Indian Super League: Juan Ferrando calls for patience with FC Goa youngsters

FC Goa’s league-record 15-match unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end this Monday when they went down to Mumbai City FC 3-0 in their Indian Super League season opener. The biggest defeat for FC Goa under Juan Ferrando’s tenure was a bitter pill to swallow for both Ferrando’s boys and the team’s fans. Friday, though, brings an opportunity for the Gaurs to redeem themselves as they clash against Jamshedpur FC in a match that will see both teams seeking their first win. Speaking to the media ahead of the game in the pre-match press conference, Ferrando shared his thoughts on the performance in the last game and the team’s plans for the future in regards to the youngsters. 

The season-opener saw Juan Ferrando name a fairly inexperienced line-up at the back. Leander D’Cunha and Sanson Pereira made their second ISL starts while Papuia made his ISL debut. While his selection might not have been fully vindicated, Ferrando preached patience when it comes to the youngsters. “To be honest, I trust Leander, I trust Papuia and I have trust in Sanson. Of course, they don’t have a lot of experience, but they can only get that experience when you play,” added Ferrando, according to a press release. 

“Of course we lost, and I don’t want to give an excuse for that. You can say that my plan was not a success, but I trust these players. I want that if FC Goa needs these players, they are ready to deliver. I understand the talk about the lack of experience. But for me, as head coach, my most important job is to help them. They are our future. Of course their performances were not good. We have to do more work and then give them their chances. If there remain faults, it’s the fault of the head coach. If there are individual mistakes, we have to see how we can work with them in training and overcome them.”   

Ferrando: Our performance against Mumbai was not good

Ferrando confessed that the team’s performance against Mumbai was not good enough, but now his focus has shifted to the next game, as he wants the team to improve on their previous outing. “It was not so easy (to digest the result). In my point of view, our performance in the first game was not good. But now I am only thinking about tomorrow,” stated Ferrando.

“We are working on our plans and our style. Our performance against Mumbai was not good. Of course it’s necessary to learn (from that) but we have to now focus on the next game. I think that is the important thing. We are not happy, but this is football. We have a new challenge tomorrow. And the most important thing is to focus on tomorrow’s game.”

The loss in the season-opener was only the fifth time since the beginning of the 2017/18 season that Goa have gone down by a three-goal margin. “In transitions when we lose the ball, it’s important to be more compact between the lines. We need to control the spaces – when we are in attack or in build-up because if we lose the ball it’s very important that we press immediately because the opponent has a lot of space,” added Ferrando.