Kolkata Derby is very important, says SC East Bengal coach Manolo Diaz

The Spaniard spoke to the press ahead of the match against ATK Mohun Bagan on Saturday.

In only his second Indian Super League (ISL) match as coach of East Bengal, Manolo Diaz will have to face the daunting challenge of a Kolkata Derby. After coming away with a point from a decent performance against Owen Coyle’s Jamshedpur FC, he will be hoping that his side claim three points this time. It certainly won’t be an easy task - given they are facing in-form ATK Mohun Bagan - and the SCEB coach has his work cut out for him.

A day prior to the clash, Diaz spoke to the media in the pre-match press conference:

On his first Kolkata Derby

The coach began by reiterating the importance of this fixture. He said, “We know the importance of this particular match, having witnessed a number of them during my stint in Spain and Mexico. We must have a strong structure. The focus will be on minimizing mistakes and capitalizing on the weak points of ATKMB.”

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Will we see a Darren Sidoel debut?

The Dutch midfielder is amongst the six new foreign players that were signed by the club. He was a notable absentee on the field against Jamshedpur FC.

When asked about whether he will start, Manolo Diaz answered, “Darren is a good player and an important member of the squad. Everybody is in contention for Saturday.”

Plan to contain Boumous and Krishna

Midfielder Hugo Boumous and forward Roy Krishna are two players that can cause a lot of problems for East Bengal. Diaz’s team will have to work as a unit and defend together to keep players like them at bay. “We are playing against ATKMB, not only against Krishna and Hugo. Yes, they are good players who can score goals but they need the whole squad to help them. Hence, we’re making plans to stop the whole team instead of only concentrating on Hugo and Krishna," he commented.

On impressive Perosevic

Antonio Perosevic has begun life in ISL with a brilliant display in their first match. He has shown that he can be the one to change things around for the club. Manolo Diaz, while complimenting the Croatian, stressed on the importance of a good team performance.

“Antonio did a great job in the last match, but if he didn’t have a good squad behind him, he wouldn’t have been able to play so well,” the coach commented.

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Strategy against ATKMB

East Bengal will have to go into the game with a gameplan. According to the Spaniard, a clear strategy is key to beating a strong team like ATK Mohun Bagan.

“We must be strong, give good, secure passes and create opportunities in the attacking half. It becomes difficult if we’re defending the whole time against ATKMB,” he explained.

The tag of underdogs

Needless to say, the success achieved by ATK Mohun Bagan in the past seasons is reason enough to count them as favourites. Some opine that this tag of “underdogs” given to Diaz’s men might help release some pressure.

“The underdog tag doesn’t bother us. We will play to our strong points. Though ATKMB had a very good last season and have a squad that have been playing together for many seasons, we are ready," Diaz signed off.

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