Need to improve many tactical aspects: FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando on AFC Champions League losses

Ferrando believes it is tough to accept that they could not get a single win in their group stage matches

FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando in a file photo; Credit: FC Goa Twitter
By Karthik Raman | May 6, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Juan Ferrando, head coach of Indian Super League club FC Goa, has opened up about the experience of playing some of the top continental teams in the AFC Champions League (ACL) group stage. In the group matches, Goa drew three games against Qatar’s Al Rayyan and UAE’s Al Wahda. However, they lost the other three matches – twice against Iran’s FC Persepolis and one against Al Wahda. With no wins to show for, they ended with only three points from six matches.

Juan Ferrando spoke in an interview with fcgoa.in that improvement is needed to compete at the international level. “I think players have performed on a high level and have done great as a team,” he added. “However, this experience has shown us we need to improve many tactical aspects on the pitch so we can be more competitive at an international level.”

“Obviously, I am disappointed as our mentality is to win every match we go into and try to get the best result possible. From a psychological point of view, it was tough to accept that we could not get a win. However, in the end, this shows us that in football one needs to be self-demanding and keep improving to be able to celebrate in the future.”

Ferrando further went on to say how important a victory would have been for Indian football. “A win would have been huge for Indian football. It would have been a historical achievement. Also, it would have been a just reward for the hard work that the players, the technical staff and everyone at FC Goa has been doing over the last months while living on a bio bubble,” he elaborated.

Biggest challenge

The 40-year-old Spaniard also opened up about the difficulty in preparing for these matches. “My biggest challenge was to prepare the team for all matches the best way possible, as there was just one day for training between matches. To play 6 high-level matches in just 20 days is challenging itself as there is no time for players to recover properly and for the coach to train them tactically to play the next rival,” he added.

Ferrando hopes this experience would be a good learning curve for the players in the future. “I hope they have learned about what playing an international competition means, the effort it requires to play at such a high level,” he added.

“I hope this gives them the motivation to perform even better in the training sessions in the future as these games require one to be at one’s 100% – physically and psychologically.”





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