By Adrian Stewart Co
Veteran striker Robert Lopez Mendy has made his way back to the Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo ahead of the team’s campaign in the 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Preliminary Round.
The Iloilo City-based football club announced the return of the Senegalese booter over the weekend to add scoring punch to a team that has big ambitions both domestically and continentally.
“It’s nostalgic, it’s like coming home after a long, long time and remembering the good old days. I have never felt at home anywhere else but here. This is one of the best decisions I have made this year so far,” said Lopez Mendy.
“[I expect] more wins, that’s for sure. With the lineup that we have, it’s not impossible to win more trophies and to put the team where it has never been before—being at the top, both domestically and internationally,” he added.
Lopez Mendy was last seen in a Kaya-Iloilo shirt during their championship run in the 2018 Copa Paulino Alcantara. He then moved overseas and also had stints with Kaya-Iloilo rival Ceres-Negros FC.
“I’m glad he’s finally made it back home to Kaya. Mendy is a player we know very well and has enjoyed some of his best seasons with the club,” said Kaya-Iloilo President Paul Tolentino.
“We are very excited to have his positive energy, work ethic and goal scoring abilities back at Kaya,” he added. “We can’t wait to get started and I hope it doesn’t take too long to get all the new pieces integrated,” he added.
Apart from Lopez Mendy, the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara champions Kaya-lloilo also announced their acquisition of Azkals Developmental Team midfielder Sandro Miguel Sison Reyes.
“It feels great to complete my move to Kaya. I trained with the team for several months last year and I loved the atmosphere. It truly felt like a family,” the 18-year-old Reyes said.
“I like how there are a lot of senior players because the thing about football is, the older guys always want to help the younger ones improve and the guys at Kaya are no exception,” he added./ASC, WDJ