It will be a difficult game against Odisha FC, says Sergio Lobera

Published at :December 6, 2020 at 1:56 AM

Modified at :December 13, 2023 at 1:01 PM

(Courtesy : ISL Media)

The Islanders boss also opined that the Juggernauts are good in both defence and attack.

Mumbai City FC finally look to be soaring under Sergio Lobera and will seek to maintain their winning run when they face Odisha FC on Sunday. The Islanders are still unbeaten in the Indian Super League (ISL) season and are aiming to maintain that run against Odisha FC.

Sergio Lobera is happy that his team are progressing under him, but refused to rule out the threat of tomorrow’s opponents. He said, “I think Odisha not only has a good defence, but also a very good attack. They have (Manuel) Onwu, Marcelinho and very good Indian stars.

“We need to work every well in both styles. Our plan is to be loyal to our style and try to play as well as possible. We need to think about how it’s possible to create chances and also to defend, because it’s not easy to play against a team like Odisha,” he added.

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He does not regard the game against Odisha to the ones his side have played so far and explained this, “Every game is different. It’s not the same to play against NorthEast or play against FC Goa or even the last game. All these sides are very good teams. They have experienced coaches and it’s difficult for us.

“It’ll be a difficult game tomorrow I’m sure. We’ll try to play our style of attacking football. The balance in football is the most important thing. We need to have balance between attack and defence. We need to try to score goals because that was our objective,” he added.

Lobera is also pleased with his squad strength this time around and that he has the pleasure of being able to rotate between Bartholomew Ogbeche and Adam le Fondre. He explained, “I have a very good squad with very good players. That’s an amazing problem for me. If you want to win the game, you need a fantastic first XI. If you want to win the league, you need a very good squad. In the first game I wanted to play with them both, but last two games I didn’t.

“It all depends on the game or on the situation. During this season, it’s especially important to have a very good squad because you need fresh legs from the bench. When you have very good players coming from the bench to improve the level of the team, that’s very good for me as a coach. We play on 6th and 9th, two rapid games in difficult circumstances. When you have very good players, maybe you can manage these situations better,” he added.

Despite being second in the ISL table and playing really well, Lobera refuses to term his team as favourites to win the title and when asked about that, he said: “For me, there are no favourites. This season is a very different season with special circumstances.

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“The season with injuries during the short season and when you have problems with one player, quarantining a potential replacement is an important thing. There are some very good teams who are also favourites to win. When you speak about favourites, maybe you don’t respect the other teams. We need to improve a lot of things and that is my job as coach,” he added.

Farukh Choudhary also joined his coach for the digital pre-match press conference and when asked about his thoughts on reaching 50 ISL appearances tomorrow, he said: “Obviously, it’ll be a special game tomorrow. I think every game is important. It’ll be just like a normal game for me. My message to aspirating kids is to keep believing in yourself and working hard. Work hard, be patient and wait for your chance.”

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Choudhary is also pleased to be working under Sergio Lobera and gave raving comments when asked for his thoughts on the new coach. He said, “The coach is different and I was looking forward to learning a lot of things under him. I’m sure that whatever time I spend under him I'll improve a lot.

“There are many things I can learn from him and obviously I’ll be a different player in a year under him. I’m definitely looking forward to many more games and training sessions with him, so that I can learn alot from him,” he added.

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