ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando reckons it will be difficult for Sri Lankan club Blue Star FC to beat them at their home ground of Salt Lake Stadium in the second Preliminary round of the AFC Cup. It will be a do-or-die affair for both of these teams and the Mariners will hope to take advantage of their home ground.
The Spaniard feels his team will need to bring their best football as it is a matter of 90 minutes. The Mariners will want to advance to the later stages of the tournament and they will have their work cut out.
Ferrando had led FC Goa to Durand Cup glory in 2021 and he expects the crowd to back his team in the upcoming fixture on Tuesday.
Juan Ferrando said in the pre-match press conference, “The experience last September-October with me and also my coaching staff was really amazing. A lot of people have a passion for football here. I hope the atmosphere will be the same in this case because we are the coaches of the ATK Mohun Bagan now. I hope we will have a hundred percent support tomorrow. And the kind of amazing atmosphere we get in salt lake stadium it is impossible for the opponents to win here.”
Ferrando added it will be a huge advantage to play in front of the home crowd.
He said, “One hundred percent it is a big advantage. People all the time watched the games on television. Now they will be close to the players. So it’s a good moment to support the team. It’s perfect you know it’s an amazing moment for me. Everyone wants to come to the stadium to feel the football.”
Meanwhile, Blue Star FC have been in good form as they have won their last five matches. The Spaniard added that his team will look to bring their A-game to the pitch.
Ferrando said when he was asked about his strategy, “This game is not so easy because, you know, it’s only one game and that’s 90 minutes. The opponent has won the last five games. Their last game against Machhindra in Nepal was a good match. And in the end, it’s 90 minutes and so it’s not an easy game. It’s a very important international competition and everybody wants to do their best.”
On picking only four foreign players in the final XI, Ferrando said, “We have time, we will decide at the last moment. Except for Carl McHugh because Carl’s not here the rest of the foreign players is working for the last week with us. We will make the best decision as we have one training session left and after that only we’ll prepare the squad.”
