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Jamshedpur FC will kick-start their second Indian Super League campaign with an away tie against Mumbai City FC. After a change of guard at the helm along with a new-look squad, the Jharkhand-based outfit will look to better their performance from the first season where they finished fifth.
Since taking over the reigns, Cesar Ferrando has overseen a successful pre-season tour of the club in Spain where the squad trained at the Atletico Madrid training facility and also won a practice match against the Colchoneros’ Reserves side. Tim Cahill’s arrival in the squad has also caught the attention of the globe towards Jamshedpur FC.
Amidst all this, Ferrando is looking for a positive start to the campaign and is eyeing all three points against the Islanders. The Spaniard is happy with the preparation that his troops have gone through and looks ready for the gruelling season ahead.
In his pre-match press conference, Ferrando talked on length about his squad as he said, “I’m happy with how the pre-season went and with the players at my disposal. I’m happy with their commitment and sacrifice. I assure my team tomorrow is going to play a competitive match. The squad is working very hard.”
Ferrando also revealed during the press meet that Tim Cahill and Subrata Paul are suspended for tomorrow’s match in Mumbai while Dhanachandra Singh is out with an injury. The former Chennaiyin FC man has not travelled with the squad.
When asked about the absence of three key members for his first match in the ISL, Ferrando retorted that there will be no excuses from his side tomorrow and the squad is ready for it’s first challenge.
The head coach was questioned about his philosophy to which he replied, “I don’t have any style. I only want to win. I don’t want anything else in the world. I want my team to defend and attack well. When you look at FC Barcelona in my country, they are good in attack and in defence as well. You have to balance both the aspects. Our aim will be to take all three points with us.”
Just like Ferrando, his counterpart in the opposing dugout, Jorge Costa will also be a newcomer in the league. The Portuguese manager has assembled a dangerous looking side with Paulo Machado and Rafael Bastos keeping the potential to hurt Jamshedpur FC. The inclusion of Souvik Ghosh and Anwar Ali in defence is expected to make the Islanders even stronger.
Last time around, the tie at the Mumbai Football Arena turned out to be a nail-biting one as Jamshedpur FC scored a late winner in the game, courtesy of Bikash Jairu. On this occasion, expect a similar encounter with both the sides desperate to begin the new season on a high.
