'We are basically homeless' - Antonio Lopez Habas ahead of Mohammedan clash

Inter Kashi play their home matches of the 2025/26 ISL at Kishore Bharati Stadium, Kolkata.

Inter Kashi, who was promoted to the Indian Super League (ISL) ahead of the 2025/26 season, has established itself as one of those clubs that are difficult to break down and not ready to give up points easily. Despite a promising start, they saw a decline in form with three straight losses.

However, they have returned to winning ways after defeating Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in their most recent encounter away from home. Habas started the game with only two foreigners, but his Indian players, particularly the defenders, performed excellently. This victory would have given them tremendous confidence after suffering three straight losses.

Next, they head back home to play Mohammedan SC at the Kishore Bharati Stadium, which serves as the home for both sides in the 2025/26 ISL season. Ahead of the game, forward Asif Khan and head coach Antonio Lopez Habas addressed the media about individual mistakes, a lack of backing from fans, and other topics.

Antonio Lopez Habas stresses on correcting individual mistakes:

While Antonio Lopez Habas’ team is known for its compact shape and defensive excellence, the Spanish head coach has frequently been on the losing end or lost points due to individual errors made by players at critical moments of the game.

While the players’ errors or lapses in their concentration are understandable given that they are stepping up from a lower-tier league, Habas emphasised the need to improve on these particular mistakes in order to make progress in the ISL.

“I think the collective sense is the most important in my team and the tactical application, and after that, the individual condition of the player is the most important. You have to mix everything, and for that you have the team.” 

“Now we had three matches with no good score, but the problem is not the collective or the tactical improvement of the team. The problem was individual mistakes, not collective mistakes. You have to solve the situation in the individual mistakes, and after that, you have to continue to grow in the ISL,” stressed Habas.

Antonio Lopez Habas on playing home matches at Kolkata:

While Inter Kashi will play Mohammedan at Kishore Bharati Krirangan, it is merely for formal scheduling factors. The Uttar Pradesh team is forced to play its home matches in Kolkata this season while its home stadium in Kashi is being built. In reality, Kishore Bharati is Mohammedan SC’s home stadium, and they are likely to have more fans than the hosts (on paper), Inter Kashi.

“We are basically homeless. No fans behind us, and we have to travel for every game. We are always on the wrong side. Maybe the next season is possible to change, but actually in the last season, even in the I-League, we are all the time one team, always travelling,” added Habas.

Asif Khan on the season so far:

Asif Khan, who has been with Inter Kashi ever since their inception ahead of the 2023/24 I-League season, was handed his first start of the season by Habas in the last game against Chennaiyin FC. The young Indian attacker put in a solid performance and worked hard off the ball. Asif discussed the season so far and the team’s mindset going into each game.

“The mindset has been very good. From day one, it is to win the game always, whether we win or we lose. We have prepared very well for this game, and we are looking forward to it. It’s never pressure for us (playing at home) because from day one we have been preparing and we have been doing very well. Sometimes the result is not in our favour, but we keep going,” said Asif Khan.

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