FC Pune City set to kick-start pre season in AWES Cup

The Stallions are pitted against the likes of FC Goa, Salgaocar and Dempo SC in Group A.

Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Pune City would kick off their pre-season preparations by participating in the second edition of AWES Cup in Goa starting 29th August 2018, the club confirmed.

FC Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel said, “AWES Cup is played for a noble cause and we are glad to be a part of this. Having said that, it also is a very competitive tournament and it will give our team a good platform to test their skills and execute plans in match conditions. It will also help the coach to figure out what the team needs to work on for the upcoming season and most importantly, the team will get a great opportunity to gel together and find sync in real situations.” 

In the last edition of AWES Cup, FC Pune City Reserves squad went upto semifinals before losing to Dempo Sports Club 1-0. But this time around, the club has decided to participate in the event with their entire first team squad. FC Pune City is placed along with Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC and FC Goa in Group A.

Head coach Miguel Angel Portugal believes that besides training hard, match practice is the best way to evaluate the preparations for the upcoming 2018-19 season. “It is important for us to understand how’s the pre-season training helping the team and how the team is shaping up for the 2018-19 season. Playing AWES Cup will give us a clear indication of what we need to work on. Having said that, we aren’t going to the tournament to just participate.”

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FC Pune City squad

Forwards: Marcelo Pereira, Emiliano Alfaro, Diego Carlos, Iain Hume, Robin Singh, Rahul Yadav (Reserve), Jakob Vanlalhumpuia (Reserve)

Midfielders: Marko Stankovic, Jonathan Vila, Adil Khan, Gabriel Fernandes, Rohit Kumar, Shankar Sampingiraj, Alwyn George, Abhishek Haldar (Reserve)

Defenders: Matthew Mills, Martin Diaz, Gurtej Singh, Sahil Panwar, Chhuantea Fanai, Keenan Almeida, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Tarif Akhand (Reserve), Dimple Bhagat (Reserve);

Goalkeepers: Anuj Kumar, Bilal Khan (Reserve), Debopriya Das (Reserve)

FC Pune City schedule in AWES Cup, 2018

• 29.08.2018 – Salgaocar FC vs FC Pune City
• 06.09.2018 – FC Pune City vs FC Goa
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• 09.09.2018 – Dempo SC vs FC Pune City