In What Was A Press Conference For The Ages, Blues’ Boss Carles Cuadrat Said That It Wasn’t Luck, But Resilience On His Side’s Part That Was Bringing In The Results…
On playing a third different side that is placed second on the table…
It is an accident of the calendar that we have to play the second-placed team so many times. It is a challenge and we are ready for it. Bengaluru have been leading for some rounds now and it was the same last season. I think that all the teams see these games against us as a challenge, and it is nice for football as it makes the game an exciting one.
On any possible areas of improvement…
In football, as in life, you always have room to improve. In every aspect of life, if you try, you can improve. We are defensively strong and we are also working hard to attack against teams who are defensive.
I read a Tweet that quoted me as saying “We have been lucky”. This is not true and it is not what I said. We are working very hard to arrive at the crucial moments of each game. You may get the goal or it may hit the post and those things happen in football. But there is a lot of work and a very big plan behind these results. In the last two games we earned points because of set-pieces and we have been practicing so many different set-pieces for every game. This is not luck, this is work.
We want to attack until the very end. If you noticed the goal we scored against NorthEast United, there were three of my players who didn’t go for the celebration; Erik (Paartalu), Sunil (Chhetri) and Rahul (Bheke). They picked up the ball and went to the half of the pitch to try to win the game.
It was the 93rd minute, and we were not happy with the point; we wanted to win the game. It is a very clear message, and I do not want to hear anything about luck, because there is a lot of work behind each game and you have to respect the profession of the football players, the staff and the group that is managing the situation.
On the conversion rate of his attacking players…
The important thing in football is to create chances. You have a frame to score a goal and it may hit the post or go inside. What’s important is to keep working. We created more chances than NorthEast but there are people analysing the game, who think differently.
What I don’t like is people talking a lot and then not doing what they have to do on the pitch. We made tactical changes and substitutions in the last game. And you can call it luck, but it was not luck. I anticipated Kean Lewis to be able to put the ball, and for Chencho to score the goal, so there was something happening from the bench.
It is about respect because there is a lot of work put in by my players who go for their objectives. It is one of the reasons I signed here for Bengaluru, because I know how the players are and I know that if we score in the 92nd minute there will be players getting the ball to score once more.
On his plans post the international break in December and January…
The truth is that we are going game after game. We have no planning for January or February so we will wait and see. I have always told to you that our target is to reach the playoffs and then it will be the time to make the plan. For now, we are thinking about these two games and not after that.
On the newly coined phrase ‘Cuadrat time’…
I am very happy to coach a team that fights until the end. We have been in the AFC Cup final and we kept fighting until the last minute, when we got a very clear chance in the 89th minute from a set piece that would have taken us into extra time. We are unlucky that Vineeth couldn’t score at that moment. But in every game, I have seen my players fighting until the end. I saw that they are calling it ‘Cuadrat time’, but Cuadrat’s time is 95 minutes from start to finish of a game.
This team has been working hard to get the results. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it does not, but the work is being done. We had a game against Altyn Asyr, where losing 3-0, we fought to bring it back to 2-3 and until the last moment we were pushing them to make it 3-3. It is the spirit of the team and I am very proud to coach these players.
His thoughts on how the Indian Super League has grown…
The Indian Super League is definitely improving and I am happy to see that. This is my third year here and in the first year we were not competing in it, but I was watching all the games, I can clearly see that teams are getting more used to the competition and they know more about things to do to which will make them better. Even the recruitment of players is getting better and the local players and foreigners are also of a better quality.
