NEW DELHI: Juan Ferrando took over the reins at FC Goa in April last year and under his stewardship, the team has continued to play an attractive style of football. They narrowly lost out in the ISL play-offs via a penalty shootout but followed it up with a remarkable display at the AFC Champions League where they accrued three points during the group stages. Silverware followed at the recently-concluded Durand Cup, where they clinched the 130th edition.
Having been in India for almost a year-and-a-half, the Spaniard is now better placed to answer about the footballing culture in India, his aims ahead of the new ISL season and about youngsters coming up through the ranks. Excerpts...
Your take on the Durand Cup and what it means for the Indian football calendar considering the number of matches players get in this country?
As I see it, the Durand Cup is a prestigious tournament and a good opportunity to evaluate one's full squad by playing matches before the ISL. Teams can practice different game plans and that is always good for the overall development of players as well as clubs in general.
Many top teams stayed away from the Durand. Should Cup competitions be made a permanent fixture in the footballing calendar here?
I think each club has to have the option to decide how to best prepare the squad and get ready for the ISL. That is their own prerogative. At FC Goa, we thought it was a good option for us to train our players and compete so they could keep learning.
From soggy pitches to Covid-19, there was a lot of challenges during the competition. How do you as a manager treat these off-field issues?
It is not easy to work in these sorts of situations but we have to show professionalism and always work thinking about what is the best for the team/club. That way we can overcome all difficulties as they arise.
You have been in India for some time now. What do you have to say about the structure here?
I think there is still a lot to be improved, both at an organisational as well as at a structural level. But I can see there is interest to improve and I think it's just a matter of time before we see results.
A number of young stars excelled for your side in the competition. How impressed were you with them and does it improve their chances of making the ISL starting XI?
The most important part is to be patient. They have just now started working with our first team in a professional way. Our aim is that they can participate on a regular basis, but it is a step-by-step process and the best thing for them is to learn from their more experienced teammates.
Was there pressure on you to win the Durand Cup, considering the strong squad you took including most of your foreign contingent?
Pressure is always there; in friendly games, in short competitions, in ISL... The coaching staff's goal is to win games in any condition and in a particular way. This means pressure. However, we are happy to see that our players are regularly part of the national team and our foreign players could participate in the Durand Cup. We wanted everyone to be involved.
A big change-up top for FC Goa with a new striker (Airam Cabrera) coming in. Your expectations?
I hope Airam is joining us soon and I am sure he will adapt fast as he is very motivated.
Your aims for the coming ISL season?
All I want is for the team to compete well at all levels, no matter which players are on the field for each match. I want the same level of performance, no matter the names/numbers on the shirts. Don't forget there are very good teams participating in the ISL and some sides like ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC have huge budgets. We will go step-by-step and try our best, as always.