"The best mentality to defend is by scoring one more goal."-Sergio Lobera
It started off with the coach being asked about his plans in the upcoming game after a positive start to ISL, to which he replied saying that the focus is always on ourselves, in Bagan’s style and philosophy. Keeping the opponent in mind, plans change from time-to-time due to different playstyles however, the priority of focus still remains on self-performance.
Despite Chennaiyin FC having a short pre-season, Lobera said they have no excuses at this moment and they will pose a similar challenge like every other team in ISL. They will fight regardless as they are playing in the national league, and not in any friendly competition which means that all players are competing at a higher level. Mohun Bagan had 2 months of pre-season, yet Robson had some cramps at the end of last game. CFC on the other hand have good, experienced foreign players and the team has a good understanding of ISL. They competed well against Mumbai City in GW1. According to Lobera, Chennaiyin FC have a very strong squad that should be respected and Bagan needs to be ready as the match won’t be easy to win.
Being a short-league this season, the coach plans to learn and improve from the shortcomings in the last game. While he is happy about the result of first game, being demanding professionals, the team needs to be ambitious and continuously work to improve to prevent similar mistakes in the upcoming games. He says that the competition is a whole different ball-game this time with less number of games and the team play with 4 foreigners now compared to 5 and 6 in earlier seasons of ISL prior to 2021-22 and 2017-18 respectively. This makes the margin of error less, which Lobera thinks will make this season a good competition and every game will be difficult. He claims that the best mentality to defend is by scoring one more goal. If Bagan scores less goals like yesterday where the 2nd goal came in the dying minutes, it opens up the opportunity for the opponents to capitalize on it. When the Mariners are winning, the players must keep more possession, play in the attacking half and ultimately score more goals because this is the strongest quality about the team.
With a very talented squad, the coach has a difficult task at hand to field the best XI. The game is of 90 minutes duration and he wants to finish the game in the best way possible. Practically, as most games are decided in the last 15 to 20 minutes, having quality players on the bench allows him to field the best team till the final whistle and ensure 3 points for the Green and Maroon side.
Speaking about the attacking style of wingers and full-backs, Sergio says that the players have to find the spaces and gaps which will be very less against CFC as good teams will defend well in their own half. The players must be ready to find the spaces to run and score, keeping the pressure and avoid getting counter-attacked by the opponent. The game is played while keeping different plans at hand, variations that might catch the opponent off-guard.
When questioned about the average performance of some players in the first match, Lobera claimed that inspite of having 3-4 months of pre-season, the situation is not the same as playing matches in ISL. The first game of the tournament is often difficult for most teams and Coach Lobera backed his players and their ability to perform. He said the 2nd game will be different and the real potential will be revealed this time.
Message to the Fans from Sergio Lobera: We felt the support of the amazing supporters at home. The only target we have is to give them the joy and enjoyment they deserve while watching the match.
Amey was asked about the impact Mohun Bagan and Coach Lobera had in his career, to which he responded by saying that the coach has helped him wherever he has been and enjoys playing in his playstyle and he has played a big role in his life. His past experience at Mohun Bagan in I-league and CFL has been the best feeling for him and claimed that every player wants to play for this club. He is thankful to the management and coach for getting a second chance to perform for the Mariners, and he will be giving his best this season.
After a couple months of break in between since the end of Super Cup, as a player, Amey has found it difficult to keep up, but he is happy that the season has finally started. He trusts the coach’s philosophy and the players around him also help him reach the next level.
While Amey is happy with the win in the first game with a clean sheet, he said that the entire team wants to improve by taking the chances and being clinical in the first third to score more goals for the club. Being a star-studded team, he knows how difficult it is to get a spot in the starting XI, so he gives his best in the training sessions while acknowledging the fact that the coach and management trust him to perform well in the Green-and-Maroon jersey which is why he is here in the first place.
With a lot of home matches this season, Amey is looking forward to play in front of the 12th Man, who back the team a lot and help them during the games.
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