Mohun Bagan’s new Spanish coach Kibu Vicuna on Monday said his main focus is on building a “tactically” strong team which can easily adopt to attacking style of play.
The former champion had a forgettable I-League season this year, losing to arch-rival East Bengal twice and ended its campaign with a disappointing fifth place finish.
With no clarity on the next I-League, there are speculations that Bagan would join the Indian Super League along with East Bengal and both the Kolkata giant is presently busy in team building.
READ | Mohun Bagan ropes in Spain’s Vicuna as head coach
“I would like to build a strong team tactically and also adopt an offensive style of play. We should be to control the tempo of the games,” the 47-year-old said in the club’s website.
“More than the shapes we have to build our own style and model of play. I would like to have Mohun Bagan play good offensive football. This is our objective,” the UEFA Pro Licence holder said.
Vicuna, who coached Poland First Division side ‘Ekstraklasa’ previously, is busy taking inputs from the club here and is also watching videos of Indian players to prepare himself for his new assignment.
“We are working with the club in order to get better players. I am watching the games from last season. I gave the club my opinion about the players and I gave suggestions about what we need to improve. I also gave the names of some Indian players who play in other teams. Also, I want to see the young players of Mohun Bagan youth teams,” he said.
“I read a lot about Indian football. Last season there were a lot of Spanish players and coaches in this country. I had other possibilities but I felt that I had to take up this big challenge.
“First we have to train the team and know the players’ abilities. Then, we have to meet them in order to know their strengths and weaknesses. I would also like to train individually with the players in order to help them to improve their quality. I also want to have a look at the young players of the club,” he added.
Vicuna has roped in Tomasz Tchorz as his assistant. The duo had worked together at Wisla Plock in Poland. Ranjan Chowdhury will be Vicuna’s second deputy.
The Mariners have retained eight players -- Shankar Roy, Arijit Bagui, Sukhdev Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Gurjinder Kumar, Shilton D’Silva, Britto PM and Azharuddin Mallick.
Vicuna’s first challenge will be the Calcutta Football League where Bagan ended arch-rival East Bengal’s dominance to win the title after eight years.
“We are going to prepare for Calcutta Football League as best as possible. We have to be ready to face everything. We are a professional team and we have to be prepared,” he said.
Asked if he was looking forward to the derby against East Bengal, Vicuna said: “Yes, I heard about it. In Poland also I have seen the rivalry between Legia Waraw and Polonia Warszawa, Lech Poznan and Polonia Warszawa. In all countries there are a lot of football rivalries.”
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