XtraTime Web Desk – With two successive wins in the tournament, ATK Mohun Bagan team is in a very happy space. Before their match against Odisha FC, their coach Antonio Lopez Habas talks about his team
Edu Garcia is a very important player for ATK Mohun Bagan. He was quite influential in ATK FC’s championship run last year. He however wasn’t part of ATK Mohun Bagan squad which played against SC East Bengal. Habas gave an update about him saying, “Edu Garcia has a small problem. He will recover soon. Maybe in 3-4 days”.
ATK Mohun Bagan is scheduled to face six opponents in the month of December. However coach Habas believes in his team and looking for maximum points. “We are prepared. Maybe the schedule is not the best schedule in the world but because of the covid, the situation is like this. We have to play against all rival and we are prepared.”
Habas then briefly talked about Odisha FC’s coach, Stuart Baxter. “Odisha has a good coach. I know him from my time at South Africa and he’s experienced and has a fantastic CV and I respect him and I think he respects me. We know each other from long time ago and I think he will do good work in Odisha.
Habas then talked about Marcelinho, one of the best forward in ISL. He said, “Marcelinho is one of the best player in ISL. Last season he performed fantastic and we have to take care of him because he is a good player, dangerous in set pieces but we are prepared for him”.
Interestingly it has been that ATK Mohun Bagan loves to attack from the right hand side where Prabir Das plays a very crucial role. After Micheal Soosairaj’s injury, the left side looks pale. Speaking about that Habas said, “Soosairaj is very important player for us. Last season he gave his 100%. I had a very fantastic plan for him this season but football is like this where you get serious injuries and we can’t play him. Now, we have to prepare for the next”.
Antonio Lopez Habas aims to score the maximum points from the first half of the season. “We won first two matches of the league. It’s important here to win the match of the final. Now, it’s good for us, happy with the squad but we have to keep continue winning every matches”.
All the teams have played at least one match in the Indian Super League by now but Habas doesn’t think anyone is favorite. “I don’t know. I’m worried for my team and to get the best equation and to improve the performance and quality. So, who’s favorite doesn’t bother for us”.
Even ATK Mohun Bagan is top of the table with 2 wins in 2 games, ATK Mohun Bagan hasn’t played their best game. Habas justifies saying, “After 7-8 months without any competition, to be in perfect shape or fit is not possible. The team needs time and the players need time and ATK Mohun Bagan will be fully ready by January”.