Mohun Bagan, FC Goa ready for Asian challenge
Want to show we are not just a big team in India, says Bagan head coach Molina; such competitions important for club’s growth, feels Goa boss Marquez
Kolkata: With the future of the season called into question, the past few months have been some of the most miserable for football in India. Column inches were devoted to court hearings, FIFA threatening more than a rap on the knuckles, clubs saying winding up was a possibility and commercial partners’ diktat that they couldn’t continue because, well, uncertainty was the only certainty.
The silver lining was how wonderfully defiant the performance on the pitch was. From Thailand to Tajikistan, from Yangon to Phnom Penh, Sangita Basfore to Sandesh Jhingan, India’s men, women, the U20 women and East Bengal defied odds to earn a podium finish, secure Asian qualifications and a berth among the continent’s elite women clubs. Segueing into that can-do spirit was Anirudh Thapa’s assertion on Monday “that whatever was happening (off the field) doesn’t define our preparations.”
With that the Mohun Bagan Super Giant and India midfielder set the tone for his club and FC Goa who will start their campaigns with home matches in the Asian Champions League 2 over the next two days. “That’s the point, isn’t it,” said Mohun Bagan head coach Jose Molina. “We want to show that we are not just a big team in India but that we can compete in Asia.”
Speaking from Goa, FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez told HT: “For the club to grow, playing these tournaments are very important. Which is why our preliminary target was to qualify. No disrespect to our opponents in India but you want to play bigger and stronger teams and now we are guaranteed six matches against them including three at home.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking from Goa, FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez told HT: “For the club to grow, playing these tournaments are very important. Which is why our preliminary target was to qualify. No disrespect to our opponents in India but you want to play bigger and stronger teams and now we are guaranteed six matches against them including three at home.”
{{/usCountry}}Scratched last season because they did not want to travel to Iran citing safety concerns, Molina had said Mohun Bagan’s target would be to make the ACL2 finals again. That was last November when Mohun Bagan were six matches old in the ISL season having barely shaken off a very wobbly start. The club and their head coach have kept their word and their journey begins at Salt Lake stadium on Tuesday against Turkmenistan’s Ahal FK. One day later, FC Goa host Iraq’s Al-Zawraa.
{{/usCountry}}Scratched last season because they did not want to travel to Iran citing safety concerns, Molina had said Mohun Bagan’s target would be to make the ACL2 finals again. That was last November when Mohun Bagan were six matches old in the ISL season having barely shaken off a very wobbly start. The club and their head coach have kept their word and their journey begins at Salt Lake stadium on Tuesday against Turkmenistan’s Ahal FK. One day later, FC Goa host Iraq’s Al-Zawraa.
{{/usCountry}}If underdogs punching above their weight is the zeitgeist of football in India, it is worth remembering that Al-Zawraa were tamed 2-6 by East Bengal in an Asian Cup Winners’ Cup home match in 1993; their reputation as defending league and cup champions in Iraq torn to ribbons by the late Carlton Chapman’s speed, skill and hattrick. Along with Bengaluru FC making the 2016 AFC Cup final, Dempo being the first Indian team to make the semi-finals of that tournament, which has morphed into ACL2, in 2008 and East Bengal doing that in 2013, that victory is among the handful of highs for Indian clubs in Asia. Can FC Goa and Mohun Bagan add to that?
“Theoretically, a team from Iraq is much stronger than one from India. But we have shown that it is possible to beat such teams,” said Marquez referring to FC Goa’s 2-1 win against Oman’s Al-Seeb in August that helped them make it two teams from India in ACL2 for the first time. It was an exhibition of heart, low block defending and goals against the run of play. “Expect more of the same,” Marquez said. “We will enjoy and we will suffer.”
India’s third-place finish in the CAFA Nations Cup will be an “inspiration” said Thapa who along with six of his club teammates were not released for that tournament. Instead, Mohun Bagan trained for four weeks for ACL2 and added Brazilian forward Robson Robinho and India defenders Mehtab Singh and Abhishek Singh Tekcham to the roster. Apart from not being able to play matches – Mohun Bagan and FC Goa played a closed-door friendly – Molina said he was happy with the preparations. “I can feel that the team is ready for tomorrow.”
Mohun Bagan will miss Manvir Singh who is injured, Molina said. FC Goa’s injury list is longer. Jhingan, Seriton Fernandes, Mohammed Yasir and Ronney Kharbudon are unavailable, said Marquez, adding that new signing Jerry Lalrinzuala will start on the bench.
Ahal FK are second in the Yokary Liga. “We have come here to get three points,” said coach Eziz Awamuhamedov, speaking through an interpreter. Turkmen league leaders Arkadag did that against East Bengal in an ACL2 qualifier last year. Young forward Enver Anayev who played in that 2-1 win is now here with Ahal, said the coach. In a tournament where there is no restriction on the number of foreign players that can be fielded, Ahal have only Turkmen on the roster. Around half of the 23 here are either part of Turkmenistan’s Olympic team or the senior national team, said the coach.
Asked if Ahal having games in a regular season was an advantage, Molina said: “We will see tomorrow.”
