Spanish defender Jose Luis Espinosa Arroyo, better known as Tiri, shall don the Jamshedpur FC jersey in the upcoming fourth edition of Indian Super League (ISL).
Tata Steel, the owners of the Jamshedpur outfit, finalised Tiri's name on Wednesday.
"Yes, Tiri will be playing for our team in the ISL this season," Tata Steel vice-president (corporate services) Sunil Bhaskaran said at a news meet at the Centre for Excellence in the presence of head coach Stephen James 'Steve' Coppell.
Bhaskaran maintained that Jamshedpur FC would be making pre-season preparations abroad. "The off-shore training stint will be held sometime in October," he said, adding that they had already picked 15 Indian players during the ISL players draft in Mumbai on July 24 and talks with foreign players were on.
According to Bhaskaran, Tata Football Academy greens will be used for local practice till a separate venue is developed. "We will be using TFA as a practice venue for our team. We are looking at separate venues, which will be developed in due course of time," he said.
Earlier, Bhaskaran unveiled the Jamshedpur FC logo and handed it over to team goalkeeper Subrata Paul, who was present on the occasion, along with assistant coach Ishfaq Ahmed and officials of Tata Steel sports wing.
Coppell, a former Manchester United right-winger, said Jamshedpur FC would be making pre-season preparations in Spain and Thailand. "These countries have excellent facilities and our team will play against strong European teams," he said.
The highly experienced head coach said the full squad of Jamshedpur FC would be in place in August and they would start training from October.
"I will try to give my cent per cent to the team. I have got good support from the Tatas," Coppell said, adding match strategy would be made with the progress of the ISL.
On how the teams will reach Jamshedpur, Bhaskaran said they were expecting flight services to resume in September. "Otherwise, the teams will come to Jamshedpur via Ranchi or Calcutta," he added.
Bhaskaran said they were happy with the players on list. "I think we had prepared very well for the players draft. Our team of analysts worked on the database of every player. We will be doing the same when it comes to picking eight foreign footballers," he said.
