ISL: "Football is not just about attacking but defending too," says Bozidar Bandovic

Chennaiyin FC defeated NorthEast United FC by 2-1 in their second Indian Super League match of the season at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa.

Head Coach Bozidar Bandovic was largely impressed with his side's powerful presence in defense and attack but warned his players to not get complacent as the season is long and tough.

This is the second win for two-time ISL champions in two matches this season and more than the win, Bozidar would be happy with the way Indian players are performing for the Tamil Nadu based team.

Here's what Bozidar said while reflecting on his team's win against North East yesterday.

On Improvement of his Attackers

Chennaiyin FC defeated Hyderabad FC narrowly in their first match. But they didn't pose much threat in the opposing half for the most part of the match. Bozidar had outlined this issue before the match and wanted more from his attackers. Speaking about it now, he said, "Yes I'm happy but in football it's not just about attacking there is defending too. And when we have the ball we need to attack well and when we don't have the ball we need to be aggressive in a similar way and defend well".

The gaffer further went on to say, "In football, there are no shortcuts. We need time, we need to improve more, we need to work more tactically and physically."

Performance of his Defenders

Chennaiyin conceded just one goal in the match which came due to an error from Vishal Kaith but apart from that it was a solid defensive performance from them. Talking about this, Bozidar said, "I believe we defended very well. Of course, there were some individual mistakes but this will happen".

Bozidar believes, "the most important thing for me is that I don't want players to be afraid of making mistakes because if you don't make mistakes, you don't improve. and you can never find out where you can reach".

The CFC gaffer further said, "Whatever the result, if they give everything, I will support them all the way" as he spoke on his philosophy

Season so far

With two wins in two matches, Chennaiyin sits comfortably in the second position in the ISL 2021-22 table behind ATK Mohun Bagan on goal difference. Talking about such a good start to the season, Bozidar said, "I'm happy because we built this team in a very short period of time and we have been preparing for seven weeks. And as you know we have many new players so we still need time and I'm happy for us that we won this game, the second game in a row.

On Rahim Ali

Bozidar has handed starts to Rahim Ali, an Indian striker in both matches ahead of Polish Striker Lukasz Giekiwicz. Talking about Rahim, Bozidar said, "I think if I'm not wrong we are the only team that plays with a domestic striker. I believe they need support because he has quality, he has potential and he has space to improve more.

"He needs to improve more and he can do that by training as well as playing games. So I think everyone needs to be happy that one team is at least playing with a domestic player as a striker because we are all here to improve Indian football" Bandovic added.

Bozidar and Chennaiyin FC fans would be surely happy with their team's performance in the first two matches but it's a long season and there are lots of tough matches to come so they will be hoping to continue this form and challenge for the record third title in ISL.