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Santosh Trophy: No Pressure Even Though We Are Defending Champions - Goa Coach Mariano Dias
Winning coach of last year's Santosh Trophy tournament, Mariano Dias talks to Goal.com about the Goa team...
17-Jul-2010 2:14:00 PM
By Anselm Noronha
The coach of Santosh Trophy champions Goa, Mariano Dias, in an exclusive chat with Goal.com, claims there is no pressure on his team even though they are the defending champions as well as the favourite to retain the title this year.
"We have a free hand to play our normal football. There is no pressure even though we are defending champions," he said, further adding his feelings on missing out on players who are currently training at the Indian camp in Portugal.
"We have a different set of players this time. The inclusion of Climax (Lawrence) and Mahesh (Gawli) would have made a difference indeed, but we have players who can fill their place. Joy Ferrao is facing three months suspension (from June), so we do not have him with us either. The final squad will be decided by next Saturday."
Dias seems in favour of I-League players taking part in this historical and prestigious national tournament of India, which commenced on Thursday.
"The Santosh Trophy has a long standing reputation as a state competition, and the I-League players will only add glamour to this championship. Most of our players are from I-League and top teams of Goa, like Sesa Football Academy, and the crowds come to see them too," he said.
The Goan squad started training at the Chowgule College atificial turf grounds from Monday with the sole objective of getting used to playing the tournament on an artificial turf ground in Kolkata. Dias does have some concerns about playing on artificial turfs though.
"They must be having the tournament on artificial turf because of monsoons in Kolkata and lack of availability of proper grounds. There is a lot of difference playing on an artificial turf and on a natural ground. We cannot expect the same game. I believe they (artificial turfs) are very risky to players. I prefer natural grounds, the players can enjoy the game without the fear of getting injured there (as compared to playing on artificial turfs)," he stressed.
To name a few teams that the coach considers a threat to Goa's title defense, Mariano chose to say, "All states have good players. There are players from all states playing in the I-League, and when they play against Goa, they have a different attitude. Punjab, Bengal and Manipur are strong teams. Kerala is also a good team. Bengal is playing at home, so they will be going all out for a win, but we will be going there to get the title back to Goa."
"We have a free hand to play our normal football. There is no pressure even though we are defending champions," he said, further adding his feelings on missing out on players who are currently training at the Indian camp in Portugal.
"We have a different set of players this time. The inclusion of Climax (Lawrence) and Mahesh (Gawli) would have made a difference indeed, but we have players who can fill their place. Joy Ferrao is facing three months suspension (from June), so we do not have him with us either. The final squad will be decided by next Saturday."
Dias seems in favour of I-League players taking part in this historical and prestigious national tournament of India, which commenced on Thursday.
"The Santosh Trophy has a long standing reputation as a state competition, and the I-League players will only add glamour to this championship. Most of our players are from I-League and top teams of Goa, like Sesa Football Academy, and the crowds come to see them too," he said.
The Goan squad started training at the Chowgule College atificial turf grounds from Monday with the sole objective of getting used to playing the tournament on an artificial turf ground in Kolkata. Dias does have some concerns about playing on artificial turfs though.
"They must be having the tournament on artificial turf because of monsoons in Kolkata and lack of availability of proper grounds. There is a lot of difference playing on an artificial turf and on a natural ground. We cannot expect the same game. I believe they (artificial turfs) are very risky to players. I prefer natural grounds, the players can enjoy the game without the fear of getting injured there (as compared to playing on artificial turfs)," he stressed.
To name a few teams that the coach considers a threat to Goa's title defense, Mariano chose to say, "All states have good players. There are players from all states playing in the I-League, and when they play against Goa, they have a different attitude. Punjab, Bengal and Manipur are strong teams. Kerala is also a good team. Bengal is playing at home, so they will be going all out for a win, but we will be going there to get the title back to Goa."
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