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Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC will kick off their campaign for the I-League 2021-22 season with a heavyweight clash against the Churchill Brothers on Sunday.
The departure of some of its stars has weakened the side. But head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese remains optimistic and believes they are ready to go for glory yet again.
Speaking to the press in a virtual meeting, the Gokulam Kerala FC boss said that his team is well prepared. However, he stressed the competition level in the I-League this season will be very high.
"We are well prepared after playing many friendly games and other tournaments. But in the I-League things are totally different compared to other tournaments. They have a different style of refereeing, a different vision of football, and also the different quality of teams this year. We start our season tomorrow against a very strong opponent in the Churchill Brothers."
"This year it's going to be very competitive. Most of the teams have very good players, foreign recruits and even many foreign coaches. So it will be exciting," the Gokulam Kerala FC head coach added.
Gokulam Kerala FC went on to win the I-League title for the first time in their debut 2020-21 season itself. They achieved the feat on the final day of the season after beating their closest challenger, TRAU 4-1.
However, the Malabarians have failed to hold on to the title-winning side in its entirety. Vincenzo Alberto Annese said it was a given that after Gokulam Kerala FC had won the I-League a lot of the players would move on to the ISL teams with better offers. Due to this, Gokulam Kerala FC have been forced into some changes in the squad. But the coach said:
"I don't care about the changes. I am thinking about the balance of the team and I think we have got a very good side."
The Italian boss also addressed the ambition of the team coming into the season. He said:
"Our expectation is always to participant to win. All the teams in this league are trying to win as well. But first thing is that we will try to finish in the first group and after that will think about the title."
"Need to make sure we don't make errors in passing" - Gokulam Kerala FC head coach ahead of Churchill Brothers clash
Gokulam Kerala FC will start off their season with a clash against the Churchill Brothers, whom they ousted in the previous I-League playoffs.
Vincenzo Alberto was asked how he expects the game to proceed. He stressed that in every league across the globe the first game is always a very physical and emotional battle. He urged the players to be physically and mentally ready for battle.
Furthermore, in response to a Sportskeeda query about how the game against Churchill Brothers will play out tactically, the 37-year-old said:
"First, we need to focus on our own tactics. Last year, we saw the level of tactical gameplay was a bit poor. We need to make sure that we don't make errors in passing. Need to be calm on the ball and let the opponent be afraid of us. Because we are a very good team and we need to try to create space to penetrate them."
He further added:
"I know the coach [Petre Gigiu] was back in India three years back with the same team. He's an experienced coach and I expect him to play in a standard 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1."
The Gokulam Kerala FC coach also spoke about other potential title challengers in the league. While the coach opined that all the teams will be in the hunt, he specified:
"Every team can pose a threat to other teams. There is Aizwal FC and Neroca FC. Then there is Real Kashmir, whose style of football we know can be really difficult to play against. Obviously there is Mohammedan SC and RoundGlass Punjab FC, who have a lot players from the Indian Super League."
