ISL 2020/21: Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez looks forward to Bengaluru FC challenge
Aridane Santana scored a penalty to give Hyderabad FC their first win of the 2020/21 Indian Super League season against Odisha FC. While the three points are important, coach Manolo Marquez was pleased with the fact that the club managed their first-ever clean-sheet in their brief existence.
Speaking ahead of Hyderabad FC's second fixture in the league, Manolo Marquez underlined the importance of continuous improvement irrespective of the win.
"Obviously, we are very happy with the first win. But one of the first that when you are a coach, you have to know is that you cannot be very, very happy for winning one game and the opposite if you lose the game, but of course, to start with, with the victory is very important," the Hyderabad FC head coach said.
Manolo Marquez continued: "And the thing is to keep improving. I think all the areas will have to improve every week because if there's only one week, I only have one official game. We are satisfied with the performance, but we have to improve I think all the things have to improve after the first game."
Bengaluru FC is a great team: Hyderabad FC coach Manolo Marquez
Speaking about Hyderabad FC's upcoming fixture against former ISL champions Bengaluru FC, Manolo Marquez said that it would be a tough fixture, especially given the club's history of winning trophies in the past.
"Bengaluru FC is a great team. They have a great coach, they have a good experience in they had a good experience in the ISL. They have been champions and they have played finals in the tournament," Manolo Marquez said.
He continued: "We are aware that we are playing against a team that regularly finishes in the top four every season, so it is going to be a difficult game. The biggest challenge is to play against Bengaluru because they are a very good team and they will finish in the top four in my opinion."
Hyderabad FC had previously drawn the friendly match against the Blues 1-1 in a pre-season friendly. However, as far as Marquez is concerned, that was just another training session. "For me, that friendly games in particular and other kinds of training sessions will be a different game tomorrow. They played only three foreigners in the second half if I remember correctly," he said.
"But of course, if we want to win, we have, to put in a very good performance because they are a very strong team. Maybe it's better to play with these kinds of things in the beginning. But of course, they are a dangerous opponent," he concluded.
Bengaluru FC will face-off against Hyderabad FC on the 28th of November at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa.