Kerala Blasters head coach Kibu Vicuña and player Rahul K P addressed the media in an online press conference. During the chat, both of them shared their thoughts on the game against Goa and much more.
Kibu shared his emotions after the win against Bengaluru FC,
“It’s football. In the last press conference, we had the opposite emotions. We lost points at the last moment, now we won almost in the last minute of the game. It gives us confidence that we are competing every match till the end. In the last three matches we played well and we got the points. It’s true that tommorow is a different game, against a good team, that plays good football. But we are trying to recover the players and prepare for the game as best as possible.”
Also Read – Kerala Blasters FC vs FC Goa – Match previw, team news, lineup and more
Kibu shared his thoughts on the team,
“I don’t want to talk individually about the players but I’m happy that they are performing well. We have aspects to improve and every player in the team is trying to play better and to be better in every game.”
On being asked about aiming for the top positions, Kibu said,
“We are happy that we are closer after last game, but we are only focussing on tomorrow’s game.”
Kibu shared his thoughts on the injury time goals,
“I think the match was very even throughout. The first half also we did well, we had chances. It’s true that because of the results, they tracked back and we were playing more in the opponents half and we had more possession of the game. But the objective of the game was the same, since the beginning it was to grab the three points. In the other matches, we conceded in the last moment in the match against NorthEast United FC and SC East Bengal. But we scored twice, also, in the extra time, against SC East Bengal and last match against Bengaluru FC, and that means we never give up and we are doing our best and are trying to score goals. “
Kibu talked about Subha Ghosh,
“He is training with the team, he is training well, performing well and he scored a goal in the friendly game. He is ready to help us. Now the only thing we can do is wait for everything to be alright and we can use him if necessary.”
Kibu on Facundo, Murray and Jessel’s injuries,
“They are training, different process, we will see if they are going to participate tomorrow.”
Kibu shared his thoughts on FC Goa,
“They are a very good team, with fantastic players. Especially in the last matches, they are playing well. They have very talented players, not only Angulo. Ortiz, Romario and so om are playing really well.”
He added that Blasters will be looking to be better defensively and mentioned the growth of the teams’ offensive chances.
Rahul scored an injury-time winner against Bengaluru FC. Sharing his emotions, he said
“First of all, I want to thank God for that moment and also my teammates and coaching staffs, everyone who worked hard for it. Because it’s not a miracle or something, we trained hard for everything, put a lot of effort on training fields, following the coach’s instructions and that’s why it came off in the last minute, and we are all happy. You could see that every player is giving their best. I am really happy about my teammates and they are pushing me so much. If you look at the last game, you can see the difference. Everybody wants to fight, and we want to win. I am happy for the win and now we are focussing on recovery right now and hopefully, looking forward for the next game against FC Goa and grab that three points.
“That goal has a lot of emotion behind that. If you take the game before that, a clearance caused a lot of sadness for me and I was a bit disappointed but I had to really think about it and it is part of football, anything can happen. But this is professional life, if you make one mistake, it causes you lot of sadness and we lost two points. I was really prepared for this game and that’s how athletes’ professionalism comes up and you take care of yourself. Focus very well because you get only one opportunity, and you have to prove at that time. Really happy to get that goal and now the game is over and now we focus on today’s training and tomorrow we have got a big game coming.”
On being asked about playing for the national team, he said that his current aim is to help his team, Kerala Blasters, and if he performs well, the rest will happen.
Rahul also shared his thoughts on scoring goals. He said that scoring goals are the rewards of your hardwork, which will motivate you to work more and score more goals. He also added that it also helps to change the whole mood of the team and he is looking forward for scoring more goals.
Rahul on cyber bullying,
“It only affects you when you check your messages, comments or whatever. When you have a big fan following, they have so much expectations on the team and players, when you perform bad, it’s upto them, whatever they want to say.”
He continued, “You always see people with you when you win and you see the same people turn back against you at times. It’s never my thing to focus on this because my job is to play.”
He added that he listens to his teammates and coaches, and that’s the only thing he has to listen to play football. He said he never give his head to the people who spread negativity.
Rahul shared his thoughts on Kibu and he said that coach has his trust in every player, and when he says something, he always mean it. He motivates them and tell them their mistakes to correct them and let them grow.
Rahul on I M Vijayan’s comment,
“It’s on him, as I said, I don’t really give my head to things like these, but it’s upto people what they want to say and I have no comments on it.”
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