'We need to enjoy the final' Antonio Habas underlines ATK's success mantra ahead of ISL final | ISL 2019-20
A few days ago, ATK conjured a stirring comeback to edge past Bengaluru FC and book their place in the summit clash of the 2019-20 ISL. In the process, the club became only the second side to appear in their 3rd final, thereby enabling them to dream of the niche achievement of becoming the only outfit to lift the trophy thrice.
On the eve of their crunch encounter against Chennaiyin FC, Antonio Lopez Habas acknowledged the magnitude of the occasion, although he maintained that his team needed to concentrate on the present.
Tomorrow is going to be a very special match. We need to enjoy it. However, we must not look into the past too much and concentrate on the present. Football is about the here and now and we must adhere to it. Though we can look at previous games to analyse, we need to ensure that we play the match tomorrow as it comes.
Roy Krishna, who had accompanied his coach, echoed similar sentiments, mentioning,
Tomorrow is going to be a huge a game. When I came here, I wanted to give my best and it is good to be in the final. But we can’t get carried away and we need to focus on our game.
Towards the latter stages of the league phase, ATK were handed only their second home defeat of the league campaign when Chennaiyin FC humbled them on the 16th of February.
Habas though, stressed that it was imperative that his side didn’t dwell too much on it, opining that the final would be completely different to what transpired at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Throughout the 2019-20 season, ATK have relied heavily upon David Williams and Krishna, with the duo invariably coming up trumps in clutch circumstances. Consequently, one couldn’t help but ask the Fijian how he enjoyed the Australian’s company in India, considering they’d played together in the A-League as well. Krishna quipped,
Williams is a good guy and we have enjoyed playing with each other. He knows my game and vice versa. But, we know the job is not done yet and we have a huge match now. I would not want to talk about my personal targets before tomorrow and my sole focus is on the final.
Furthermore, the second leg against the defending champions witnessed a stunning turnaround by ATK, wherein they came from behind to win a contest for the first time in 2019-20. Unsurprisingly, Habas seemed content on that achievement, commenting that that mentality would help greatly on the 14th of March too. He added,
We always wanted to create a good atmosphere in the dressing room and in training. And, eventually, that has translated onto the pitch into good performances.
Rather unfortunately though, the outbreak of the Coronavirus has meant that the encounter would be held behind closed doors, thereby providing the players and the staff a surreal experience. On the topic, Habas said,
It is an unfortunate situation but health and safety of the people obviously comes first.
Thus, amidst unfamiliar surroundings, ATK would chase their place in Indian footballing folklore, although on the footballing front, they seem as well equipped as any previous campaign.
However, having said that, they still need to negotiate their way past Chennaiyin FC, who have perhaps been the best team in the land following Owen Coyle’s appointment.
Yet, if ATK are to truly cement their place as the greatest the league has ever seen, one reckons nothing would be more fitting than a triumph over the Marina Machans en route an unprecedented third crown.