I've more problems than to talk about one referee: Juan Ferrando

Mohun Bagan striker Armando Sadiku said he’s eyeing a revenge against East Bengal.

Mohun Bagan got the better of FC Goa in the Durand Cup 2023 semi-finals to progress into the grand finale. They’ll be up against arch-rivals East Bengal on Sunday. After 19 years, Kolkata football lovers will again witness a Durand Cup final where the two Giants will collide with an aim to lift the coveted title.

Mohun Bagan boss Juan Ferrando addressed the media at the press conference. Excerpts are below:

Juan Ferrando’s thoughts on the game

Mohun Bagan didn’t have an easy game against Goa and it was mainly a comeback win for them. Juan Ferrando shared his thoughts, “Today’s match was difficult for the players. They played four days ago. Most of the team was tired today. But they continued to work hard. They were able to change the score in our favour because they have the personality and because they want to play the final.”

He added, “In some moments, we weren’t the best team on the pitch. It’s difficult to play so many matches in such short time. But the schedule is not in our hands.”

When asked about facing East Bengal in the final, the mentor stated, “For me the most important is the recovery of the players. We play the final on Sunday. After recovery, we’ll prepare for the final. Currently, it’s not possible to speak about the final’s opponent because we are thinking about our team.”

Time for revenge?

Mohun Bagan lost their group stage game to East Bengal. And now, they’ll face their arch-rivals once again. Although the stakes are high for this game and fans will seek revenge from East Bengal, Juan Ferrando stated otherwise.

He said, “No. This is a pre-season tournament for us. It’s important to check different players in different positions, to check some details about our system. My job is to prepare the plan, help the players and try to win the trophy.”

Armando Sadiku, who scored the winner against FC Goa, said in this regard, “Personally, yes. The first derby (group stage) was my debut at Mohun Bagan and I played very bad. So, I need a revenge. I’ll give my best to score and win this trophy.”

On the refereeing

The penalty through which Mohun Bagan restored parity in the game, seemed to be a controversial one. Juan Ferrando said in this regard:

“If we are talking about the referee, we can say that there were two fouls which were not given to us and this is why they scored their first goal. Regarding the penalty, when we played in Goa, Joni Kauko was fouled but no decision was taken to give a penalty. Sometimes referees take difficult decisions. It helps sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t. If Manolo (Marquez) thinks he is not in the final because of the penalty, I would prefer to say I have more problems than to talk about one referee.

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