Mohun Bagan Super Giant will be looking to turn a new page at the start of the international schedule with a clash with Nepalese club Machhindra FC in the second qualifying round of the AFC Cup south zone play-offs, at Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.
With the wound of the first Kolkata derby loss of the season (0-1) to traditional rival Emami East Bengal still intact, Mohun Bagan will be rushing to correct the mistake with a positive result to quickly put the worry aside. big disappointment.
Mohun Bagan, with pre-season preparations only a few weeks old, finds himself in the midst of a flurry of campaigns.
Coach Juan Ferrando must quickly put aside his excitement of winning the Indian Super League last season and tackle overlapping tasks as the new season poses too many activities for his still-focused team. .
The Spaniard is currently facing the prospect of giving up and preparing a squad with the entire team having to play a game without much rest.
“We certainly face the risk of injury, which we cannot afford. The challenge is to prepare the team for a long season while expecting the players to perform at their best in every game while we are still in pre-season preparations,” Ferrando said ahead of the new assignment. of his team.
“In this situation, we will assess the fitness of the players and come up with the best squad according to the plan,” he added.
This time around, his team will have to put on a winning performance, or else face early disqualification from its sole international assignment.
“The game against East Bengal is over and we have to work towards qualifying for the next round of the AFC Cup. The team is going through a process because we have some new names that need to adapt to our system,” Ferrando tried to give his perspective on the current situation of his team.
Home advantage is one of the big positives that Ferrando can look forward to. With India having a better international ranking than Nepal, Machhindra FC must travel to Kolkata and plan its next move after beating Paro FC of Bhutan at home in the first stage of the knockout round. (Mohun Bagan does not have to compete at this stage). .
“Mohun Bagan is an all-star party. Unfortunately they lost their previous match (against East Bengal) but they are a very good attacking team. We will have to strengthen the defense and create opportunities to score,” said Machhindra FC coach Kishor Kumar KC.
Nepal’s two-time A-League champions will be dropped from duty as Ferrando’s side seek to recover from an earlier disappointment. “We know our opponent is huge but we have strong spirits and are eager to work hard to accept the challenge,” said Machhindra captain Bishal Shrestha.
Mohun Bagan’s journey in the continental arena recently was not very positive when this team could not pass the inter-regional semi-finals, causing their bosses to make a massive recruitment this time. .
With international names like Australian world champion athlete Jason Cummings, Albanian forward Armando Sadiku and Indian national team players like Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad and Anwar Ali joining the ranks of himself, Mohun Bagan SG is expected to have a memorable performance in this continent.
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