Coach Marco Materrazi is leaving no stone unturned to make Chennaiyin FC as champion in the second edition of the Indian Super League.
In an email interview to the The Hindu, he talks about the depth in the squad, Fikru’s disciplinary issues and his new Brazilian defenders.
Your thoughts on Atletico de Kolkata…
They are a very strong team. It will be difficult to play against them again, but we hope to make a winning start.
Atletico’s Borja Fernandes made the most number of tackles last time and was instrumental in breaking up the attacks. Do you have any specific plans for him?
Not really. We will have a plan for their whole team.
Fikru was penalised many times for his aggression last season. Have you asked him to tone down a bit or do you want his aggression up front?
Aggression is a feature of Fikru’s game. You take that away and he won’t be the same player. Yes it is important to not cross the line but he is a very important player for us. Don’t forget it was actually his team that won the ISL last time.
Two good players for each position sounds good. But this may create unrest in the dressing room.
It is very important to have good bench strength as the recovery time between matches is very less.
Tell us about your new defenders Eder Monteiro and Mailson Alves…
Both are very reliable defenders but with different qualities. Eder has immense experience while Mailson is still very young and has the potential to get much better.
