I’m happy that the team showed character, says Juan Ferrando after winning the Durand Cup

Mohun Bagan won despite being reduced to 10 men in the second half

Mohun Bagan Super Giant won the 132nd Durand Cup title with a gritty 1-0 win over rivals East Bengal in a jam-packed Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday (3 September). Despite going down to 10 men in the second half, an instinctive strike from Dimitri Petratos helped the Mariners lift the three coveted trophies for the first time in over two decades.

Ferrando’s thoughts on the win and Cummings’ bench role

Juan Ferrando was delighted with the win and upon being asked if he feels this was his personal best Kolkata Derby win, he answered: “Look, I’ll be honest. Before our Durand Cup games, I’ve said that this is still pre-season. We need to improve in transitions and in our position in the attacks.  

“But I’m happy that the team showed character and that everyone wanted to help the team. This is the basic things for us to start clicking from pre-season. A happy-dressing groom is much better than working tactically for 1,000 hours. I didn’t think this to be a big final or this being the best derby win, we have to win two derbies more in the ISL this season,” he added.

When asked about why Jason Cummings didn’t start and came on in the second half, he stated: “It was a tactical decision not to start him. Jason and Dimi had played 80-90 minutes two days ago, so we wanted to play one player. That is why Jason came in the second half and our plan was to use Manvir and Jason in the second half, due to our tactical plan. But we had to change the plan because of the red card, we had to prepare in a different way. But I’m happy because he fought a lot and did his best until the last minute.”

Were the players motivated by the red card?

Ferrando refused to criticize Anirudh Thapa despite his sending off, saying: “I don’t know what to talk about the referee's decision to send him off, he was looking well.. I think he was very tired so it's difficult to control some actions. This is the decision of the referees. In this case, I was thinking about Glan (Martins) or Abhishek (Suryavanshi) because they are in the team to compete. I think Thapa performed well in the AFC Cup and this tournament. He needs to improve in the build-up play  and with processing the ball forward in transitions, but I’m so happy with his job so far.”

When asked if he feels his side got motivated by that red card, he explained: “When we go through difficult moments, I think it’s important for the team to want to do the best. The players on the pitch and on the bench, they push the team because they want to win the trophy. We changed some tactical aspects, but the energy of this team is brilliant. Last season, this team showed big character and won the ISL trophy. The character of this team is incredible, so it’s praise the important aspects of this team.”

Positives taken from Durand Cup win

Ferrando also opened up on the biggest positives his side took from the Durand Cup win, revealing: “The biggest positive for us is that there are no injuries! Of course, this is a trophy and I’m happy that we got to play against big teams – against Mumbai, Goa and today against East Bengal. In this case, when you play friendly matches then you can learn things about your squad and try to find more formations. This was the most important thing, about how much I learnt about the squad.”

Accusations of benefitting from bigger squad

Finally Ferrando got a bit agitated when asked for his response on East Bengal manager Carles Cuadrat accusing Mohun Bagan of having a 34-man squad for this tournament, as compared to everyone else’s 30-man squad. He answered: “There is a rule about the U-23 players in the squad. I think it’s time to read the rules of the Durand Cup. I want to help improve Indian football, so lets forget about these things and look into the football.

“We need to talk about the tournament and let’s not talk about such bulls*** things If it’s not the rules, it’s the referees, if not the referees then the weather, if not weather then it’s the humidity.  It’s unnecessary to talk about these things. We followed the rules. We are not stupid that we didn’t break any rules. We have many players go to the U-23 national team, so it’s possible for us to replace them. I prefer not to talk anymore,” he ended with.