"To begin this story, we want to win the first derby" - Sreenidi Deccan coach Carlos Vaz Pinto on the first-ever Hyderabad derby | Super Cup 2024
The first-ever Hyderabad derby is slated to take place on Friday when Hyderabad FC take on Sreenidi Deccan FC at the Kalinga Stadium in the Kalinga Super Cup on Friday, January 19.
The Hyderabad derby will be followed by the big Kolkata derby, where Mohun Bagan will lock horns with their cross-city rivals East Bengal.
Sreenidi Deccan, who are in a rich vein of form in the I-League, are also among the favorites to earn promotion into the Indian Super League next season.
Although they are ranked in the third position of the league table at the moment, tied with Real Kashmir with 20 points to their name, they may be able to topple Mohammedan SC from the pole position as the season progresses.
On Friday, however, all eyes will be on them as they take part in the first-ever Hyderabad derby with their rivals Hyderabad FC.
Although the latter play in a division above Sreenidi at the moment, if they manage to eke out a positive result, it will go a long way in making a statement.
As it is, the city's footballing circles are buzzing with excitement in anticipation of this historic occasion.
A significant number of supporters of both clubs have made their way to Bhubaneswar, which is a good 20-hour train ride from Hyderabad. Those who could not do so will be glued to their television sets from well before 2 PM on Friday.
Sreenidi Deccan, being the underdog in this fight, have a lot to prove but nothing to lose. Head coach Carlos Vaz Pinto spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda ahead of the enormous occasion about what the derby means to his side.
"We have played a few unofficial practice matches against Hyderabad FC in the last couple of years but as this is the first official competitive game, it will be a special occasion," Pinto told Sportskeeda.
"As football in Telangana continues to develop, this derby will take more and more significance in the years to come and to begin this story, we want to win the first one," he added.
Sreenidi have performed well in the Super Cup but are winless
Sreenidi played their first game of the Super Cup against Mohun Bagan, a game that they were leading till the 39th minute before the Mariners turned it all around and ended up winning it 2-1. A controversial late goal from Armando Sadiku gave the Kolkata giants the win on that occasion.
In their next game, against East Bengal, they lost by an identical margin but gave the Torchbearers a real scare.
On Friday, they will have to play out of their skins against a Hyderabad side who are missing some of their top stars due to various reasons but have shown why they can still compete at this level with the players from the reserves that they have promoted.
The Nawabs have showcased that desire and hunger to win matters more than reputation in this sport, and the Deccan Warriors will have to contend with that on this momentous occasion on Friday.