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On 17th January at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Rafael Schuler Crivellaro froze time.
The crowd stood stunned for a moment, not knowing how to react for the ball had left their Brazilian midfielder's feet, but in a most unfamiliar arc. From the halfway line, as players from both Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United FC tried to make sense of where the ball was, NorthEast keeper Subhasish Roy Choudhury was seen furiously backpedaling towards his goal. He looked well placed to meet Rafael's audacious attempt at goal from the halfway line, before suddenly he wasn't.
The ball kept traveling, beating Roy Choudhury into the top corner, sending the previously frozen crowd into almost synchronized euphoria.
The net ruffled, the deadlock was broken and so was NorthEast's resistance and Chennaiyin went on to eventually triumph 2-0.
"I don't score a lot, but sometimes I score good goals", says Rafael with a smile as Sportskeeda caught up with the Brazilian wizard this past week for an exclusive chat. "This goal against NorthEast for sure is the best in my career. No goal can beat this."
'I like finding solutions'
Rafael has four goals so far this season, his first in the ISL. His goal against FC Goa was also a stunner, taken at a sharp angle from inside the box and placed perfectly past the keeper. But those two goals apart, it's his artistry that has made everyone sit up and take notice. His ability to pick a pas with his left foot has been a treat to savour.
There exists a common refrain among the Chennaiyin players and staff - 'if Rafa has the ball, he will find you'.
"This is my style. I like to give passes and to understand the match and find the solutions. This is my best style, I do have lot of elements where I am not so good, but this (finding a pass) is my strength."
Comparisons are pointless
Rafael has been to seven countries before to play football and he says the 'challenge' of plying his trade in a new league attracted him.
"I heard about the league, good organization. When I received the invitation, I didn’t think too much. Because I’ve been in 7 countries, I thought let’s do this new journey, let’s try this new experience and so far it’s been very positive."
His impact in the middle of the park has been a huge boost to Chennaiyin who lost linchpin and namesake Raphael Augusto in the off-season after the two parties couldn't come to terms. Comparisons always abound when a new player comes in to take up the space vacated by a fan favourite, but Crivellaro feels this comparisons are trivial.
"For me it’s not important. The fans compare it a bit, I don’t like it too much. Two different players with two different styles. I read something on Instagram and in the media, which is not important according to me."
A rather practical thinker, Rafael says he likes to focus on the now than what has gone by. He says he vacillates between being outspoken and quiet depending on the situation while mentioning that Lallianzuala Chhangte and Anirudh Thapa are two of the Indian players he spends time talking to.
"Sometimes depends on the match. Sometimes I speak more, sometimes less. More about tactics, I speak to Chhangte and Thapa. I know they have qualities to do better. I tell them things like how they should move to receive the ball, and then for Thapa where he should position himself in the middle so that he can be effective, things like that."
Overall Rafael feels the ISL is 'at a good level, not the best level'. But he admits that it would take time in a cricket obsessed nation like India. One of the elements though he feels needs to be improved is the timing, preferring a longer tournament to the one currently in play, saying that it could pose fitness risks for players.
"If you play ISL and afterward go somewhere else, no problem. But if you play in India and then return to play in India again next season, it is very bad for the player. Because 6 months we are not playing (off-season). This is very difficult for players and it's not good for professional football. When you come back you can pick up injury. Then you need some months to get up to speed and be ready."
While that may be for the future, in the present Rafael is trying to get his team into the playoffs. Chennaiyin after not scoring a goal in their first four league games currently find themselves on a three-match winning streak. Rafael says it took him some time to adjust to the weather, but now with acclimatization complete and the team gelling nicely together he feels the football is also coming together.
Their turn of form since the arrival of new head coach Owen Coyle has put them in with a shout of gatecrashing the playoffs race.
"We have hope", says Rafael. "We are in a very good moment. We come closer with every win. The team wants to get into the top four and we know it will be very hard. But step by step I think we can get there."
