ATK Mohun Bagan head coach Juan Ferrando was very disappointed and frustrated after his team was knocked out of the ongoing Hero Indian Super League following their aggregate 3-2 loss against Hyderabad FC at the Athletic Stadium, Bambolim on Wednesday. Ferrando stated that he was frustrated as they lost the last league stage game, the championship, and now the semifinal.
Roy Krishna scored in the 79th minute for ATK Mohun Bagan but Hyderabad FC was able to keep their lead. The Mariners completely dominated the second-leg of the semifinal as they had 58% of the possession whereas they took eight shots on target.
In fact, Hyderabad FC custodian Laxmikant Kattimani played an instrumental role in taking his team to the final as he made as many as eight saves in the second leg of the semifinal.
Juan Ferrando said in the post-match press conference, “To be honest, I’m very disappointed. I’m very frustrated because we lost in the last game, the championship and now we lost the semi-final. Of course, I’m not happy but it’s my feeling about the team. I’m very happy because they worked a lot in a difficult situation with quarantine and with the change in coaching style. I’m happy for them but thinking about myself I’m very disappointed. I’m very upset for our supporters because for me it is very important that in difficult moments we try to get trophies and enjoy with the fans and enjoy with this team and this club.”
In fact, Juan Ferrando joined hands with ATK Mohun Bagan from FC Goa in the middle of the season and had a good record at the club as he was able to get the best out of the players.
Speaking on his stint, “Yeah, the players and the coaching staff tried to do the best every day, for me it is incredible. All the players are very close and work every day with a good face and with a good positive mentality. It was incredible to work with this team for three months because in the end, I only worked for three months but the feeling is always difficult to know.”
Moving forward, the Spaniard revealed that his plan is the preseason now. However, he wants players to take rest and reunite with their families after a hard-fought season.
He concluded, “The plan is the preseason. I’m talking now with the owners to prepare for the preseason, of course, the players need to rest and be close to their families because it’s very important and after five-six days immediately, start working with the team in the pre-season because in front of us is a great challenge of an International. It has a lot of respect for us because we play in an international competition and it’s very important that everybody is ready and focused on the next challenge.”
