DARREN O’DEA has revealed he is chasing the “Celtic buzz” – in India!
The 28-year-old former Hoops defender has agreed to join Mumbai City in the country’s Super League.
And O’Dea, who has also played in Canada and the Ukraine, admitted: “I’ve shown that I’m willing to go abroad and I’m quite keen to see other countries and different cultures.
“The main thing with me is that when I was a young boy, growing up, I always wanted to play for Celtic.
“I was lucky enough to live the dream and I played at a fantastic time there.
“But when I left Celtic, I never felt the buzz. At Toronto, maybe I nearly did because I loved the club. But I’ve never felt the buzz I had at Celtic.
“I feel that’s how I’ve ended up looking at these different opportunities in Ukraine with Metalurh Donetsk, in Canada with Toronto and now with Mumbai in India.
“I’m kind of chasing the buzz I had at Celtic.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get what I had at Celtic, but I love seeing new parts of the world, different ways people go about their business.”
O’Dea, who made 70 appearances for the Hoops between 2006 and 2012, almost joined the Indian outfit last year. However, he was persuaded to sign for Nicolas Anelka’s side this time around with the league kicking off in October.
The Republic of Ireland central defender said: “Last December, just before I signed for Blackpool, I had the offer to go to Mumbai City.
“It was something that I thought about, but I decided in the end to stay in Britain to play with Blackpool. The minute I became a free agent again, they were straight on the phone.
“I sat on the offer for two or three months, spoke to English, Scottish and European teams, and in the end I just came to the decision with my family to give it a go.
“Now I believe we’ll do a few weeks pre-season abroad, whether that’s in Europe, or in the US, and then we’ll have a few weeks in India, as well.”
He added: “This was something that excited me. The stuff that I was getting offered in England didn’t. That’s why I left to go to Toronto three years ago and that’s why I’ve left again.
“I don’t like to go through the motions in life or in football and if something doesn’t excite me I find it hard to get motivated for it.
“I was lucky enough playing with Celtic, I never had the problem of motivation or excitement because it was there every day.
“But once I left I’ve searched for it and going abroad gives me that buzz.”
O’DEA CHASES ‘CELTIC BUZZ’
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