Optimistic about the match, asserts Juan Ferrando

Midfielder Joni Kauko hopes his team will win by a margin of 4-0.

ATK Mohun Bagan will continue their AFC Cup 2022 campaign against Kuala Lumpur City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Inter-Zonal playoff is set to be played and there is a lot of pressure on Juan Ferrando and his side to progress to the finals. They made it to this very stage last year to lose to FC Nasaf 6-0.

The head coach of ATK Mohun Bagan, Juan Ferrando, addressed the media prior to the match. Here's what he said.

Thoughts on the game

ATKMB gaffer Juan Ferrando is optimistic about his team’s chances for the game. He talked at length during the pre-match conference. He started, “I think it’s an important match for us and our preparations are good. We know it’s a difficult match because at this moment, in the knockouts, you know we’ll play big clubs and it’s important to be ready for these matches.”

How can ATKMB bounce back from Durand Cup disappointment?

The Mariners head into this game after a disappointing Durand Cup campaign, in which they lost to Rajasthan United and were knocked out in the group stages. When asked about how he aims to bounce back from that, Ferrando explained, “I think these are different tournaments. The Durand Cup is past and our focus is on tomorrow. The most important thing in football is to think about the present and future.

“We’re playing very good teams here and we’ll try to work in different ways, because for us, the AFC Cup is very important and it’s necessary to prepare the team in different ways for the upcoming championships. The players are ready and motivated for tomorrow’s game. They’re thinking about the future as a club. I hope tomorrow we’ll be happy after the match,” he added.

On his team struggling to score

With ATK Mohun Bagan struggling to score goals in the Durand Cup games, the Spaniard was questioned on how he plans on improving the goal-scoring issues. He answered, “I know these are different games. It’s important to improve certain details, of course. But the Durand Cup is past and I think it’s necessary to think that tomorrow it’ll be completely different. It’s necessary to take the best decisions every minute - in the first half or the second half. We want to be in the next round and it’s necessary to play the perfect match tomorrow. The team is ready for these things.

“I’m worried as a coach if we can’t create chances. That’s a big problem because we’d have to change the plans and a lot of things then. But we’re working in a good way and the players want to win all the time. I hope we’re luckier in the final third tomorrow and that we can win the match. The team is in a good condition, they’re creating chances and working on my plans. The players want to improve and help the team," Juan Ferrando added.

Update on foreigners

Giving an update on the condition and fitness of new foreign stars Dimitri Petratos and Brendan Hamill, Juan Ferrando stated, “The conditions of the players are much better now. It’s different for foreign players when they come here to India. It takes time to adapt to the weather, the food and the conditions. That’s normal. We will have to take decisions on the foreign players. It’ll be a difficult decision. But we’ll have to take that. I’m not 100% happy because we’ll be short of some very good players (due to the foreigner rule), but it’s necessary to find the best players for our plans tomorrow.”

Thoughts on Kuala Lumpur City FC

Talking about the opponents Kuala Lumpur City FC, Juan Ferrando stated, “I think they're a good team because they’re in the semi-finals. They are a team who are big in transitions, offensive areas and in defensive actions. They have a clear plan for the league, the AFC Cup and other cups. They're working in a good way. When you play in an international cup, it isn’t the case of luck. It’ll be a difficult game of course, but we’re very optimistic about tomorrow.”

Potential approach

The tactician also scoffed at hints that he might be looking to employ a more defensive style against Kuala Lumpur City after his backline showed signs of vulnerability in the Durand Cup. He said: “My focus is always to score one more goal than the opponent. It’s necessary to continue in the same way, make it 1-0 and then go to 2-0 and then go to 3-0. That’s the mentality of this club and the players. I’m not thinking about not conceding and defending. Maybe it’s my point of view, but when you don’t take a risk, you’ll lose.

“When you don’t take a risk, you are bound to make mistakes. Maybe different clubs think about not conceding goals, not making mistakes and keeping the ball out, but for me, that isn’t. It’s necessary to play attacking football, to be in the opponent's half and to create opportunities. Of course, then it’s necessary to improve in defensive work, but my main goal isn't to not concede goals,” he added.

Plans to use the foreigners

Finally, when asked about how he plans to use his wide range of foreign players, the coach said, “We are working in different ways. Tomorrow we’ll have an important game, but when you prepare the team in training sessions, you have to find different ways. My squad is ready to play all local players in attack, to have a backline with all-foreign centre-backs and for midfield to have Indian players.

He added, "It's necessary to have more than just one plan. It’s necessary to train the squad in different situations. And then we make decisions about the best line-up, the best players and who can help in the first half and then in the second half.”

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Finnish midfielder Joni Kauko assisted the coach in the press conference. Here's what he said.

Easier opponent than last time?

Joni Kauko incidentally made his ATKMB debut in the 6-0 loss to FC Nasaf in the Inter-Zonal semi-finals last year. When asked about if he’s relieved to have an ‘easier’ opponent this time, he said, “I really hope the result isn’t the same as last year because that was pretty bad. I was in a shock after that. It was a horrible game last season. I really hope it won’t be like that again. The situation is different right now, it’s a different team, a different country and we’re playing at home. Those are the things to speak for us, and I hope we’ll win by the margin of 4-0 this time.”

Kauko praises Kuala Lumpur City

Giving his thoughts on the challenge of the game, he added, “It’s going to be a challenge. I think they have a lot of quality and they’re a good side. They’re strong in both ends of the pitch. They’re putting a lot of concentration on set-pieces, so we must be careful with that too. They have a lot of good things in their game, but I also feel if we can keep the same form as we had in the AFC Cup group stages, then we’ll be able to win tomorrow.”

On the new foreign recruits

Finally, when asked about how the new foreigners are settling into the team, Kauko said, “There are new players who will always take some time to adapt. Every player comes from a different country and different situation in their lives. It always takes time to be part of the team completely. But we still have a good base. We still have a better structure.

“It’s’ easier for the new players to get adapted to the team. When it comes to tactical aspects, it depends on the strength of the team. If the team is strong enough, you can change the tactics in different ways. We have lots of different players, different qualities and different things they can do. We need every single player, we’ll try to do our best and then we'll take where it takes us.”