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Goa: SC East Bengal kick-start their Indian Super League campaign against Owen Coyle’s Jamshedpur FC on Sunday at the Tilak Maidan as a new Spanish era beckons in the Red and Gold Brigade under the tutelage of former Real Madrid Castilla coach, Manolo Diaz.
In East Bengal’s Pre-Match Press Conference with select media houses, Manolo Diaz who was joined alongside with his deputy and translator Angel Puebla told to India.com that he is satisfied with the quality of Indian players in the squad, labelling the entire team as the ‘best’ lot.
“For us our squad is the best squad and we want to improve their level in terms of skills,’ Diaz said when asked about the assessment of Indian players during the pre-season.
Last season, the Bangal Brigade’s Indian players came under serious scrutiny during Robbie Fowler’s reign as the Kolkata giants finished 9th in the league.
Diaz have the experience of managing the youth set-up of Real Madrid along with their B and C team. He shaped Los Blancos stars like Lucas Vazquez and Mariano Diaz and also Leeds United defender and Spanish international, Diego Llorente. East Bengal fans are keen to see their team play the ‘Galactico’ way in the 2021-22 season.
The Former Real Madrid B coach has gone without any Spanish players in the team, with only Dutch midfielder Darren Sidoel having the experience of playing under him at his last club, Hercules.
East Bengal will be boasting the likes of Amir Dervisevic and Antonio Perosevic who has played at the international level for their respective nations, not long ago. Nigerian striker, Daniel Chima is tipped to be one of the star strikers to watch out for as he is likely to be the target man of the team.
As far as the Indians are concerned, Adil Khan and Raju Gaikwad will play an important role in the defensive department of the team. A lot of expectations will be on former Mumbai City man Jackichand Singh and U-17 World Cupper, Amarjit Singh. Last year’s golden glove winner, Arindam Bhattacharyya will lead the team from the front as the guardian between the sticks.
Manolo Diaz and Co would love to go off the mark with a win on Sunday as their second match will be against their arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan, who got their season running yesterday with a 4-2 win over Kerala Blasters.
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