FC Goa suffered their first defeat of the ongoing AFC Champions League after they went down 1-2 against Iranian giants Persepolis FC 2-1 in their third match of the group stage.
In their fourth match now, the Gaurs once again face the reigning Persian Pro League champions and their coach Juan Ferrando mentioned that his biggest concern ahead of the tie is fatigue.
What did Juan Ferrando say?
"We are playing six games in 20 days so it is difficult and it is difficult for all the teams. Of course, it is important to prepare the entire squad because everybody needs to participate. But this problem is because of the pandemic and it is necessary to be ready, to be strong and at the end, the most important thing is to participate and try to play in the best conditions," said the Spanish coach when asked about the condition of his players.
FC Goa's performance in their maiden AFC Champions League (ACL) appearance has been commendable as the Indian Super League (ISL) side has managed to pick up two points from their first three matches and has managed to get draws against Qatar's Al-Rayyan and UAE's Al Wahda in their first two matches.
FC Goa
Ferrando though is not fully satisfied as he stated that the philosophy of the club is to win matches and not remain satisfied with draws.
"I am not very happy because our mentality in this club is to win games," opined Ferrando. "But we know are in the AFC Champions League and here there are very difficult games. At certain points our performance was good.
"Against Persepolis, we were not successful in our plan. I understand that some players were tired, not just physically but also in mentality. When you play 200 minutes of high-intensity matches normally the players get tired. But for me, the most important is to continue, we have three more games and the next three games are very important for us. It is necessary to improve. Our target is to get the nine points. We respect all the oppositions, they are all very good teams but this is our target," stated the Spanish coach.
'Edu Bedia injured, several players exhausted'
"Edu Bedia is injured. It is a big injury. We have a lot of problems with some players. In the last game, Ivan (Gonzalez) was injured but he tried to help. Mohamed Ali is in the squad but he is still recovering. Leander (D'Cunha) and Princeton (Rebello) have started to work now after two weeks.
"Glan Martins and Jorge Ortiz are not injured but they need to recover. This is the truth. Brandon Fernandes was tired after the first half. Next week is very important for me and we need them. The most difficult job is of our medical team right now because they are working tirelessly. I hope we will get the best players in the lineup for the next game," informed the FC Goa manager.
FC Goa
'AFC Champions League at a different level'
FC Goa's star performer Brandon Fernandes highlighted the difference in standard between the ISL and the AFC Champions League and stated that playing in the premier Asian competition is helping the Indian players up their standards.
"ISL's level is very good but the AFC Champions League is at a different level. The intensity is very high. Teams play quicker, they spend less time on the ball. It is a good learning experience for each and every one of us. We can only get better playing such high-intensity games and it is only good for us," opined Fernandes.
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