In the 2022/23 edition of the Indian Super League, Mumbai City FC are set to play their first game against reigning champions Hyderabad FC on Sunday. The Islanders take on Hyderabad FC at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
Ahead of the first game of the ISL season, Mumbai City FC’s Coach Des Buckingham and club Captain Mourtada Fall in a virtual press conference spoke about the preparedness of the squad and the ISL season that is on the horizon.
Coach Buckingham said, “We wanted to start the 2022 Durand Cup in the same way we finished the Champions League in terms of how we played. We are in a much better place than we were 12 months ago. We've had eight weeks of pre-season."
"I'm very happy with the club and what we have set out to achieve this year. I believe we can be as successful as we want but the first thing, we have to make sure of is that if we approach every game as well as we can, and if we do that, we'll put ourselves at the right end of the table at the right time of the year,” he added.
Des further added, “We have a very hungry group of players here at the club. We’ve added some other players into that group that you see and they are very keen to add to our playing style, add to the way that we want to continue trying to win games.”
Club Captain Mourtada Fall also spoke about how the players have been improving over the course of the last 12 months as the towering defender said, “I think all our players are really good players. Players that have improved a lot over the last few years or months, especially the Indian players that have been playing with the national team. I sit down with a lot of the young players and try to help them with my experience to make them a little bit cautious. I think we have gelled well as a squad; we can do the job and will be targeting the double this season.”
Coach Buckingham went on to talk about how important a factor the crowd returning to the stadiums is as he expressed his delight, “It's now about becoming used to going back to what football used to look like with the crowds in the stadiums. We had 15,000 to 24,000 people in the stands for a couple of the games in the Durand Cup which was surreal. So, when you get that energy from the stadium and those fans, whether it's creating goal-scoring moments or saves in matches, it certainly has an impact on the game itself, the tempo of the players, and their energy levels.”
Des Buckingham signed off by saying, “Certainly the excitement from the touchline also increases, so it's one thing we are very much looking forward to. If as a squad we can showcase and match the energy of the fans consistently, we can make sure our fans go home happy and so do we.”
