We will be dangerous opponents for Bengaluru FC, says Manolo Marquez

The head coach also gave updates on the injured players.

Hyderabad FC will welcome Bengaluru FC at the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Hyderabad, in their next Indian Super League 2022-23 fixture. The reigning ISL champions have huge expectations on their shoulders and have begun the season with a positive mindset. A draw with Mumbai City followed by a 3-0 win over NorthEast United has shown the team’s quality. Manolo Marquez deserves huge credit for making HFC a strong side which is hard to beat. It will be interesting to see how his men fare against BFC in the next game. The head coach interacted with the media in the pre-match press conference ahead of the game and gave his opinion on a range of topics.

Hitesh Sharma was also in attendance with the tactician. Here are the excerpts from the conversation.

Start of the season

Manolo Marquez assessed Hyderabad FC’s start to the season and said, “We started well, the team is competitive. We started against a very strong side like Mumbai in Pune. I think that was a very good game for the crowd, not for the coaches. The other day, the team played a good game against NorthEast (United).

He added, "But, this is a competition. If you look at the table, it is very equal. FC Goa is the only one that won all the points (after playing only one game). The other ten teams did not get to win every match. That means that this is a very equal competition.”

Close competition

The Spaniard feels that the league is competitive with several teams capable of qualifying for the playoffs. He asserted, “This season there are a lot of candidates to arrive in the top four. If we speak about money, ATK (Mohun Bagan) is a great favourite. They have practically half of the Indian national team and very good foreigners. But, it is a very equal competition where every team can beat the opponent.”

Consistency is need of the hour

Manolo Marquez said that work needs to be done in all aspects to improve football in Hyderabad. While comparing the passion of Indian football fans towards the sport with his home nation Spain, the manager said, “In Spain, I know there are a lot of religions here, football is another religion. All the people are supporters of one team, not only Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. There are many teams. In India, I know the competition is very young. ISL is only in the ninth season but I know football is a very old sport in India. But, I think it is not the number one sport. That is cricket.”

“We have some players in the national team. We won last season. But, we have to continue in this way because it is not only about one year. If we want football to grow in Hyderabad, the group needs to work in all aspects,” he added.

Team News

The boss provided an update on the fitness of the players. He said, “We have recovered Akash Mishra for tomorrow and the other players are available except the injured Rohit Danu, Gurmeet and Joel Chianese.”

On Bengaluru FC

While talking about BFC and his assessment of the club, Manolo Marquez said, “I think they have very good individual players and the best quality is that, they, with not too much, can win the games because they have very good players in attack, set-pieces and in modern football with good organisation, sometimes it is enough to win games. It will be a tough game.”

“I think Bengaluru is one of the teams that can be fighting for the top-four and they will be dangerous opponents and of course, we will be dangerous opponents for them.” the tactician further added.

Hitesh Sharma on his preparation

Hitesh Sharma is enjoying a lot of game-time in the HFC midfield. While talking about the preparations for the season and the forthcoming matches, he said, “I think Durand Cup was a pre-season, so mostly the focus was towards ISL. The preparation is nice, it's a mountain which you have to climb and step-by-step improvement is important to reach the top of the mountain.”

On playing in front of fans

The midfielder mentioned that playing in front of the fans is an opportunity that the whole team is waiting for. He said, “These are the moments we want to play (for). We love to play in front of the home crowd. Everyone wants to and waiting to play tomorrow.”