North East United FC vs Odisha FC – Pre Match Press Conference

Assistant Coach Anthony Fernandes and Rahim Ali speak to us

We have prepared ourselves to the full and tactically in terms of how we are going to stop and attack them. - Anthony Fernandes

Ankan Mishra & Dr. Manish Acharya

November 02, 2024, 17:00 | Updated 17:00 IST

Jahouh will not be available in the match due to suspension. So how are we looking into the midfield right now?

It’s very unfortunate that Jahouh won’t be available for this game and he’s been one of our main stay in the midfields but yeah we’ve even the last game if you see we played without him for the last 20 minutes and we coped really well with only three foreigners so going forward I think we’ve got players who can take up that position, take up that responsibility and do well towards the team.

Did you appeal against the decision of the red card?

So far yes we are just trying looking into it and how we can get the positive results out of it.

Coach as you know this season Northeast United are much improved and they demolished Jamshedpur in their last match. How are we looking into the threat of Aladin, the top scorer of their team?

Talking about Northeast yeah it is a very good team and they are in a very good momentum at present like you said they won the game 5 nil and and you said Aladin is an higher scorer, yes he is and they are really playing well they as a team as a with a good coach and for me it is like it’s not only about one player it’s all about the team there are other good players in the team also like Jitin and other players and for us to focus only on one player it’s not it won’t be right you know you rather focus on the full team as tactically what we can do to get rid of him and to make it more impactful I think we have trained as much as we could and we have prepared ourselves to the full and tactically in terms of how we are going to stop him and how we going to attack them.

Rahim, about Lobera, so what do you think is different from other coaches you have played earlier do you get more freedom under him?

Before I joined here I knew him. As a person I knew him and yeah his game style is totally different and I love to play like this and day by day I’m improving myself and I’m really still learning so its very easy when you know exactly what you want to do, so it’s very easy for you to do the work get done.

As we have seen in the last few games the finishing is not good in front of the goal for the team so is there any new changes coming up?

Day by day we are working on that yes sometimes easy goal is very difficult for player to know so we are working for that, working every day, we are working at the training so it will come, it’s just matter of the time and we need to get composed near the box and near the frame. So the coach also tell to everyone not for me tell to everyone just hit the target if you hit the target is easy you know, so we are trying our best.

How are you feeling like playing with the players like Diego and Roy Krishna having lots of international experience?

Apart from that they are very experienced player they’re very matured so yeah it is good to play to share the field with them and yes they are very helpful. They’re very matured and I love them.

Coach is Hugo fit for the next match?

About Hugo, he has just started training with the team and he is doing full trainings with the team and we’ve got one more session to go for tomorrow before we take a decision about it.

Is it something serious?

Not really, we went through his medical tests and the reports are positive, so let’s hope that he recovers quickly and he’s almost most ready to take up the next match.

Coach the schedule is a busy one. Within 20 days we have had three games. How are you looking for getting the maximum results?

Even if it’s was 20 days, it’s a good rest in between for us. Good time for us to put certain pieces into place, it’s like this short duration maybe last season and all it was much shorter than this so teams and the players are more adjusted to all this things but comparatively we’ve got around. Even now we’ve got around four sessions to work on so which itself will help us to recover and be ready for the next upcoming game.

Note: This is a transcript of the pre match press conference. Please watch the video of the press conference below: 

 

About the Authors:

Ankan Mishra: Head of Media Operations at Juggernauts Sporting Foundation, Ankan is an avid sports enthusiast with immense pride for Odisha’s sporting heritage. A fervent supporter of the Indian national team and its athletes. He believes in the unifying power of sports to inspire and motivate individuals to achieve greatness.

Dr. Manish Acharya: Correspondent at Juggernauts Sporting Foundation, Dr. Manish finds solace and passion in the beautiful game of football. A doctor by profession and a true Juggernaut from the heart, he directs the fellow Juggernauts and unites their voice into one. Heard by thousands, he is one of the leaders of the 12th man.

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