Kolkata: Atletico de Kolkata will start as the overwhelming favourites against FC Goa as the two fierce rivals are scheduled to meet for the very first time in the 2016 edition of the Hero Indian Super League here at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday. While FC Goa is struggling at the bottom of the ISL table at this moment courtesy three back-to-back defeats, the home team are yet to lose a fixture which would certainly provide Jose Molina’s men with a much-needed psychological advantage over their Goanese counterpart before the kick-off tomorrow.
While FC Goa’s Head Coach and former Brazilian international Zico seems quite confident about his team turning its fortunes around in the coveted Indian football league against the inaugural champions tomorrow, ATK’s Jose Molina seemed to be quite cautious before the match against Goa.
“I have faith in my players. But neither I nor my footballers are very complacent before the kick-off. FC Goa has a strong team and they desperately need a victory to stay alive in the competition. They will try their best to turn their fortunes around and that would make things a bit challenging for us. I hope my boys would give their 100%,” he told the press.
While commenting on ATK’s marquee player, Helder Postiga and its centre-back Tiri’s fitness status, the Spanish coach said, “Neither Postiga nor Tiri is fit enough to start against Goa tomorrow.”
ATK Head Coach, Jose Molina feels that though his team is sitting pretty at the higher end of the Hero ISL table with five points in its kitty out of a possible nine, there is still a lot of room for improvements. “You only can’t improve once you’ve attained perfection which is an almost impossible task to accomplish. We have to improve in each and every department if we want to win the Indian Super League. My boys are working hard and I have complete faith in them.”
The Red-and-White brigade’s Spanish captain, Borja Fernandez – on the other hand – insisted that his team isn’t feeling any pressure before their match against Goa. “The relationship between the Atletico de Kolkata and FC Goa footballers is extremely amiable off the field and therefore, this particular fixture doesn’t feel like anything special when strictly talking from a professional point of view as well,” the 35-year-old ATK defensive midfielder told the press.
However, when asked how confident he feels as a captain to qualify for the ISL play-offs, Fernandez said, “We hope to qualify (for the playoffs). But we have an important tomorrow against FC Goa and I would prefer to concentrate more on that and take one match at a time.”