NorthEast United head coach Juan Pedro Benali talks about upcoming opponents

Mohammedan SC to kick start their debut ISL season.

Durand Cup champions NorthEast United FC are ready to face Indian Super League (ISL) debutant team Mohammedan SC, the I-League champion of 2023-24, on the 16th of September at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata. Juan Pedro Benali spoke to the media ahead of their clash in ISL opener.

Both teams share a special story. NorthEast United FC, which had never won any silverware since its formation, became victorious in the historic Durand Cup this year. On the other hand, Mohammedan SC wrote an inspiring story of a comeback, going from relegation to the bottom level to becoming the champions of the second tier of professional club football competition in 10 years. The club is the second team after Punjab FC to earn an ISL spot by winning the I-League.

Juan Pedro Benali and one of the club captains, Mirshad Michu, addressed the media in the pre-match press conference, at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati today. Head coach Benali shared his thoughts and opinions on the Black Panthers.

Both teams have to prove a point

When asked about facing a debutant team, head coach Juan Pedro Benali expressed that the game would be dangerous for both teams, as both have a point to prove. “It will be a dangerous game for both of us. For Mohammedan SC, playing at home in front of their fans and everything, coming as their first game of ISL, they will be pushing a lot. They need to show that they deserve to be in ISL, that they deserve it as champions of the I-League. But they want to show it on the field, especially against us,” said Juan Pedro Benali.

Benali also stated that as his team, NEUFC, is the topic of discussion, after winning the 133rd Durand Cup, they want to prove that it wasn’t a miracle, but rather the result of hard work. “From our side, it will be tough because it’s the first game after Durand. First game of ISL. We need to show that it was not a miracle Durand. It was work, and we need to win.”

“Everybody is putting us high because we won the Durand Cup and everything. And they want to put us down as fast as possible,” he added.

On former player from NEUFC, playing for Black Panthers

Rochharzela, Gaurav Bora, and Joe Zoherliana, who were former NorthEast United players, will now face their old team in the first game of the ISL season. When asked about facing these former players, coach Juan Pedro Benali said, “A lot of players who played for NorthEast are now playing for Mohammedan SC, and they will show that they deserved to be here.

“They were very good. Why did they leave? Why did I, as a coach, let them go somewhere else? They want to show that they were very good here and that a mistake was made with them. That’s the point.”

The Spanish coach mentioned that if his son played for the opposite team, he would consider him as an opponent on the field. He expressed this by saying, “Now they have the jersey of Mohammedan. You know, if my son was playing with Mohammedan SC, he is my son, but inside the field, he is not my son. We play against Mohammedan. We need to do our job and try to bring the points back to Guwahati.”

“After the game, we talk, we laugh, we smile. We are brothers, sons, everything. But during the game, I don’t even remember my father,” Juan Pedro Benali concluded.

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