If we play well with our style, we'll win, says FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez

Manolo Marquez gave the success’ credit to the FC Goa players, as for him, they are the ‘real protagonists’.

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FC Goa will go up against Chennaiyin FC in the ISL 2023-24 knockout stages on Saturday at the Fatorda Stadium. The Gaurs managed to overwhelm the Marina Machans the last time they met in the league by a 4-1 scoreline. However, they will need to be wary of the visitors given Owen Coyle’s tactfulness in priming his squads for such high-octane clashes.

Head coach Manolo Marquez and Moroccan forward Noah Sadaoui spoke to the media ahead of the game. Here are the excerpts:

Thoughts on facing a side they beat previously 

Chennaiyin have lost both times they faced FC Goa in the ISL this season. However, Noah Sadaoui believes the visitors will be better prepared. He explained:

“I think they will be better prepared for this game. Obviously from our history this season playing against them, they’re gonna have that fighting spirit coming into the game. It won’t be an easy game. They obviously made it to the top-six, so they’re good enough as any other team. We have to be ready for them.”

On scoring 10 goals

The electric forward has been prolific this season, taking his tally to double figures and being a pivotal figure for his team. Speaking on the same, he said:

“More or less, there’s always room to improve and be better. It’s not necessarily always about scoring 10 goals or whatever. It’s more about what you can do to help your team in other ways. I can be better for sure, but I’m happy that I’m able to contribute to the team as much.”

Comparison of this season to the last season

The Gaurs have been significantly better this season with Noah Sadaoui bettering his form with an added goal. The key player went on to say:

“With coach Manolo you have to learn tactically how to position yourself and improve every single year. Yes, I’ve scored 10 goals, a goal more than last season. But I feel I’ve learned some things that I didn’t do last year. I’m willing to get better in the future.”

On this season being his last at FC Goa

Speculations about Noah Sadaoui are rife in the transfer market news saying this is perhaps his last season at the club. However, the player gave out a diplomatic reply:

“I don’t think this is the best time to speak about the future. Right now the main focus is to focus on the team and the next game. Obviously, no matter what happens in the future, I want to focus on doing well here and we’ll see what happens.”

On the fight for the ISL trophy

FC Goa have never won the ISL Trophy and only won the Shield back in 2019-20. Talking about how they will proceed to add a new feather in their cap, Manolo Marquez said:

“Good question. Indeed, FC Goa were never a champion in these playoffs. But obviously, the main competition was the Shield because this is the tournament that allows you to play in Asian competitions. But now that the Shield is over, we now have this competition. Now it’s not about whether we can play in the continental competitions. It’s like any other tournament like Super Cup. Maybe more important than another tournament.”

He added, “There are new regulations in place as India has only two places in the Asian tournament in place of the earlier two. It’s the first season for that. It’s a nice competition because there are six teams. It’s true that this season, because of so many qualifying spots, the competition was more or less nice till the last moment and pretty hard for all teams. There was a good fight. Even to win the Shield there were four teams practically till the end, including us. We’ll try to win tomorrow and book a place in the semi-finals.”

On having an advantage over Chennaiyin FC

FC Goa have won 15 of their 26 games against Chennaiyin, drawing two and losing nine. While head coach Manolo Marquez added another one to the count, he spoke about it reservedly as he noted:

“And one from Durand Cup. Not important whether we are favourites or not. Tomorrow it’s 90 or 120 or 120 (minutes) and penalties. I feel that if we play in a good way with our style, we will win the game. But obviously, Owen Coyle will say the same to Chennai and today Ivan and Sergio will say the same thing to their team. It’s a nice advantage to play in Fatorda and we will try to win.”

On beating Chennai two out of three times

FC Goa have had an edge over Chennaiyin FC but the knockouts have favored the Marina Machans. Chennaiyin won it in the semi-finals both times they met and the Spaniard spoke on whether they have history on their side. He said:  

“Good for the history books. One of them was the semi-final where it was 2-1 and then 3-2 right afterwards. But tomorrow is again only one game and not a final, so it’s very dangerous. We’re speaking again about statistics. For sure, me and Owen Coyle will start with 11 players on the pitch. The other day the red card was important but prior to that we had already turned the scoreline.”

He added, “We equalised and the penalty was from a red card. Even with 11 players if we scored the goal it was 2-1 to us. This is about tomorrow and a lot of things can happen. This is the reason we already have a knockout competition and we have a competition with a regular season. I don’t agree with playoffs after a regular season. Not only in India, we have Australia and a lot of other countries with this rule. We are focused and motivated and want to win it for the first time with FC Goa. I’m sure a huge crowd will turn up at the stadium because we will need them to qualify in what will be a tough game.”

On his style of play

Manolo Marquez did not entertain any questions about himself, deflecting all praise to his players, as he concluded:

“My style of play? You know I don’t like to speak about it. There are some coaches who are comfortable speaking about themselves. I think the real protagonists are the players. I’m not comfortable with this situation. I prefer to stay back and work behind the scenes. A coach is better or worse because of the players. You can prepare well but if you don’t have the correct players, you can do nothing. But I feel we have a very good squad and in terms of points we were fighting till the end. We can say it was a good season because we were fighting till the last moment. It’s very important because FC Goa are a great club with history and have to be in these positions.”

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