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Bengaluru FC head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli gave us his thoughts ahead of what he expects to be an ‘aggressive’ encounter against ATK Mohun Bagan.
On the mood in the camp right now…
The game against Club Eagles was only two days ago, so it was a short recovery for everyone. It’s not really an advantage, but I can see the glass half empty or half full and I choose to see it half full. I saw a really good spirit within the team after the win, and there was a lot of positive energy. We are proud and happy to be in the group stage.
On today’s game against ATK Mohun Bagan…
We have prepared well, but I think ATK Mohun Bagan are the favourites here. They have invested a lot of money to win the trophy, and they were in the final last year too.
They don’t make these transfers to lose games, they want to win the League and the AFC Cup. And that’s why they invest a lot of money. But we’ve also prepared well. With a good spirit and focus, we have a good chance to beat ATK Mohun Bagan tomorrow.
On the tactical battle against the Kolkata side…
We play against an Indian team first, and we’ve lost to them in our last two meetings; 1-0 and 2-0. But that’s in the past and this is a new season for us. This is a new game, a new start and a new focus. And we need to be very sharp because it could be an aggressive game.
ATK Mohun Bagan play a lot of long balls, they like to go for the second ball and press high up on the pitch. It calls for a different approach from us, and we’re going to try and find a solution so that we can win the game.
We have new players, a new coach, a new team and a new spirit. That said, they have also changed things, bringing a French foreign player (Hugo Boumous) into the team. This is one of the biggest transfers in the Indian League. They make these transfers because they intend to win the ISL and the AFC Cup and we have to be aware of that.
On the players who could make a difference for ATK Mohun Bagan…
I don’t think we need to give special attention to any opposition players. We have four very good central defenders in Alan, King, Pratik and Muirang. It’s always a challenge for a high standard defender to play against a good striker, but we cannot be focused on one or two players.
ATK Mohun Bagan are a team and not just a one man show. We will defend as a team and support our goalkeeper, Gurpreet. We don’t want to concede, and we want to try and score. So we will not be preparing anything special for any particular player in the opposition team.
On the live telecast of the match in India…
It’s nice to know that this game will be telecast live in India and that the fans can watch this tournament. I know that they are following every game we play, and supporting us from far. It’s very important for us to try and win this group stage and make it to the next round. We have tough games, and right now our focus is fully on the first game.
Telecast of today’s AFC Cup Group Stage opener between the Blues and ATK Mohun Bagan begins at 4.30pm IST, and will be on the STAR Sports Network, HotStar and JioTV.
