Mumbai, July 30 (IANS) Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Mumbai City FC on Thursday signed Haitian defender Frantz Bertin, French striker Frederic Piquionne and Spanish defender Cristian Bustos for the second season of the football tournament.
Bustos played for RCD Mallorca as a defensive midfielder. He will be the club’s tackling centre midfielder whose presence will give Mumbai City FC much needed edge.
“I am excited for the opportunity to play outside of Spain for the first time in my career. I feel I will be a dominant force in the middle of the field for Mumbai City FC,” said Bustos.
Piquionne plays for Martinique and represented them in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and was part of the 2012 Caribbean Cup squad. He has also represented France in a friendly against Austria in 2007. He had last played as a forward for US Creteil in Ligue 2.
He has also played for numerous clubs like Golden Star of Martinique, Nîmes Olympique, Rennes, AS Saint-Etienne, AS Monaco, Lyon, Portsmouth, West Ham United, Doncaster Rovers and Portland Timbers.
“I have heard of the excitement coming from the ISL and of Mumbai City FC in particular and look forward to bringing success to the team,” said the Frenchman.
Bertin plays for Greek club Aiginiakos F.C. Born in Paris, he started his career with FC Red Star Saint-Ouen and finished his formation in Italy with Juventus FC. In 2003, Bertin moved teams and countries, signing up for Racing de Santander in Spain.
During his two-year stint with the Cantabrian club, he played mainly with the reserves but still contributed with 15 games (13 starts) in the 2004-05 season. He continued playing for CD Tenerife in second division and Atlético Madrid B and Benidorm CF in the third.
In 2008, he joined FC Luzern in the Swiss Super League but left in the following transfer window, signing with OFI Crete in Greece. Bertin then joined Veria F.C. until the end of the season. He made his Super league debut in an away win against Skoda Xanthi FC. He represented Haiti at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States and made his international debut in the national team’s final group stage game against Canada.
“After consulting with family and close friends within various leagues, I felt that joining the ISL would be the best decision to help me progress in my career, both on and off the field. I am very excited to get a chance to work with Nicolas Anelka as well,” Bertin said.
In ISL 2015, Mumbai City FC, coached by marquee manager and player Anelka, start their campaign against FC Pune City on October 5.