Ivan Vukomanovic doesn't care; Pezzaiuoli happy with progress

The last clash between these two sides ended in a stalemate.

With COVID-19 cases disrupting their run in the Indian Super League 2021-22 season, Kerala Blasters will return to action after 18 days, when they play Bengaluru FC on Sunday. KBFC coach Ivan Vukomanovic confirmed that there are still players in his team unavailable due to positive COVID-19 cases. Nevertheless, they will still go ahead with the match and look to relaunch their title charge. Their opponents Bengaluru FC are unbeaten in their last seven games, but will play their third match in a week's time. Marco Pezzaiuoli is happy with the progress his side have made.

The last clash between these two sides ended in a stalemate, with Ashique Kuruniyan scoring at both ends in the space of four minutes. A win on Sunday will send Kerala Blasters level with league leaders Hyderabad FC, while Bengaluru FC can also enter the top three with a victory.

Ahead of the match, coaches Ivan Vukomanovic and Marco Pezzaiuoli addressed the media at the pre-match press conference. Here's what they said:

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Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic

Is it easy to get back to where you had left before this break?

Ivan Vukomanovic: If tomorrow we have to play Kabaddi game then we probably have enough players. Maybe 7-8 or maybe 10 players maximum. It's strange. But, football game for tomorrow? We don't know. We will use everyone we can for tomorrow because the show must go on. Nobody cares if you're ready or not. Of course, whoever plays will try to give their 100%. If it will look like a football game, I don't know. We still don't know if we are going to go to the game tomorrow.

The fact is that we had to play our last game knowing that our opponents had positive cases and yet they said no no you've to go and play and then the day after, it just started in our camp. At one moment, I stopped counting. When we reached above 20 something cases, we stopped counting.

The only thing we care about now is the health of all of us in the group. Because if you see, almost half of our group has actually got hit with COVID. Many players now have respiratory issues. Post-COVID period is very difficult. Even going upstairs and downstairs is very difficult, you lose your breath.

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Was the decision to play against Odisha a mistake? Did the club request to postpone the game?

Ivan Vukomanovic: In a situation where it's not up to us to decide, you can maybe ring a bell or alarm or you know say certain things, but it's not up to us. The federation decides that we have to go to play. We understand that the games must be played. Maybe sometimes they don't care if the teams have enough players. Some of the games were postponed, some not. Because that was a difficult moment and situation.

Our last game, we knew that there were some positive cases on the opponent's side and at that moment, we were good in our bubble. Just the morning after that game, it started. On a daily basis, we were getting three more, four more positive cases. I cannot say that it was a mistake. It's a football game. In a football game, the players get in contact. The virus can spread, you can just pass on the virus. Maybe you should avoid what you can avoid. But, we also understand that there's no time to stop the competition because you've to play games till that period or whatever it is. Now we all suffer.

Will this long quarantine for the squad affect the fitness and momentum?

Ivan Vukomanovic: The quarantine and the bubble are there for a while and we are used to it. Let's say it's organized luxury imprisonment. We are sitting in our hotel and we have our routine. When you stop for two weeks, it affects your current fitness levels. It affects your preparation and everything. We are used to it. I don't know how many times a day we got tested, 2-3 times a day. When you wake up, you go for the test. When you go for the training, you go for the test. When you come back from the training, you go for the test. It is kind of a headache.

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You see and go around all the teams and ask the players, they'll say that look we just want to finish this madness and go home. Because I think even if we didn't have this bubble this year, we would have the same situation. On the mental side, there's no problem. We're alright because we're a nice group with good people. We've good atmosphere. We're in good momentum. It doesn't matter if we are going to stop. We don't care anymore. I think half of the league doesn't care anymore.

Bengaluru FC coach Marco Peazziauoli

Bengaluru FC have had good results in the last few games. Have you changed the playing style?

Marco Peaaziuoli: We were clear from the beginning, it’s our style. But, it also depends on the opponents and the situation. Sometimes you press high, sometimes you go for the first ball and sometimes you go for the second. Pressing forward and getting the ball back as soon as possible is our style. The players like it and we feel well.

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Does the long break for Kerala Blasters give Bengaluru FC an advantage?

Marco Pezzaiuoli: I think we need to look at it a bit differently. Kerala Blasters have trained for five days. As for us, it will be our third game in eight days, after 12 days of quarantine. It’s very hard. We made a lot of changes in the last game, not based on tactics, but just keeping in mind the condition of the players.

Is the team gaining momentum at the right time?

Marco Pezzaiuoli: Yes, I think it’s also about preparation. Like Sunil Chhetri has zero preparation coming into the season. He came straight from the national team to us. Similarly, with Suresh (Singh) as well. When you have time to rest and recover then you get better. Also, Sunil now understands what we want. In the last game, he gave a lot of effort for the team. He created chances and had the highest running speed. He is a very important player for us.

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