Fatorda, Goa: After a couple of defensively strong performances that took football fans in the country by surprise, Juan Ferrando and his team faces a mighty test in the form of Persepolis FC who they take on during Matchday 3 on Tuesday.
At the Pre-Match Press Conference held today, he lauded his team for the brilliant display at such a prestigious competition, but however maintained that he wasn’t surprised with the performance. On the contrary, he felt that they let go 4 points instead of celebrating the 2 they have. “We had the quality to win the last two games, and we should have. As a coach, I play to win, and that is not going to change even when we face Persepolis”.
When it was pointed out that due to the change in the ACL format this year, the 2nd placed teams in each group do not directly qualify to the Round of 16, but rather only the Top 3 second placed teams across all groups make the cut, requiring a positive goal difference, Ferrando remarked “It is a dream for us to score goals and advance to R16, but you need to understand that we are a new side in this high intensity competition. My players are just getting adjusted to such playing conditions. Some players are exhausted, but we know that now is the time we need to push ourselves.”
On being asked whether this was the most important game in FC Goa’s history, he replied that all games are important and it is not possible to pinpoint any single game as more worthy than the rest. “Persepolis is a very strong team, and we need to respect that. They have been playing together for a very long time, unlike our team which is pretty newly reassembled. We need to work harder than them if we need to win.”
Reacting to accusations by Al Wahda coach regarding FC Goa being handed a favour in terms of late kickoff for most of their matches, Juan Ferrando said that as professionals such things should not matter. “In a game of football, challenges are aplenty, but what you give on the pitch is what matters. If the federation asked us to play in an even more packed schedule, I would still be up for it, as it is my job. We need to be ready. Timings and schedules do not impact the way we play our football at FC Goa.”
Superman Goalie to the rescue
Dheeraj Singh, the young goalkeeper who has been making waves all across Asia for his stellar performance in the last two games, was present to answer the queries of the journalists.
“The world cup was a great opportunity for me to learn and gain confidence. Participating in the ACL is an honour not just for me or my team, but an opportunity to make a whole country proud and I realize that. Keeping two clean sheets in Asia’s biggest tournament is a very big achievement and shows how much FC Goa and football in India has progressed.”
“As a young player, I need to keep playing as many games as possible so that I can develop, but sadly that could not happen at my stint in ATK Mohun Bagan where I got just a little over a match worth of game time. That is when I realized that it is a learning process that does not happen instantaneously. You need to be patient. Not everything is achieved in one shot. However, I am thankful to FC Goa and Juan Ferrando for the opportunity to prove my worth.” said Dheeraj.
On being asked if he’s been able to handle the pressure off the field with equal gusto as he has on field, Dheeraj was quick to afford a smile while requesting fans not to compare him with other goalkeepers as it would just add more pressure on him, causing a loss of focus. “Right now, I am young, so I need to concentrate on developing myself rather than compare myself with others. I respect all the other GKs, and humbly request Indian football fans not to hype me up or pull me into such Best Goalkeeper challenges!” he added earnestly.
Persepolis laud FC Goa
Persepolis FC Head Coach Yahya Golmohhamadi and their attacking midfielder Kamal Kamyabinia were present for the press conference. Yahya said that he was very happy with the performance of the team, which was a result of several years of hard work and team work. He lauded the younger generation of players who have shown immense grit and confidence, with an ‘Always fight, never surrender’ attitude.
He also had a lot of words of praise for FC Goa, who he said were the surprise package not just for them, but for the whole of the ACL. He added that it would not be an easy task to face them on Tuesday, especially considering the rock-solid defense and stunning goalkeeping.
“FC Goa have been really tidy, shown good techniques. And all this is not by chance. You cannot stop two really strong teams in such a competition by chance or luck. We need to be careful tomorrow not to concede first, or they could capitalize on the situation. Despite a really amazing goalkeeper, I am hoping we can create some opportunities by supplying good passes to our forwards. Essentially, we will need to use the size and depth of the field to our advantage and have short passes to create more chances to win.”
On being asked what prompted the almost reinvigorated and renewed squad in the second half of their last match, coming back from being a goal down to scoring 3 quick goals, Kamal said “In the half time, our technical analysis team did a good job of pointing out to us some of the opponent’s weaknesses in the game, and we managed to capitalize on that with ease. Getting 2 quick goals helped us deflate their confidence. We also noticed that their players were getting tired out, which worked in our favour as we are fitter.”
