Fikru's absence not an advantage: FC Goa coach Zico

Fikru Teferra has been instrumental in Atletico de Kolkata’s progress thus far

Margaon, Dec 16: Brazilian legend and FC Goa chief coach Zico on Tuesday claimed that the absence of Atletico de Kolkata striker Fikru Teferra would not pose any advantage to his side in the crucial Indian Super League (ISL) football competition semi-final second leg match here on Wednesday.

Fikru, who is nursing an injured hamstring, is ruled out of the second leg of the pre-summit battle.

"It will be an advantage for us if they come to play with only 10 players against us. If they are playing with 11 men, it is not an advantage," Zico quipped while speaking to mediapersons on the match eve here.

Zico calls Fikru an artist

Zico also praised Fikru saying apart from being a good footballer, he was a good artist too as he fakes injury to win penalties.

"As you saw in the last game, he (Fikru) is a very experienced player who is always disturbing our defenders. Now he has proved that he is a very good artist too, since he faked the injury and managed to get a penalty and also got Bruno (Pinheiro) expelled from the game," added Zico.

The Ethiopian got a penalty in his favour after he was brought down by Pinheiro in the box in a group match between the two sides and scored from it. The goal helped massively in securing Atletico's qualification to the semi-final.

"I think we will be able to defeat them tomorrow," Zico said.

The 61-year-old also said he has really enjoyed his stint with FC Goa and was impressed by the performances of the Indians.

"Yes, I really enjoyed training the players and it was a pleasure. I hope that I have helped them to develop their football and their behaviour and performance really impressed me. It was really a good experience," he said.

The winner of Wednesday's encounter will play the final against Kerala Blasters in Mumbai Dec 20.