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Federation Cup: Coach De Ridder Has Shown A Lot Of Faith In Youngsters - East Bengal's Sanju Pradhan
The young Sikkimese hails coach De Ridder…
04-Jan-2010 3:45:58 PM
Sanju Pradhan’s successful spot-kick in the shootout won
East Bengal their first trophy in over two years. It is also Sanju’s first top
flight domestic trophy and therefore he couldn’t hide his excitement after
successfully scoring from the spot.
Speaking to Goal.com he said, “All of us are delighted with the victory and for me personally it is even more exciting as this is my first big trophy so I just couldn’t hide my delight after converting the penalty.”
Three out of the four East Bengal penalty takers were under the age of 22 and many other young players excelled in the tournament. Sanju believes it is a proof of De Ridder’s faith in the younger players.
“Our coach (De Ridder) has made a big difference to the team. He has immense faith in the youngsters and is not shy of giving them the chance on the big stage.”
The former Air India player also talked about the unity that exists in the current East Bengal dressing room and said that the Federation Cup triumph could be the catalyst for a successful I-League campaign.
“All of us are like a big family now and that showed on the pitch also in the Federation Cup. We played as a team from start to finish and that is why we won without conceding a goal in the entire competition.
“This victory is the best way to go into the second phase of the I-League so hopefully we will be consistent there also.”
Going back to the final, the Sikkimese also praised the performance of their opponents but stated that his teammates showed a lot of character to emerge victorious after a hard fought match.
“Lajong performed brilliantly throughout the tournament. It’s their first season in the top flight but still they reached the final and defeated teams like Dempo and Churchill.
“We played the better football in the final but Lajong never gave up and were backed by a very big crowd. So I must give our whole team credit for staying focused and then finally winning the shootout to seal the match.”
Sanju has been used in an unfamiliar central role in midfield under De Ridder but the youngster doesn’t mind playing there.
“I have played infield before but yes in the Federation Cup I was playing there after a long time so I had to adapt a bit. But after one game I didn’t face any difficulty and started enjoying playing in this position,” he concluded.
Amoy Ghoshal
For more onFederation Cup , please visit our Federation Cup section!
Speaking to Goal.com he said, “All of us are delighted with the victory and for me personally it is even more exciting as this is my first big trophy so I just couldn’t hide my delight after converting the penalty.”
Three out of the four East Bengal penalty takers were under the age of 22 and many other young players excelled in the tournament. Sanju believes it is a proof of De Ridder’s faith in the younger players.
“Our coach (De Ridder) has made a big difference to the team. He has immense faith in the youngsters and is not shy of giving them the chance on the big stage.”
The former Air India player also talked about the unity that exists in the current East Bengal dressing room and said that the Federation Cup triumph could be the catalyst for a successful I-League campaign.
“All of us are like a big family now and that showed on the pitch also in the Federation Cup. We played as a team from start to finish and that is why we won without conceding a goal in the entire competition.
“This victory is the best way to go into the second phase of the I-League so hopefully we will be consistent there also.”
Going back to the final, the Sikkimese also praised the performance of their opponents but stated that his teammates showed a lot of character to emerge victorious after a hard fought match.
“Lajong performed brilliantly throughout the tournament. It’s their first season in the top flight but still they reached the final and defeated teams like Dempo and Churchill.
“We played the better football in the final but Lajong never gave up and were backed by a very big crowd. So I must give our whole team credit for staying focused and then finally winning the shootout to seal the match.”
Sanju has been used in an unfamiliar central role in midfield under De Ridder but the youngster doesn’t mind playing there.
“I have played infield before but yes in the Federation Cup I was playing there after a long time so I had to adapt a bit. But after one game I didn’t face any difficulty and started enjoying playing in this position,” he concluded.
Amoy Ghoshal
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