This is a final for both teams, claims Juan Ferrando

Juan Ferrando also spoke about the fitness levels of some major players.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant are aiming to book a place in the AFC Cup 2023 group stages by defeating Dhaka Abahani in their AFC Cup Preliminary Stage 2 clash at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on August 22.

Juan Ferrando treating the qualifier as a final

Juan Ferrando is taking this game very seriously and believes that the Bangladesh side will be up for giving his side a tough time. Ahead of the game, he said: “The opponent is one we respect a lot. They are a good team with very good players in their squad. It won’t be easy tomorrow because it’s a final for 90 minutes. Both teams want the same goal, to be in the AFC Cup group stages, so it’s necessary for our focus to be to win in 90 minutes.

“Both teams will play for the same target. I know last season we won against them, but it’s different now because the moment of the season is different. We played them last April, and now it’s totally different. It’s important to think about tomorrow because this is a final for both teams,” he added.

Plans to rotate team and danger areas of Dhaka Abahani

When asked about his plans to rotate the team for this and the upcoming Durand Cup knockout games, the Spaniard answered: “It’s difficult to talk about this because our pre-season was difficult. I’ve had to work for a lot of important matches. Tomorrow we have a final, so we’ll try to think about tomorrow and then think about the Durand Cup games.

He added, "It’s difficult to talk about the balance because it’s not possible to always work with the squad, some players are playing in the Calcutta Football League, some are in the Durand Cup and some in the AFC Cup. Now we’re thinking to win all the matches, and after the AFC Cup and Durand Cup, we will get more time to work as a unit and prepare for the Indian Super League season ahead.”

Juan Ferrando also listed out the danger areas of the Sky Blue Brigade that his side have to be wary off. He explained: “We checked the last matches. They are strong in set-pieces and their forwards as well as wingers are fast in the transitions. They control a lot of the transitions. I know it’s difficult to talk about the last match, because the field condition was bad, but if the field condition is good they try to attack and find spaces. They have quality players. I don’t think the last match truly revealed their entire potential because the condition of the pitch was not good and sometimes both teams had trouble playing football.”

Can Petratos and Sadiku prominently feature?

When asked about the fitness situation of Dimitri Petratos and Armando Sadiku, he answered: “They are improving physically. They were late for pre-season, so it’s not possible to be fit in a few weeks. Our target is to help them with every training session. It’s necessary to control the minutes because there is a risk of injury. I hope day-by-day, they can improve in their fitness levels and help the team.”

Why there are no favourites and tactical plans

Juan Ferrando also explained why he doesn’t believe that the Mariners are the favourites for this clash, despite having home advantage, saying:  “I think it’s not possible to think about who is the favourite. It’s like a final because in 90 minutes it will be decided which team gets into the group stages. If we play home and away, it was two matches and you had the possibility of turning the tides in another 90 minutes in the second clash. But in this one match, in 90 minutes, it’s not fair to talk about favourites. I’d like to talk about how we need to focus, find the best plan and be careful against Dhaka Abahani. In football, anything is possible.”

Finally, the Spaniard opened up on what he’ll do if Dhaka Abahani decide to man-mark his major players and push them into different areas. He said: “The position of our players is different in every match. In every match, we plan for different plans. Players like Liston (Colaco) plays on the left wing, but the plan can change. Sometimes it's not possible to play someone only in one position.

“Modern football is about players adapting depending on circumstances. Tomorrow is a different match and we need to prepare plans A, B and C because it’s a 90-minute game. It’s a different thing when the clash is a home-and-away thing, but in this we’ll need to change our plans depending on what is happening at the moment,” the tactician finished with.