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What’s the story?
Delhi Dynamos director, Rohan Sharma sounded very confident about his team’s preparation and went on to predict that they will humble FC Pune City in their opening match of ISL 2017.
The Dynamos didn’t have a promising pre-season, losing three of the five matches in Spain and Qatar, but Sharma spoke very highly about their style of play.
In case you didn’t know
The Dynamos have revamped their side with Indian talents like Albino Gomes, Romeo Fernandes and Pritam Kotal, while hiring the services of foreigners like Guyon Fernandez and Jeroen Lumu. Miguel Angel will be the head coach of the team, which was guided by Italian Gianluca Zambrotta in 2016.
Heart of the matter
The director of Delhi Dynamos, who earlier had said that anything less that the title would be a failure for him, was very excited to witness the things unfolding in the Lions’ camp.
“We can't wait for the season to begin. I'm telling you, we will beat Pune 5-0. I have seen the boys play in Spain, Qatar and India. If not five, it will be 3-0 for sure,” said Sharma during a Dynamos kit launch, on Monday.
What’s next?
The Dynamos will face Pune in an away game on October 22 to kick off their campaign. Now, it remains to be see whether Sharma’s words are transformed into action by the players or not.
Author’s take
It must be said that Sharma has made a very bold prediction because nobody has seen the two teams play in a competitive match this year and it’s very difficult to gauge their strengths and weaknesses so early. Pune are no easy side on paper, as they have three of the most impactful players from last season - Emiliano Alfaro, Kean Lewis and Marcelinho. The last two were incidentally instrumental in guiding Delhi to the play-offs in 2016.
So it’s highly unlikely that the prediction of the director will turn correct, but in case it happens, we will have an early favourite for the title.
