Kolkata: Indian Arrows head coach Luis Norton de Matos on Thursday stated that his U-19 young boys will exceed expectations if they notch up five wins and don’t finish last when the I-League comes to the business end.
“Finishing last would hurt our pride,” said the Portugese gaffer. “Having said that, it is not impossible to fight for final four. But what our target is the experience after the I-League gets over – that is the most important bit to me,” he added.
Aware that fielding an youth team comprising of U-17 and U-19 Indian teenagers in a professional league may bring ‘more defeats than victories,’ Norton however felt satisfied that his boys have managed to win two matches in the total five, that they have played so far.
Six goals that saw Arrows defeat both Shillong Lajong and Chennai City by 3-0 margins have made Norton very satisfied. But this is not the end of road for them, feels the Portuguese.
“When the Hero I-League started, the clubs looked at us as outsiders but now they are taking it seriously,” added the former Benfica B man who also feels that the win against Lajong will give them additional motivation against the Kolkata giants.
“We are motivated to play against Mohun Bagan. All my players talk about Kolkata and they will try to win the game. It is a historic team in India and we await a lot of difficulties put in front of us tomorrow,” he added.
While the match in the ground will be tough it will be harder for the young boys to cope up with an entire stadium rooting against them. But the Portugese gaffer wants his boys to learn.
“They will have to cope otherwise how will they learn?” he said. “In the World Cup, the boys played in front of 50000 people but that was for us. Tomorrow will be completely different. I hope that motivates them more to do well,”
“Earlier this year we played in Saudi Arabia where 10-15000 people were against us and we started the game well. These are the kinds of situations they need to tackle if they have to play top football in Asia and this is a lesson for the boys. I am very excited to play in front of 20000 people,” added the 64-year-old.
As for coming to Kolkata which has become the mecca of Indian football ever since the big success of the U-17 World Cup, Norton said he was excited to be in the city of joy.
“I am very much excited to come here to the ‘City of Joy’ for the first time and I have been told the passion here for the game is at a different level. With Kingfisher East Bengal, Mohun Bagan are the frontrunners to win or at least finish in a top-four place in this competition. They are experienced side and there is a lot of public support with the team that is important,” he concluded.