranging from the best manager he played under to his long-standing rift with his one-time Liverpool teammate Craig Bellamy, and how big an icon his compatriot Magnus Carlsen is back home. Speaking to this newspaper, the 36-year-old Riise made it clear that Chennaiyin have all their bases covered and are raring to make it two-in-a-row. Excerpts:

On what made him choose Chennaiyin F: After my inaugural ISL stint with Delhi Dynamos, I took a complete break from the sport. It was then that I received a call from Chennaiyin coach Marco Materazzi, asking me whether I would like to be a part of Chennaiyin team. It was too tempting an offer to turn down. I was able to regain my motivation and started training hard.

On his thoughts of retaining the trophy: It’s going to be a tall order, but one that is not beyond us. Now that we are the champions, every team will come hard at us. We need to be prepared for that. But with the team that we have, there is no reason to doubt that we can mount a successful title defence.

On any Indian players who made an impression on him: There are a handful of them. Jeje Lalpekhlua is going to serve India for a long time. He has both the build and the skill to be a potent striker. And I was mightily impressed with the young Jayesh Rane.

On the difference in the working styles of Roberto Carlos and Materazzi: Both were defenders in a league of their own. Carlos emphasises more on an attacking brand of football. Materazzi, meanwhile, strongly advocates the need for possession football. I had the privilege of playing against him, and now I’m happy to be playing under his stewardship.

On the best manager he has played under: It would be Rafael Benitez. He brought out the best in me and transformed me into a versatile player.

On the title-winning prospects of Liverpool: They have started playing as a cohesive unit under Juergen Klopp. They are playing aggressively and made a positive start this season. But I think they may have to wait a year or two before they can consider themselves favourites.

On what it was like to play with Steven Gerrard: He is undoubtedly the best player I played with. He and Francesco Totti are my personal favourites. But Gerrard was a more complete player.

On the impact Magnus Carlsen had on chess in Norway: He has a huge following. He loves football and he is not such a bad player. The one thing I like about him is he hates losing. He single-handedly made chess popular in Norway.