e_Paper, Sunday, April 16, 2017

DT
18
Sports
SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2017
Abahani brace for
Bengaluru clash
• Tribune Report
Bangladesh Premier League champion
Dhaka Abahani Limited will
leave here for India today morning
to take part in their third AFC Cup
2017 Group E match against Indian
League winner Bengaluru FC,
scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
An 18-member Abahani squad
will travel with only two foreigners
– Emeka Darlington and Jonathan
David – as their veteran Ghanaian
defender Samad Yussif is yet to get
the Indian visa.
“Samad didn’t get visa yet. He
had to go to his own country first to
get his passport okay. Now we are
again going to travel with only two
foreign players while all the other
teams are playing with four. They
are the major players in the team,”
said Abahani head coach Drago
Mamic yesterday.
Mamic also informed that midfielder
Emon Babu is unlikely to
play due to injury.
The Sky Blues are currently languishing
at the bottom of Group E
with two defeats in as many matches.
Abahani manager Satyajit Das
Rupu stated that if Samad gets his
visa today then he will fly off the
next day to play the game. •
Abahani players take part in a training session in Dhanmondi yesterday
Mamic: Abahani in transition but improving
• Shishir Hoque
Five-time professional league
champion Dhaka Abahani Limited
will play away to Indian League
winner Bengaluru FC in their third
match of the AFC Cup on Tuesday.
Having lost almost half of the
key squad members at the beginning
of the season, the Dhanmondi
giant have been going through
difficult times in the competition,
suffering defeats in their last two
matches. Bengaluru are currently
at the top of the Group E table
while the Sky Blues are mired at
the bottom. Abahani head coach
Drago Mamic gave an interview to
Dhaka Tribune, before their final
practice session in Dhaka prior to
their departure, at the club premises
yesterday afternoon.
Here are the excerpts:
What are your expectations
regarding the match against
Bengaluru?
We will be playing against the defending
champion of India and also
the finalist of the last AFC Cup. We
know everything about this club.
But we must take care about our
performance, to be better than last
time. We played very, very good
against Mohun Bagan FC in the
first half but we must start thinking
about (prolonging) this performance;
to be very good more than
only one half. We are now in better
fitness condition than before and I
already told that we are fighting.
Bengaluru have exhibited strong
performances in the AFC Cup. They
defeated Bagan in the group stage.
Do you think the next game will be
tougher than the previous one?
After winning against Bagan,
they were outplayed by the same
opponent within a weak. We can’t
say which team is better. The only
question is who is concentrating
more in which competition. They
also won the game against Maziya
(Sports and Recreation Club) with
a winner in the 94th minute. They
are at the top of the table. We are
playing very good. This conception
and system of playing (are) not
problems. We must just (continue)
on that, to extend the time of
good playing, not playing only 45
minutes. I hope now we can play
(well) much longer than the last
game.
You have experience of coaching in
the I-League, how competitive are
Abahani head coach Drago Mamic briefs his charges during training
you expecting this game to be?
I have experience in all Asia. I know
very good that in this game if you
have very good squad and foreign
players, then you have big chance.
If you take off all the foreign players
from Bagan, they can not play
so quality game like they did with
them. Same goes for Bengaluru.
We are handicapped. I don’t know
what happened here for minimum
presence of the foreign players.
This is killing the quality of the
league. This is also the reason why
this is happening with us in the
AFC Cup.
MD MANIK
MD MANIK
Mulling any change in formation or
strategy?
New formation depends on the
quality of the players. That’s why
we cannot play 4-3-3 against the
team who have more quality. And
we also have to play away. I think
everybody who is rational thinking
must know at the moment Bengaluru
(are) better team than us.
We must play something which can
ensure the defence.
What do you think are the reasons
behind Abahani’s two defeats in
the AFC Cup?
Many reasons I have already
spoke of, about calender of
competition, about everything. I
don’t want to repeat it. Now we
have two games behind us. Boys
are improving. We are just in the
selective time. This team existed
for only one month. We changed
about seven-eight players from
last season, including foreign
players. That’s why it is a new
team and we must think about
it. I’m sure the team will be
improving but at the moment
we can’t expect some surprising
results in Bengaluru. We cannot
go there like favourite and
promise somebody that we are
going there for win because it will
be ridiculous in my opinion. •