“We’ve tried to address this in a team meeting”.
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Eugeneson Lyngdoh of Bengaluru FC and Sandesh Jhingan of Kerala Blasters FC were today awarded “Best Indian Players” of I-League and ISL in the 7th edition of Indian Football Awards irganised by Footballer Players’ Association of India (FPAI) here today.
Portuguese forward Helder Postiga is ATK’s marquee signing in place of Luis Garcia from last season. I have signed them for the balance they bring.
“I think Indian players have to be tough and not be shy”.
Marchena suffered a back injury during pre-season training at the team’s Thiruvananthapuram base and sought permission to travel to Spain to meet a specialist. But I would definitely like us to score more goals. “However, we were lucky to get Marchena who is a good player”, the coach explained.
Last edition runners-up Kerala Blasters were the only side to have not gone for a foreign pre-season training stint but their coach Pater Taylor justified it, saying that he had wanted his foreign players to acclimatise with the heat and humid conditions in India.
“But that said, I’ve never been a part of a team that has not had a single Brazilian in it”, he adds. “You should show confidence and you have to ask for balls from whoever player no matter how good he is”, said Taylor.
Sandesh Jhinghan has been hailed as one of the country’s top defensive prospects over the last couple of years.
Brazilian great and FC Goa coach Zico said that he has got a strong squad and wants his team to do better than the semifinal appearance previous year. “We have a lot of versatile players in our squad and that shall certainly help to beat the fatigue due to the schedule as we play games very soon”, he further explained. When I trained with the Indian players in the pre-season training in South Africa, I found all of them having very good techniques and understanding of the game. “To be honest, I was surprised by the level of quality of Indian players”. Resting key players at crucial times is very important.
“I think I have a squad who can implement my football philosophy on the field”.
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“They need to be less afraid of making mistakes”, said former Arsenal legend and current Pune City FC coach David Platt. Speaking on being the club’s marquee-player-cum manager, the striker said he is up for the new challenge. “I hope in five to ten years India will be a big name in world football”, he said. I will try to give my best in the pitch and help Mumbai win the crown. Obviously, we had a lot of cleansheets which helps. While the most recent drubbing against Iran was expected, the away no-show against lowly Guam came as a major jolt, one which dealt a severe blow to India’s aspirations of clawing back in the pecking order of Asian football. “But in terms of strength and endurance, we are nowhere behind them”. “There are few differences (in the level of players) but we have to communicate”, he said.
