The competition in this year’s ISL is much tougher than in the last edition, Manolo Marquez, head coach of defending champion Hyderabad FC said.
“But, I hope the continuity in the composition of our team is a huge advantage for us,” he said.
Speaking to the media ahead of the team’s third match of the season against Bengaluru FC at the GMC Balayogi Stadium here on October 22, Marquez said that after the first two rounds in the ISL, the teams seemed to be more equal than last year.
“Yes, it is good that we won the second match against North-East United after settling for a draw against Mumbai City FC in the opener. We played a better game against NEU, defence being really good and hope to keep the momentum going,” Marquez said.
“We have been waiting to play in front of home crowds after the pandemic and importantly want to score full points against Bengaluru. It would be fantastic,” he said.
“It should be a very good game against Bengaluru as they have a very strong line of attack backed by solid defence and we need to play quality games to score goals,” Marquez said.
For his part, last season’s ISL ‘Golden Boot’ award winner Bartholomew Ogbeche said his first objective would be to score goals and help the team win.
“I don’t chase any awards. Well, if I happen to be the top-scorer again and the team wins the trophy again, that should be great,” he said.
“We love to play consistently well through the edition, go back to the boardroom and reflect if something is not going well so as to come up with improved performance,” he said.
Captain and midfielder Joao Victor reasserted that there would be no pressure on the team being the title-holders. Chinglensana Singh said it had been a great experience to be with the Hyderabad FC and hoped the team would finish this season on a high.
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