We must be ready for very competitive match: Carles Cuadrat

Carles Cuadrat mentioned his happiness regarding the direction in which the cub is going.

East Bengal will look to maintain their winning momentum when they travel to play their first away game of the 2023-24 Indian Super League (ISL) season against Bengaluru FC on Wednesday (October 4). The Red & Gold Brigade are still unbeaten under Carles Cuadrat in the ISL, with this upcoming clash being a special ‘homecoming’ for the Spanish mentor.

Carles Cuadrat’s feelings on facing Bengaluru FC and their suspensions

Ahead of the game, Cuadrat was asked about how tough he feels the match against his former side will be. He answered: “We know that Bengaluru have been in the three finals last season. They won the Durand Cup, and were in the final of the ISL and Super Cup. They’re a very competitive team who have brought on new players to improve their solid project. We must be ready for a very competitive match. They need points after two games and they play in front of a very loud set of crowd at the stadium. They got a lot of points in the last minutes due to the support of the crowd. So, we must pay attention to that and be focused all the time. We must be ready for a tough battle.”

When asked if he feels that they’ll be at a disadvantage due to losing Naorem Roshan Singh and Suresh Singh due to suspension, the tactician commented:  “Of course not. When you are losing some players, the players who come in have to show to the coach that the deserve a place in the team. We’ll play 11v11 and after losing two games, they have an opportunity to show their supporters and coach that they deserve a place to replace Suresh and Roshan. They will perform with a high intensity for sure.”

How does Carles feel about returning to the Kanteerava?

Carles Cuadrat is also looking forward to his return to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium under new colours, as he said: “We are excited! We love big crowds and we are very happy with our supporters because they really help us. We’ve been getting results in the last moments of the last games. We also beat NorthEast United in the Durand Cup semi-final in the last moments of the game because of our connection with the crowd helping us. In the Sree Kanteerava, they have a big crowd and I remember the West Block Blues very well. But we’ll also have our fans, because we have a lot of East Bengal fans there. I’ve played there against East Bengal and I have suffered for some results because they won the game. It’ll be an interesting match for sure.”

Cuadrat’s dissection of East Bengal’s project

Cuadrat is happy with East Bengal’s start and how his new project is going so far as his side gets ready for their first away game of the season. He explained:  “We’ve seen that all the matches have been decided by narrow results. Yesterday, Kerala won because of a special moment of quality from Adrian Luna. A lot of times, who is scoring the first goal gets the advantage. Both of us have consistent teams and anything can happen. It’s our first match away so we have to live with that kind of sensation, to travel, be in another hotel and play in other grounds.

“We’ve played eight official games so far, but all have been in Kolkata. So this will be a new sensation. But I’m very positive. When we look into the club, we are not saying that we need the results now. We are settled on a new project and there are a lot of positives on it. We have three players going to the national team next week and that hasn’t happened since 2015, when was the last time that many East Bengal players went to the national team. We have Hijazi who plays for the Jordan national team, we have Prabhsukhan Gill playing with the U-23 national team and we have 2-3 players in the U-17 national side. That means that the club is building up something for the future. We are getting results. We got to the final of the Durand Cup. Now we have one clean-sheet in two games, four our of six points which is the best-ever start for East Bengal in an ISL season.

“There are signs that we are in the right direction, but it takes time. A good example would be Hyderabad FC, who became champions a few seasons ago. But in their first season they didn’t reach the playoffs, had the same problems. So what I’m saying is that I’m very happy with the direction the club is taking, but we have to take it one match at a time but also be calm with our development. The pressure is on for us and also for Bengaluru as they reached the finals last season,” he added.

Cuadrat sends message to the fans

Finally, the Spaniard sent a sweet message to the fans and said: “It was a very nice surprise and I loved the tifo (shown against Hyderabad FC). But it also had Dimas Delgado in it, so we have a fully staff working on our success. I have no words to appreciate what the fans are doing for us. We can feel their love constantly.

“They are behind us trying to help us get the results and whenever I go to any place, there is some fan saying ‘Joy East Bengal’ and taking pictures together. Kolkata is a city of football and the fans are happy about the new project. I only demand for them to be supportive. It’s a long season which will have good and bad moments. I must thank them for everything they’re doing for the team and we’ll do all we can to win matches for them,” he finished with.