From teammates to being coached, Carlos Pena continues to motivate Aibanbha Dohling

After rejoining FC Goa as the head coach. Carlos Pena have had to get acclimatised to a much different role than what he had back when he donned the Gaurs' jersey in the brilliant 2019-20 season. From playing alongside many players to coaching them now, it's been an interesting turn of event for the Spaniard. Aibanbha Dohling is one such player.

In a press conference ahead of their match against Chennaiyin FC, Dohling reminisces about his time with Pena when the coach used to play as a defender for the side. Aiban feels that his relationship with Pena has not undergone much change as the Spaniard used to motivate and enlighten him during his playing years as well. "I am learning every day from him and he knows what the team wants", a delighted Aiban expressed.

Carlos Pena's men will lock horns with an unbeaten Marina Machans side on the 21st of October in match week 3 of the Indian Super League. The Gaurs' coach believes that the team from Chennai is a hard opposition but stated that his side will head into the match with no fear. "We respect them a lot, but we are going to play against them without any fear", the Spaniard said.

FC Goa began proceedings in season nine of ISL with a match against East Bengal FC and secured the all-important three points, thanks to a late winner by midfielder Edu Bedia. The win against EB marked the first ever win for Carlos Pena as a coach.

"It was special of course. It is pretty important when you are a coach to start the business at a positive note. But the most important thing was the victory and how it affected the attitude of the team", Pena stated when asked about how he personally felt about the initial triumph as a head coach.

The head coach wants to formulate a basic ideology within the team and does not believe in altering it based on the opponents. He assured that the team will not change its playing style when facing Chennaiyin.

"Our idea is going to be the same no matter who we are going to face", Pena asserted. "We need to pay attention to some aspects of the opponent and we will adapt to that a little bit, but the mentality and the main idea is going to be the same", he added.