“We need to show that it was not a miracle Durand, we need to show it was hard work,” was how coach
Juan Pedro Benali
described NorthEast United’s upcoming first match post a title-winning campaign at
Durand Cup
.
Hence, the expectations are high as the Spanish head coach’s wards embark on season 11 of Indian Super League with an opening away match against
ISL
newcomers
Mohammedan Sporting
in Kolkata.
And he is aware of the desperation of the Kolkata giants to stamp their authority on the league from the onset. “It’s going to be a dangerous game. They will push us a lot to show in the field that they deserve to be here. And the northeast players in their team will want to show me and the club that they deserved to be here,” he admitted at the pre-match press conference on Saturday in Guwahati.
“We are playing against a good team with excellent players and a coach. They have a good stadium and special fans, who are very close to the action. We have a game plan in place, we need to keep calm and play our game.”
While former NEUFC players like Rochharzela and Gaurav Bora might have a reason to impress at Kishore Bharati Stadium in Kolkata on Monday, the Highlanders current recruits like poster boy Parthib Gogoi will be eager to prove otherwise.
And with 90% of the squad retained from the last season by the club representing eight northeastern states, the close-knit group that Benali calls a “small family” will have their sights on adding to their maiden trophy soon.
“After a training recently, we had all the technical staff in the office and I asked ‘do you remember this same day when we started last season?'” the coach said about their last ISL campaign when they couldn’t even match their best-ever shows of making the playoffs.
“What we see now is a huge difference. Players are more motivated, focussed on work and they have learnt to suffer. That’s very important in football. And they know what we want from them,” he added.
However, after skirting the question earlier on the club’s media day, Benali was not ready to speak beyond the opener and explained that the team believed in taking it just one game at a time and explained that the team strategy would be dictated by which team they were facing and what point in the league.
“Each game has its own story, one game has plenty of small games and you should win those little games and if you succeed in winning the higher percentage of those little games (battles), it’s highly likely that you will win the game. Football is not about just attack or just defence, you need to strike a balance between the two,” was the Spaniard’s opinion.
NEUFC, who have an exciting breed of Indian players to field this season, will also put their confidence in their foreigners, with the likes of Guillermo Fernandez, Alaeddine Ajaraie and skipper Michel Zabaco ready to wipe off the disappointing seventh-place finish last season and go beyond their best-ever show of a third place in 2020-21.
And they will have a spring in their step with a pre-season Durand campaign that helped end their trophy drought of 10 years.
