Winning every game is important for me: ATK coach

Image
Press Trust of India Chennai
Last Updated : Oct 02 2015 | 7:48 PM IST
Defending champion Atletico de Kolkata's head coach Antonio Lopez Habas exuded confidence of starting the second ISL season on a bright note and said his team will look to win every game and gain three points.
Talking to media ahead of their opening match against Chennaiyin FC, Habas said: "I do not want to talk about how difficult it is to rebuild the team. We are the defending champions. Winning every game is important for me and gaining three points from each match. This is very vital.
"On match day it will not only be the big names which will matter but also the dynamism brought in by young Indian players which will also count.
Chennaiyin Manager and Coach, Marco Materrazi said: "We are confident of playing positively for a win and we have the advantage of having retained the core of players of last season and we are much organized this season. We have no injury concerns."
On Fikru, Materrazi said: "I picked Fikru because he knows the tournament well. He has experience of playing in this league and his never-say-die attitude was the most important thing for me to get him here. I hope he contributes to the team's success."
On retaining players, he said: "I know my players very well. We are much organised this season compared to the last as we have kept the core of the team together. New players have come in but we did very well to keep most of our last team squad. That surely gives us an advantage,
"The players know me better this time around. They know what I want out of them. We have more quality this time in our squad."
Asked about the blend of foreign and Indian players in the playing eleven, he said: "It's ISL, so we have to play more Indian players. It won't be fair to the Indian players that more foreigners play. You just cannot play eleven foreigners when you know it's an Indian league and it has been started to promote Indian football.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Oct 02 2015 | 7:48 PM IST

Next Story