Kerala Blasters' Danish Farooq on Durand Cup 2024, upcoming ISL season & more

The Yellow Army have impressed so far in the Durand Cup 2024

Kerala Blasters have had a dominant start to the 2024-25 season by impressing in the ongoing 2024 Durand Cup. Mikael Stahre’s side made a statement of intent by topping their group, winning two of their three matches and scoring a whopping 16 goals across the initial games.

It’s clear that Stahre is going to impose a thrilling attacking style for the Tuskers this season. This can be a joy for all players, including energetic midfielder Danish Farooq. The 28-year-old midfielder has asserted himself as the engine of Kerala’s midfield and produced some admirable performances in the group stages.

Danish Farooq on Kerala Blasters’ dominance in Durand Cup

Farooq sat down with Khel Now for an exclusive interview reflecting on the Durand Cup and Kerala Blasters’ early-season heroics. He spoke about the Tuskers’ outing in the Durand Cup group stages, stating: “We’ve been doing very well in the tournament so far (in the Druand Cup). The key is that we’ve been together for more than a month, have been playing to build the chemistry wih each other. The pre-season campaign in Thailand was very good for us and everyone is now very focused.”

Impact of new signings and team chemistry

When asked if he feels whether the team is seeing its chemistry levels improve and the impact of the new foreign signings (like Noah Sadaoui), he answered: “We are building our team from Thailand and had good pre-season sessions there.  We have new players in our team this year and they will also help us in getting good performances. We’ll try to give a good show this season and do our best to win trophies.”

What objectives are Kerala Blasters going to pursue?

Farooq has also echoed his head coach in keeping major objectives in mind for the 2024-25 season, revealing: “The preparation for the Durand Cup has been very good and going very well for us. The objective is very clear, we want to win this tournament. This is a very good tournament, which we want to win, and then continue our momentum in the 2024-25 ISL as well.”

How does Mikael Stahre operate as a head coach?

The 28-year-old also spoke about how Stahre has been as a head coach and how he’s motivated the squad, saying: “The coach’s message from the first day has been very clear that we want to win titles this season and we must work very hard for that. We have been trying our best till now, working very hard and everyone is very focused on playing good attacking football.”

The impact of Kerala Blasters’ fan base

Kerala Blasters have one of the most devoted fan bases in Indian Football and Farooq voiced how grateful the players are for their support, explaining: “If you talk about the fans in Kerala, they are obviously very passionate and you don’t need anything else to motivate yourself. When you see them cheering for you, that is itself a big motivational factor.

“They wait for us before matches start, they cheer in large numbers in the ground and I don’t think any player who plays for Kerala Blasters needs any more motivation. They give us everything we need,” he added.

Kerala Blasters’ chances of winning the Durand Cup title

When asked about Kerala Blasters’ chances of lifting the 2024 Durand Cup title, he stated: “We have been doing really well till now and every player is doing his best. There are other teams doing their best to win the cup. We have a good chance to win the cup, we must focus on ourselves, stick to our plan and let’s see what happens. We’ll give our best.”

Farooq on aspiration to get back into the Indian national team

Finally, Farooq was asked about which aspects of his game he feels the need to improve in order to get back into the Indian national team. He revealed: “I always believe in hard work. So I want to work hard and strive to be better than what I was yesterday. “I want to be better each and every day and do my level best to get back into the national camp this year,” the midfielder finished off with.

Tune in to witness the best of Indian football as top teams compete for glory in this iconic tournament. Catch the prestigious 133rd IndianOil Durand Cup LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD channels

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