December 15, 2024 09:59 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Atul Subhash suicide case: Wife Nikita, her mother and brother arrested | Pushpa 2 stampede: Allu Arjun walks out of jail, actor's lawyer slams delay in release | Donald Trump intends to end 'inconvenient' and 'very costly' Daylight Saving Time | Suchir Balaji: Indian-origin former OpenAI researcher found dead at US apartment | Bengaluru techie suicide: Karnataka Police issues summons to wife Nikita, her family members | French President Macron appoints centrist leader Francois Bayrou as new Prime Minister | Congress always prioritised personal interest over Constitution: Rajnath Singh | Jaishankar calls attack on Hindus in Bangladesh 'a source of concern' | Allu Arjun arrested over woman's death in stampede during Pushpa 2 premiere show | RBI receives bomb threat in Russian language, case filed

Kolkata promises 'fatafati' football in ISL opener

| | Oct 12, 2014, at 04:33 am
Kolkata, Oct 11 (IBNS) Atletico de Kolkata manager Antonio Lopez Habas is all set to unleash a brand 'fatafati' football in the opening tie of Indian Super League (ISL) against Mumbai City FC at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.

"We want to play in 'fatafati' style. I want to Kolkata to play in their own style. We want to dish out an entertaining and intelligent soccer that will go well with the catchline of the team," Habas said when asked what would be their style of play with bulk of their players and support staff from Spain.

'Fatafati football' is the tagline of the side and Habas said: :"We are perfectly prepared, but all depend on the 90 minutes in the game. To be prepared is one thing. We have to deliver."

"We have gone well with the people of the city but result is more important. This is a universal game. We have professional players playing all over the world," he told reporters in a pre-match interview.

Asked whether Indian weather would affect them, he said: "The pitch, weather or the opponents should not be any excuse." Habas also said there's an uncertainty over Rakesh Masih who has a stomach problem.

On whether Nicolas Anelka's absence would be an advantage, he said: "It is not going to be a big deal. We have to play to our strengths." Borja Fernandez, who was also present for the meet, added: "What is important is that we play well. One person cannot change the fate of a side. We have ton play well as a team."

The former Real Madrid star also added that he was enjoying his stay in India. "Here the population is huge. But the people love football. I am hoping to do something exciting. It's a beautiful country and I am sure I will enjoy my stay."

(Reporting by Arindam Basu)

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.