First of all, I would like to coin my voice to all the East Bengal fans, so that they can keep their faith on us ahead of the first Kolkata Derby of this I-League. One thing I can assure to all the East Bengal fans is that, my players are sweating hard to put smiles on your faces after the derby.
During my playing career, as well as in the coaching days, Derby always generates different Goosebumps. This time there are no exceptions as well. I’m nervous as well as determined to hoist the pride of the Red & Gold flag.
This would be our third consecutive away match of the I-League. It may raise your eyebrows, but as Mohun Bagan is the organizer of this game, it is officially an away game for us. And three away games on a trot are always challenging for a team. But 4 points out of possible six from the first two games are reasonably good to me. Mohun Bagan will also be a tough team to beat and my “grey matters” have been working tirelessly to snatch 3 points from this game. My players are committed and that is always an added advantage for any coach in the world.
I’m still not sure whether Bernard Mendy will finally be available for the derby or not, and to be honest I’m not too bothered about it as well, as the rest of my players are also immensely talented.
Many people are asking questions about the performance of Do Dong Hyun in the I-League. For them, I would like to say that he is a world class talent and as he has been recovering from an injury, it will take little more time to get back his prime. But he knows the grandeur of a Kolkata derby and I won’t be surprised if he appears with a match-winning contribution in the derby on the Super Saturday. As much I know him, he lives for opportunities like these to showcase his class. He played really well against Mumbai FC, and slowly getting his rhythm back.
Another factor in this derby will be Sanjoy Sen. He is a great coach and a brilliant professional. He is like my own brother and his strategies will test my skills as a coach as well. It will be an interesting duel off the field to outclass each other ‘s tactics.
Coming back to my team, at times I feel bad when I see so many talented and proven players are not getting their chances regularly which they deserve. They are as good as my first team players and showed their pedigree whenever they got their chances. I am lucky that they are so good from the heart as well as innocent and always provide supportive hands to air the team spirit.
The derby victory in the Calcutta Football League is past and we know that this game will be a different challenge altogether. One thing I’m proud of is that my boys are brave and they hate the word “fear”.
In the last couple of weeks, there have been so many positives for us. Bello is coming back to his usual form, Ranti has been in lethal form, Rehenesh has been stupendous. Players like Samad, Sabeeth, Khabra have shown their talent. Mehtab has been a leader in the midfield. But my best weapon has certainly been Rafique. He is a quality player ; understands the game really well, versatile, diligent and an outright “game-changer”. He will be my “trump card” for this derby. Sehnaj & Lobo are trying their best to get back into the playing conditions, but I will wait and see their conditions before taking a final call.
Irrespective the result, I will ask all our fans to keep faith on me and my team. Football is played on the ground, not on paper. My boys need your support. Let’s come in numbers and encourage my boys to clinch another Kolkata Derby. Let’s enlighten the Red & Gold torch as the pride of “fight, endeavour & dominance”.