Bengaluru FC and ATK will be eyeing the top spot when they lock horns in the 10th round fixture of Indian Super League (ISL) season six on Christmas day in Kolkata.
After a rocky start to their campaign, Bengaluru have recovered well and are well-placed to compete for the top slot. Ahead of facing ATK, head coach Carles Cuadrat reiterated how the league has been very competitive this season.
"I think it’ll be a very tough game of course. But all the games are becoming tough. If you ask Antonio Habas about the last game against Hyderabad, he’ll tell you it was very tough. Against Hyderabad, we scored in the first minute but dropped points.
“I think every game is equally difficult in ISL this season. It’ll very interesting to see the tactics of two teams and see which one has the control of the game. Until now, ATK has been at the top of the ISL for a long time. But now they can show everybody they lost to the runners-up of the last ISL and can beat the champions. I hope it’s a special day as it’s a Christmas day and we hope to give a present to all the football fans in India.”
Showing utmost respect to the opposition and their manager, Cuadrat said, “I have a lot of respect for ATK. It’s a club with a big history and they have two championships. It means a lot as it’s only six seasons. They’ve been competing very well.
“After a few disappointments, they have been a very good team this season with some great foreigners and promising Indian players. The coach knows the ISL and has been a champion before. I‘m a champion as well so I know the hard work that needs to be put in. I have a lot of respect for Antonio Habas and I know they’re fighting hard to win the title. It’s great that they’ve been reaping 20,000 supporters for the games. That’s great for football."
ISL media
Cuadrat remained wary of ATK duo Roy Krishna and David Williams and suggested that they have chalked up a plan to stop ATK.
“Of course we have a plan for the game. We’ll try to get them under control. They are two very natural forward players. I think it’s very clever from ATK to bring players who are playing together. They are synchronized in mechanics, interaction and that’s brilliant for them. So congratulations to ATK for bringing a winning combination to their team.”
With the January transfer window around the corner, the Spanish manager hinted at signing a new striker.
“We will have the window open in January. Maybe we’ll go for a striker. We’ll go to the management in January to discuss anything like that. We have a slot open for a new foreigner in January. But I can’t guarantee anything will happen, but we’ll look into it when the window opens in January.”