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I-League: East Bengal Goalkeeper Abhra Mondal Feeling More Comfortable Under De Ridder
Goal.com spoke to East Bengal custodian Abhra Mondal and the newly appointed coaches of the Kolkata club...
25-Nov-2009 12:49:59 AM
Kolkata giants East Bengal had a very high profile pre-season. Subhas
Bhowmick, who was the coach at the start of the season, requested the club to take the team for a training camp at the sandy beaches in Orissa and then an exhibition tour to
Myanmar where the team played some competitive matches against clubs from that region.
But they faired miserbaly on the pitch as they went on to lose five straight games and conceded five goals at the hands of their arch rivals Mohun Bagan. People have given different reasons for their downfall. Some blame the coach and his recruitment policy, some blamed the players for not understanding the emotions entangled with the red and gold jerseys.
Many also stated that it was the goalkeepers who were solely responsible for such a downfall.
Goal.com caught up with senior goalkeeper Abhra Mondal, newly appointed coach Philip De Rider as well new goalkeeping coach Atanu Bhattacharya to share some insight on the concerns surrounding the goalkeeper position.
Speaking about his recent poor form, Abhra Mondal he said, “When we trained in the pre-season I had developed a good understanding with Ramez Dayoub of Lebanon but later as he could not sign for us the coach kept on changing the defenders from Mehraj to Govin to Wasim Firoz etc. so it was very difficult to create any meaningful coordination.That actually led to fatal errors during both the IFA Shield and Durand Cup.”
When asked him about his I-League campaign so far he stated. “The team in the I-League wasn't at full strength on the first as we had to play with out any foreigner in the first few matches so it will be unfair on the critics part to blame only the goalkeeper.”
We also asked him about his mental condition after such dismal performances he said, “During the time when the results were not in our favour, the club officials were always backing me and I am thankful for that.
"Apart from that senior goalkeepers like Subrata Paul, Kalyan Chaubey and Arindam Bhattacharya used to call me up and make me understand that these are a part of a professional’s career and we need to learn how to deal with them.”
With the new coach and goalkeeping coach by his side here is what Abhra told about his objectives for the future.
“De Ridder has been very motivational and Atanu Sir took me back to the drawing board and taught me from the basics I am really happy that these people came up for my help.
"I am a lot more confident now after De Rider has stepped in and I will try to give my best in the upcoming matches.”
Goalkeeping coach Atanu Bhattacharya said “Abhra and Avijit are all talented young keepers. They can understand the real weight of the East Bengal Jersey.
"They are under tremendous pressure from the followers of the club so I am focusing on building the morale and confidence of the players along with giving them the vital tips that are required in the highest level of football in India."
Phillipe De Ridder said “A goalkeeper is different from other outfield players so we need different training for them. Therefore we brought in a goalkeeping trainer (Atanu Bhattacharya).
"I have assigned him the task to work with our current goalkeepers and if they respond to the effort made by us then we shall stick with them (Abhra and Avijit) or else we need to look out for a PIO Goalkeeper and we have couple of options for that.”
It seems that Philipe De Rider has a magic wand and after his arrival he has instantly dealt with most of the concerns surrounding the team’s performance. Only time will tell if his methods can bring joy to the loyal fanatics of the club.
Rahul Sengupta
But they faired miserbaly on the pitch as they went on to lose five straight games and conceded five goals at the hands of their arch rivals Mohun Bagan. People have given different reasons for their downfall. Some blame the coach and his recruitment policy, some blamed the players for not understanding the emotions entangled with the red and gold jerseys.
Many also stated that it was the goalkeepers who were solely responsible for such a downfall.
Goal.com caught up with senior goalkeeper Abhra Mondal, newly appointed coach Philip De Rider as well new goalkeeping coach Atanu Bhattacharya to share some insight on the concerns surrounding the goalkeeper position.
Speaking about his recent poor form, Abhra Mondal he said, “When we trained in the pre-season I had developed a good understanding with Ramez Dayoub of Lebanon but later as he could not sign for us the coach kept on changing the defenders from Mehraj to Govin to Wasim Firoz etc. so it was very difficult to create any meaningful coordination.That actually led to fatal errors during both the IFA Shield and Durand Cup.”
When asked him about his I-League campaign so far he stated. “The team in the I-League wasn't at full strength on the first as we had to play with out any foreigner in the first few matches so it will be unfair on the critics part to blame only the goalkeeper.”
We also asked him about his mental condition after such dismal performances he said, “During the time when the results were not in our favour, the club officials were always backing me and I am thankful for that.
"Apart from that senior goalkeepers like Subrata Paul, Kalyan Chaubey and Arindam Bhattacharya used to call me up and make me understand that these are a part of a professional’s career and we need to learn how to deal with them.”
With the new coach and goalkeeping coach by his side here is what Abhra told about his objectives for the future.
“De Ridder has been very motivational and Atanu Sir took me back to the drawing board and taught me from the basics I am really happy that these people came up for my help.
"I am a lot more confident now after De Rider has stepped in and I will try to give my best in the upcoming matches.”
Goalkeeping coach Atanu Bhattacharya said “Abhra and Avijit are all talented young keepers. They can understand the real weight of the East Bengal Jersey.
"They are under tremendous pressure from the followers of the club so I am focusing on building the morale and confidence of the players along with giving them the vital tips that are required in the highest level of football in India."
Phillipe De Ridder said “A goalkeeper is different from other outfield players so we need different training for them. Therefore we brought in a goalkeeping trainer (Atanu Bhattacharya).
"I have assigned him the task to work with our current goalkeepers and if they respond to the effort made by us then we shall stick with them (Abhra and Avijit) or else we need to look out for a PIO Goalkeeper and we have couple of options for that.”
It seems that Philipe De Rider has a magic wand and after his arrival he has instantly dealt with most of the concerns surrounding the team’s performance. Only time will tell if his methods can bring joy to the loyal fanatics of the club.
Rahul Sengupta
Inside Goal.Com
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