ISL: "As a head coach, it is my duty to secure our future," says FC Goa gaffer Juan Ferrando

FC Goa started their Indian Super League 2021-22 campaign with a crushing 3-0 defeat against the defending champions, Mumbai City FC at the Fatorda Stadium, Goa. Igor Angulo, who recently moved to Mumbai from Goa at the start of this season scored a match-winning brace against his former team. The Gaurs were totally dominated by Buckingham's boys and as a result, their 15 matches unbeaten streak came to end.

Juan Ferrando's team will now face Jamshedpur FC next in their second match of the season. After their disappointing outing in the last match, the Gaurs are aiming to get back into winning ways and register their first points of the season. The FC Goa gaffer explained his preparations for the game as he share the takeaways, way to recovery and many more.

Juan eyes better Recovery

Since the start of the match, Mumbai applied a unique pressing pattern resulting in the Goan players being very uncomfortable on the ball. As a result, they gave away the balls cheaply, giving a chance to the Islanders to counter them. Mumbai who has quite a few good ballplayers utilized the chances well and broke the initial counter-press of Goa very smoothly.

As soon as the initial counter-press was broken, there's a lot of spaces that got opened up in the field, leaving the Mumbai team to exploit. Mumbai exploited the space well and possessing a lethal striker like Igor Angulo, made the job easier for them. When quizzed about how to address this problem Ferrando mentioned that "they need to be a lot more compact between the lines and control the spaces very well".

The Spaniard also addressed the importance of the initial counter-press which helps them to recover the ball quickly. "In the last match, we lost the ball poorly twice in the second half. It wasn't good. It's very important to control the space. Whenever we are attacking or building up, in case we lose the ball, it is very important that we win the ball back with early pressing. Because if we don't, the opponent will have too much space to exploit and it will be difficult to defend," the gaffer quipped.

Trusting and grooming youngsters

In these last seven seasons of ISL, FC Goa has built their own philosophy. The Gaurs are known for trusting their young guns and playing an entertaining brand of football and Juan Ferrando isn't any exception. The gaffer deployed a backline with the players like Leander, Papuia, and Sanson in the Mumbai game. But the inexperienced Goan backline failed to resist the defending champions owing to their lack of experience in the Indian top tiers. But the move was surely brave and one to enhance Indian football.

While speaking about this, Ferrando showed his trust in the young players. He explained the importance of giving the young players opportunities for their growth. He said, "I trust Leander, Papuia, Sanson. Of course, they don't have experience but they will only gain it by playing more and more. As a head coach, it is my duty to secure our future and these boys are our future". The tactician believes that's the process to reach their potential and help FC Goa altogether.

Juan also gave insights into his future plans as he said, "Yes, they didn't deliver a good performance in the last match but they will have to work more and I will give them more opportunities in the future". He further said "It isn't easy for the young players to start in the lineup but you have to have the trust in them and continue the work. If this fails, it's the head coach's fault"

The FC Goa gaffer believes, "They are talented players with good potential but they will need time to express themselves. In the next 2-3 seasons, Leander, Papuia, Sanson will be really good players. The coaching staff will push them and help them to reach there"