KOLKATA: Never known for using highfalutin, headline-making words, Juan Ferrando’s press conferences are all about stating the basics. Words like revenge, battle cry or anything brassy are as conspicuous as the December chill this city is now experiencing at this time of the year.
Yet, settling an old score — no, an immediate score — could be in the air when Mohun Bagan will welcome Odisha FC in their Indian Super League match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.
The fact that the match is taking place exactly a week after Odisha FC’s stunning 5-2 win over Ferrando’s side at the same venue which ended Mohun Bagan’s dream in the AFC Cup has added quite an extra bit of drama to the fixture.
“It’s an important match but it’s a normal fixture. It doesn’t make it necessary for us to change a lot of things,” Ferrando said in his pre-match press conference at the Mohun Bagan tent on Tuesday.
The truth is that it could be anything but normal.
Mohun Bagan’s sudden dip in form in the AFC Cup might have left many in bewilderment but they are a different kettle of fish in the ongoing ISL. The reigning champions are on a five-match winning run, the only team to stay perfect in the league this season and have proved their mettle in overcoming odds despite missing key players like Anwar Ali and Ashique Kuruniyan for quite some time. They will certainly mean business in this latest meeting with the team from Bhubaneswar.
In Ferrando’s three-back system, the value of strikers Dimitri Petratos and Manvir Singh is immense. They not only score but often fall back to help the defenders. Petratos is likely to miss action again, but chances of Manvir’s return look bright.
“For me, football is about creating spaces and using them to your advantage. In my system, it’s not important who scores the goal. It could be a defender or a winger. I keep repeating that this is a team which works as a unit in both attack and defence. This is our plan, this is the key to our success,” Ferrando said, providing an insight into his strategy.
Sergio Lobera’s Odisha are also bubbling with a new-found confidence having been on a three-match winning streak after losing back-to-back matches. They will return to Bagan’s den, perhaps posing the biggest threat to the home team’s marvellous, almost flawless run in the league.
Aware of the challenge, Lobera has banked on the “good moment” his team is in at present.
“They (Mohun Bagan) are the favourites to win the league because they have a very strong and very good team. But we are ready to show everyone we are ready for a big challenge, and this is one of them,” Lobera said.
“We are in a good moment and we need to be loyal to our style of play,” he added.
Expect another round of fireworks as two attack-minded teams with similar style of play face off again. This is redemption time for Mohun Bagan. For Odisha, this is the time to announce their arrival on the big stage.
