Heading into tomorrow’s second leg against Atlético de Kolkata, Alexandre Guimaraes knows that nothing less than a win will do for his side. The Mumbai City FC coach revealed what was missing in their first leg performance.
“We need more intensity. I have been talking about it with the players, these kinds of games you need to play with a different physical and mental intensity. Our players are very excited to play in front of our fans, they’ve been fantastic. I hope that tomorrow the stadium is filled to capacity,” stated Guimaraes.
Have to play smart football, says Guimaraes
“We know that we have to play very smart. It’s not a suicidal situation. It’s only a one goal difference so we have to play better than the last game. We are still alive and will fight as hard as we can to enter the finals,” he added.
Despite Forlan not playing, Alexandre said that he doesn’t need to say much to encourage the players, “These kinds of games, you don’t need to motivate the players too much. Tomorrow is like a final. Everyone is excited. The one who will replace Forlan, I don’t have any doubt that he will do the best.”
“It’s difficult for me now to predict if the team will suffer in his absence. The games that he didn’t play, we’ve performed well. He is waiting to play in the final. He is not happy at all but sometimes it happens, he’s human,” he stated.
Also read: Diego Forlan's absence might be good for us, says Atlético de Kolkata coach, José Molina
The Costa Rican described the kind of game his side will need to play, “Our first target is to score one goal. After that, it’s another game. I am pretty sure that Kolkata knows this as well. If my players are in the right frame of mind, I am sure that we will be much more accurate in the final 20 metres of the pitch.”
Counter Kolkata’s wing-play
Kolkata based a large amount of their attacks from the wings in the first leg, something that Alexandre hopes to keep in check.
“They did very well from the wings. Especially when they counter attacked us from set pieces. This is something that we have to pay much more attention to,” he inferred.
Guimaraes stressed that balance will be the key tomorrow, ”We know that we will attack more than them. It’s normal but we cannot be suicidal. We have to go forward but be well positioned in midfield and defence, without committing errors.”
Asked if the Indian Super League needs to adopt the away goals rule, he said,”When you score two away goals it’s very good but this is our situation and we can’t do anything. I prefer that the game should go directly to penalties rather than extra time.”
Calls on the fans for support
The coach also sent a message to the fans of Mumbai City FC before he signed off, “It’s better to have a full stadium than play in a bigger stadium that looks like a desert. I prefer that and the players prefer that. I hope the stadium is packed half an hour before the game starts.”
“That will be very important when the players see the stadium full while warming up. Everybody with blue, it’s going to be nice,” he concluded.
