Manolo Marquez, head coach of the victorious Hyderabad FC in the just-concluded Hero ISL, said the success story was possible because of the team’s hard work, support from the staff and management, and discipline among the players.
“Another major reason was is we spent a lot of time with the players, coming to know about many aspects of not just their game but also their lifestyle and other subjects. Even after a bad game we spent a lot of time,” Marquez told the media here on Tuesday.
“Definitely, there can’t be greater satisfaction than winning the ISL. We were spot-on in everything this season and that is why we emerged the champion.
Sometimes you need success like this to get the next step in a huge project like promoting football in the State,” said Marquez.
“Now, it is time to celebrate and stay disconnected from the game for some days because it was hard to be thinking about the league 24×7 for six months, far away from our families.
“It is not the time to speak about our next season. It is for the Club to say more on this,” he added.
Goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani said he was very confident, calm and composed during the penalties and it was more of a mental game when he walked up to the rival players who were to take the spot-kicks and tell them to shoot the ball in and not out.
Great feeling
“That way I tried to put some pressure on them,” he said. “I made three saves in the shootout and it felt great. It is very satisfying to have 61 saves overall in the ISL season,” he said.
Captain Joao Victor said there was no pressure on him as a leader as he had an amazing group and there were many who were doing the job so it was easier for him.
Bartholomew Ogbeche, who won the ‘Golden Boot’ for his 18 goals and also became the ISL’s all-time top goalscorer, said it was possible because of teammates and the coaches’ efforts. “They put me on the pedestal,” he said.
“In the final, it was not about one individual scoring or not. Regardless who scored, all we wanted was that trophy and delighted to have it,” he added.
Nikhil Poojary, who has been with HFC since its first season, said Indian players did well because they were made to look far more comfortable and the coaches were very receptive.
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