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Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli gives his thoughts ahead of the Blues’ game against Bashundhara Kings…
On playing a third game in quick succession…
As I said the last time, I can see the glass half-empty or half-full, and my choice is to see it half-full. We have a third game in less than a week now, but football is a lot about mentality. We are strong enough in that aspect, we have prepared well and we are fit enough to play.
We had chances against ATK Mohun Bagan, but we didn’t take them. We also need a little bit of luck on our side. They had two chances that we were not in position for, during the corner kick, and these are things that we will improve for today’s game and see if the team will have chances or not.
On today’s game against Bashundhara Kings…
I take the positives from the previous game where we had almost 70% ball possession, but I think we need to improve in some aspects. We need to work better on our free-kicks and corners. We need to create better chances and finish them too.
We had most of the possession but created just one chance against ATK Mohun Bagan. We’re playing against a team from Bangladesh who scored 55 goals in the League, finishing champions, conceded only nine goals and won their first group game 2-0. They are highly motivated and have a lot of energy, but in football you can always compensate with other things. With team spirit, good technique and individual skills, we just need to improve that aspect in the final third. We spoke about it and have trained accordingly.
On what to expect from Bashundhara Kings tactically…
We don’t want to give the opponent a chance to counter. They are better in transition, which was our strength. We want to create chances and score goals, and we have 90 minutes to try and do that.
They score a lot of goals and have a strong defence, they are compact at the back and counter very well. Maybe we go backwards a bit and give them more space so that we can try to create space behind them create chances and score goals.
On the Blues having another early kickoff…
I didn’t make the decision to play these games at 4 pm (local time). The AFC needs to make this equal, but I cannot change the schedule. Maziya are playing all their games at night, but I cannot affect that. Again, the weather is hot, and the glass can be half-empty or half-full.
Both teams are playing in the same weather, under the sun. It’s not an advantage, but it’s not a negative either. We need to handle the weather, maybe change our tactics a little bit for this game because it is our third game. We perhaps can’t be as offensive as the other games.
On the mood in the camp…
We were highly motivated in our first game, because we played against ATK MB, a team from India. I understand that it is similar against a team from Bangladesh. When you are a coach you need to understand the culture and history, but in the end it doesn’t change anything. There is no pressure on us. Football is not about pressure, it’s about enjoying ourselves. Every team wants to be the number one in the Group. We want to win today, and so will Bashundhara Kings.
As a footballer, you need to be 110% motivated in every game. We are focusing on this, and have plans on how to play with the ball and without the ball, and it doesn’t matter if it is a Bangladeshi team, an Indian team, a European team or anyone else. We need to be 110% motivated, and when you don’t have this, the opponent will win. Even if you are at 90%, it will be the opponent that takes the game.
In football and in life, we cannot think negatively. Yes the opponents are fit and have been playing regularly. We showed that we are physically good against ATK Mohun Bagan, and we know we are ready to play this game.
On skipper Sunil Chhetri’s fitness…
I don’t think Chhetri’s broken hand is a big issue to his game. He is working very hard and just needs to get his luck back. He is a very important player for us, not only on the pitch but off it as well. We have a young squad, and he makes a big difference.
When you are number two in the world among active international goalscorers, it says everything. Experience is what we need now and he has that in abundance, because we have a bit of a ‘stress situation’, and especially for a young team like ours his experience is very important.
