India must focus on football, not lose energy on extra things, says Juan Ferrando

The ATK Mohun Bagan head coach also spoke on the mentality of the players in Indian football.

ATK Mohun Bagan kick-off their Indian Super League (ISL) 2022-23 season against Chennaiyin FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on October 10 (Monday). It’ll mark the first ISL match in the City of Joy in over two years, and one which Juan Ferrando's side will hope to kick off their campaign strongly.

They are yet to lose to Chennaiyin FC, since being merged with ATK FC and entering the ISL. ATK Mohun Bagan are certainly the overwhelming favourites, playing at home. Ahead of the clash, ATKMB coach Juan Ferrando and defender Brendan Hamill spoke to the media and shared their thoughts.

Expectations for the season ahead

Juan Ferrando is optimistic about the season ahead, as he relayed his goals for the ISL season. “It’s a new challenge, a new target for us. We start a new competition and we have 20 matches in front of us. Our goal is to reach the playoffs, and play in the playoffs. We have to focus on the first match, which is the most important thing for us tomorrow right now.”

Speaking about how his side will bounce back from the disappointment of the AFC Cup loss to Kuala Lumpur FC, he said: “The most important thing to know is that the ISL is a different competition. One month ago our target was the AFC Cup and now we’re in a league championship.

"The players are ready, we have no problems with injuries or fitness issues. Everyone is ready and everyone wants to help the team. I think the most important thing for us now is to try to do our best. We have a good challenge in front of us.”

Pressure for the season and lack of pre-match games?

Juan Ferrando was asked if he’s under added pressure to play in front of the demanding ATKMB fans in Kolkata. He replied: “Today is a new day. We’re not thinking about pressure, because we’ll lose energy. I use my energy to trust in my plan, in my team and in my players. We have a really talented squad.

"We need to trust the process, not only in football but sometimes in life too. I have no pressure because I trust in my team. Pressure comes when you can’t trust. We take things game by game and we should see good things in front of the opponent.”

He also explained why his side opted against playing any closed-doors friendly games before the ISL opener, adding: “After the AFC Up, we had a lot of injury problems. We didn’t know, who will go to the national team and who will stay with us. In one moment of training, we only had six players and it was impossible to play friendlies with that.

"We worked with the medical staff to help the players recover. Now we have everyone ready, but it was very difficult a few weeks ago because we had a limited number of players. I’m happy now because everyone is ready.”

Goalscoring issues?

When asked about the lack of strikers in his side and if Dimitri Petratos can solve that, Ferrando explained: “In my point of view, the problem will be when we don’t have chances. If you read the stats in the last game, against Kuala Lumpur, we had 12-16 shots on target. The problem is when won’t have opportunities in front of the keeper.

“We create a lot of chances and we have the ball in the field. Sometimes you have a lot of success, and sometimes you don’t in front of the keeper. Maybe the problems come when we lose the ball and struggle in the transitions, and lose focus in the last minute, those are the problems for me. The scoring issue, isn’t a problem for me,” he added.

Lack of training hurting Indian players?

The ATK Mohun Bagan manager also lashed out at the lack of preparation and training Indian footballers get in comparison to the European counterparts in a bit of a rant. He explained: “We need to prepare our team. It’s a strong team. We’re a big club. We need to work with the process, sometimes it results in success and sometimes it doesn’t.

"We have to trust the squad because they have success. The big problem in India is that we lose a lot of energy in the extra things, not in football. That is why we don’t have success.

“We need to focus on football. Forget the extra things. The best players in the Premier League or in the Spanish league, are working 6-7 hours per day. Here, we are working two hours maximum. It's necessary to change the mentality and to work hard, to work with quality in the games, quality in the style of football. The other things we need to delete, because if not we won’t improve.

“It’s necessary to change the mentality if you want to improve. I want to protect this club, forget the extra things and focus in our future academy and focus in our young players – in 2-5 years we’ll have success – be it in India or in Asia.”

Thoughts on individualism and Ashique Kuruniyan's role

Juan Ferrando also insisted that his side cannot be reliant on just one, or two individuals if they want success. He said: “Football for me, is all about controlling space and time. Who scores the goals, and who assists those are not important. If you ask me about the Hero of the Match or something like that, those are not important things.

"For me, it’s the team. If the team is clear in attack and defence, if we can create chances, when is the moment to attack the space and clear the ball, that is how we win games. If we focus on making the no. #9 score goals, maybe you can score in one-two games, but not all. The game is all about the team. If you only think about one player, you’ll have problems 100%.

"In the champions league, for example, a few years ago – Barcelona with (Lionel) Messi and (Luis) Suarez lost 8-2 to Bayern Munich. We need to forget about the Hero of the Match. We need to think about the team, that is the most important thing about football.”

When asked about Ashique Kuruniyan’s role in the team and if he’ll play as a forward or as a wing-back, he stated: “For us, the most important thing in Ashique’s case, or with (Ravi) Rana, (Sumit) Rathi, is that they understand the concept in the attack. Sometimes this position is difficult because you have to know what is the time to play in attack.

“They have quality, like Ashique has a lot of talent, but it’s important to use that talent to know when to attack the spaces. Sometimes you have to work with them, because to create chemistry between players, it takes time with every training and day by day. The thing for me is to help Ashique enjoy himself on the pitch and to help the team. That is the major goal for us,” he added.

Mentality or physical issues resulting in lack of training?

When further persisted about whether the lack of training among Indian players is a mentality issue or a physical problem, Juan Ferrando explained: “It’s necessary to learn about the best, sometimes. For example, I’m always trying to learn about coaching. I travelled to England because I have meetings with the clubs, meetings with Guardiola – because you must learn about the best coaches. Here in India, it is to work in an academy because they are the future.

“We also have to work more than what we are doing now, it’s necessary to change a lot of things. We need to prepare a good field, when the youngsters are working for 1-2 hours and then work on individual training. Then study and diet – it’s necessary to think about all of that. We need to work more, but with quality. It’s not about six hours of training, but you need quality in that.

"In Japan or in Korea, they work 4-5 hours in training centres with videos and individual training sessions. This is in the process of India, because there are players with a lot of talent. It’ll take time to work with them and help them. India has a very good national team, a very good first and second division, but it’ll take time to improve,” he added.