Luis Norton de Matos, India’s U-17 football team coach, is confident about India’s chances of a good performance in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in October. Ahead of the marquee event, Matos elaborated on his team’s preparations - penalty-kick sessions and tactical, technical and psychological guidance.
Speaking at a media interaction organised by the All India Football Federation, de Matos said football was an evolving game in which all situations were created with the ball. He also pointed out, “The biggest forte of them is that they are a very concentrated bunch of players. They want to give their 100 per cent all the time.”
De Matos appreciated the grounds in Mumbai and Delhi in terms of the quality of turf.
On the approach of the team, he noted, “We are going to be up against teams of superior level. Plus, we have some friendlies lined up against Mali and Australia. We have the time to experiment with lot of different ideas.”
On the support staff, the India coach said, “The AIFF has provided people to work with the team. We have exclusive analysts to give us information regarding the opposition.”
His tactical formation was flexible. “All team players are similar. You can have a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formation. The important thing is how we fight. We could prefer three forwards. At the same time I want to make sure that the side doesn’t lose tactical concentration.”
The players were excited about the World Cup, too. Shubham Sarangi quipped, “My inspiration is Sunil Chettri. I had to lie so many times to my parents and had skipped school to play football. Football is everything to me.”
For Rahul KP, motivated by Cristiano Rolando, it was tough to pursue his dream. “A lot of times I have fought with family. My father would beat me for playing football. But my uncle helped me by buying shoes and ball for me. I can die for football.”
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