I expect an open competition in our first match against India- Curacao Head Coach Remko Bicentini
The Dutch tactician lavished praise on Indian stars Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan.
“India have a number of good players in their ranks including Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri,” Curacao Head Coach Remko Bicentini told AIFF Media in an exclusive interview.
A day prior to the Indian Senior Men’s National Team’s King’s Cup opener against a strong Curacao, the rival coach spoke at length about his assessment about Blue Tigers, Curacao’s preparation for the tournament, the strength of his squad, and much more.
Here are the excerpts.
What is your assessment of the Indian Team, and its players?
The Indian Team has a new Coach on board who will understandably transfer his ideas to the team. A number of good players are currently playing in India including Sandesh Jhingan, and Sunil Chhetri. We will certainly take that into account.
How is your Team preparing for the King's Cup?
We will use the King’s Cup as a platform to prepare for the Gold Cup which is due next in the USA. The King's Cup is a competitive tournament in Thailand. The circumstances here are ideal for training, and hence, we are focussing on getting ready for our next two matches, the first one of which is against India.
What kind of match are you expecting between India and Curacao?
I expect an open competition in our first match against India. We will use this game to try out a number of game elements.
Related
-
Curacao Vs India Preview: Blue Tigers embark on era as Chhetri eyes national record
-
Top five key takeaway from India's final squad for King's Cup
-
Luka Radman is very knowledgeable and has worked with a lot of top players- Sunil Chhetri
Your team has players from a number of top leagues across Europe. Will we see the top stars take part in the King's Cup?
We have many players who play at the highest level in Europe. They will certainly be playing in this tournament. But at the same time, a number of players who have played of late, will also get a chance to play. We have had a few changes in the basic set-up in the last 2 years. It will be good to see how the other players react. The competition must always be a fierce one.
In 2018, your team remained unbeaten and scored 23 goals in five matches. Will we see a repeat in 2019?
[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]2018 was a good year for us. In the Nations League competition, we scored many goals, lost only one game, and qualified for the elite group which kicks-off in September. From now on, we will play against better opponents, and we would want to score as many goals as possible. But realistically that will not happen.
We are going one level up, so as we have done in the last 3 years, we also have to grow with that. 23 goals in 5 matches is excellent at the International level. But as a coach, I will always be satisfied as long as we score just one goal more than our opponent.
- Real Madrid & Liverpool set to hold talks today over Trent Alexander-Arnold's future
- Liverpool vs Real Madrid: Live streaming, TV channel, kick-off time & where to watch UEFA Champions League 2024-25
- Kerala Blasters vs FC Goa lineups, team news, prediction & preview
- Real Madrid vs Liverpool: Head-to-head record
- Jason Cummings claims every team is in contention for ISL Shield except East Bengal
- Ashutosh Mehta on ISL comeback, national team call-up, relationship with Khalid Jamil & more
- Petr Kratky highlights this Mumbai City FC player's performance against Kerala Blasters
- Mohun Bagan not be fined by AFC after recognising their case as 'Event of Force Majeure'
- How much bonus did Vinicius Jr miss out on after losing Ballon d'Or 2024 award?
- Mats Hummels' girlfriend: Meet Nicola Cavanis, her job, Instagram & more
- Jason Cummings claims every team is in contention for ISL Shield except East Bengal
- Top 10 players to play for both Real Madrid and Liverpool
- ISL 2024-25: Full fixtures, schedule, results, standings & more
- Manolo Marquez highlights 'key problems' ahead of Kerala Blasters clash in ISL
- Top 10 best midfielders in 2024