Goa: High from their 3-0 drubbing of Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando is confident of continuing the momentum when they face ATK Mohun Bagan on Sunday (January 17) in the second leg.
“All the games for us are important, of course tomorrow is a nice game. We will play against a very good team. For us, it is a new opportunity to get three points, and good opportunity to continue to improve as a team,” Ferrando sounded confident during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“The last time both teams met, Goa surrendered 0-1, thanks to a Roy Krishna strike. Second round of course all the teams will be better than the first. But, for us, it is very important to improve, to change some details in tactical, to prepare different players. This time we have more options,” he added.
In the last game, Goa dominated completely against Jamshedpur, walking away with an easy victory. Asked about if he would retain the same XI against ATKMB, Ferrando said, “We have a very good squad, ofcourse I am happy we can prepare the team and we could prepare the game with all the players.
“In the end we take the best decision, it is very important, the fitness of all the players, the feelings of the players. We got some players who are tired, some are not, we take the last decision at 9 after the training. The most important is thinking like a team, who is the best players for tomorrow to play against ATK. This is most important for us.”
Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera, who was left out on the bench in the last match expressed his eagerness to play in every match. “I would like to play. We train everyday as hard as we can, we have to be ready for every time the coach says we have to play. We are here to help the team, we are ready for every match that they need us. It is hard for us to be on the bench, but we have to be prepared, to be ready to help the team,” he said.
Asked about his experience playing in the ISL, Noguera, who played in Spain, England and Azerbaijan, said, “Every country has a difference but football is football. For me it doesn’t matter whether I am in Spain or in India, it is all the same. You try to train very hard and give your best on the pitch. So that’s all.”
Ferrando also stated his target to qualify for the ISL playoffs. “Our target everybody knows, our target is to play in the future playoffs. Here in this league, every game is important, one point or three points is very important for us, is very important for the team. Every game is crucial,” he said.
