FC Goa’s gaffer Juan Ferrando and defender Saviour Gama addressed the press yesterday. The Gaurs will be facing Kalinga Warriors, who are yet to find their first three points of the season. Goa is confident with the three-point win against Kerala Blasters and is looking forward to continuing the winning momentum despite the tight schedule. Juan and Gama shared how the team is practicing and gave us insights about the clash against Odisha FC and much more!
On being asked about the next game, Ferrando said, “Our purpose is to prepare against Odisha FC, because the next week is very difficult. We have three games and it’s very important for us and our future.“
Goa won their last match against Kerala Blasters on a dominating note and marked their first win of this season. On which Juan added, “At the end the three points are good. It’s very important when the team is playing and winning the games and it’s better and positive in training. In football even you lose or win, the next day is a new day, a new history and it’s important to forget Kerala and win three points against Odisha.”
On being asked about finding his perfect eleven men, Juan quoted, “I believe in all the 30 players. Of course, you can only choose 11 and I take the decision depending on the opponents, training, and if the players are ready. I am happy with Romario’s game in the last match and happy that everybody is working hard.“
Juan shared his opinions about the players and their importance for the team, “Igor Angulo is in high performance and he is scoring goals. Brandon Fernandes and Edu Bedia understand stand the spaces and are very important. Princeton played in the first 11 and now two times as substitution. But for me, it’s very important not only the first eleven but also the substitutions and they are very important.“
He also praised the tactical understanding of Brandon, Edu, Seriton, James, Aiban and Gama, which made it easy for him to implement his ideas on the pitch.
Juan has joined the team this season and after the four league games, on being asked about the implementation of his plans on the pitch by the players, he said, “We need to work more as the season is very difficult because we had one month in the preseason and played just three friendly games and for me so far, we had high performance and believe me, with this team, it is possible to play more and day- by – day we will be better and it is necessary to improve a lot, in training, working, playing games and you don’t have lot of time which is something sad about the problem.“
On being asked about the injury concerns, “Some players are more or less of injuries, it’s normal. Everything is ready and everybody is good.”
In the post-match press conference after the game against KBFC, Juan said that he was pleased with the results but there were some details which he needed to improve. Shedding some light on that comment, he said, “When we are working in the training it is very important to control the transitions. We won the championship and in the future, we will play in the Asian Champions League and there, if you watch some games in the ACL for instance of the Japan team, if you make mistakes and it’s a goal. For us, it’s very important. It’s very important to think of the present and the future, which is dependent on our training.”
Goa is yet to make a clean sheet this season and speaking about the defense and the goals scored against the team, he said, “We are talking about the team completely. If you watch the goals, Bengaluru was after two-three chances, a goal. Mumbai and Northeast was penalty. The only exception is Kerala which came from our big mistake. After the cross,
we didn’t have control about two against one. I’m happy that the team is good but sometimes it is necessary to play with the intensity and become a bit more aggressive.”
Also Read – Match Preview of Odisha FC vs FC Goa
Goa has three matches this week and commenting on the tight schedule, Juan said, “It’s very difficult, hard games but don’t forget that in this league, with 11 players it is very difficult and it’s not about the scores as all the level of the teams are very close. All the games are like finals. One mistake or one problem means a goal for the opponent.“
Savior shared the mood inside the team camp after their first win of the season and quoted, “All the players were very eager to win and if they win the mood was like we are the best team and we want to win and in the fourth match, we won.“
Savior shared his thoughts on the team under Juan Ferrando and how it has changed from the last season and said, “Now the team is working very hard in the concepts and transitions. We have been practising very high-intensity stuff. These are the changes.“
He also commented on being asked about his performance and his first assist when he turned provider for Igor Angulo against Kerala Blasters, he said, “I am very happy and I think I need to improve a lot in attacking wise but I’m very happy. Igor makes the perfect runs and he just needs the deliveries which I did and I’m looking forward to giving more assists and help the team.“
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