ISL Preview: Atletico de Kolkata to unleash it's own style against attack-minded Mumbai City

Kolkata: Much has been made of the Spanish influence on Atletico de Kolkata ahead of the Indian Super League opener against Mumbai City FC at Salt Lake stadium today — but coach Antonio Lopez Habas says that he’s not looking to make his team play in Spanish way. He’d much rather create their own style.

“I’ve no intentions of imposing a Spanish style on my team — I believe that Atletico de Kolkata should have its own style of play which you will see against Mumbai City in the opener.”

Habas also mentioned ‘protagonist football’ — a term which can possibly be interpreted as as a style where his team will look to control the play. And indeed Habas’ team has been training on quick passing moves with very few passes and hardly any aerial balls.

Earlier, Indian goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury had said that there was no excuse for Kolkata to not win — especially with a raucous home support behind them. Injury wise, the team is only missing midfielder Rakesh Masih — compared to their counterparts who are almost certain to not play Freddie Ljungberg due to a calf injury.

“Freddie is still feeling his calf and there’s no chance I would risk him for one match and then miss him for a month,” Mumbai City manager Peter Reid said.

However, the visitors received a major boost when it was announced that they will be able to field Nicolas Anelka. Considering Ljungberg is not available, Anelka is expected to play in the hole behind Argentine striker Diego Nadaya — who has been prolific with two hat-tricks in the practice matches.

Habas dismissed any worries over Anelka: “I don’t care if he plays or not. Anelka or no Anelka, it doesn’t make a difference to our plans.”

Both teams have impressed upon the importance of pressing the ball down — and probably Atletico, thanks to their Spanish armada, will be better at that. But Mumbai’s attack is considerably stronger — with winger Lalrindika Ralte also in good touch.

While Reid is not bogged down by the pressure of playing away from home, his skipper Syed Nabi — who knows what sort of backing Atletico will get in Kolkata — warned that the fans could really spur their team on the big night.

“There’s no one danger man in Kolkata — their most potent weapon will be the fans. The support they will get is their biggest advantage,” he said.

Reid, though, will not back away from playing attacking football: “Going for a point is a waste of time. We’re going to play attacking football and look for the win. I know it’s an away game and we’ve been tipped as the favourites — but keeping all that aside, all I can say is that the boys are desperate to get out there and play.”

Kolkata’s play is expected to revolve around their marquee player Luis Garcia and defensive midfielder Borja Fernandez. They also have Jofre Mateu in midfield and Arnal Llibert up front. It will also be interesting to see if Bangladeshi Mamunul Islam gets a run-out.

Mumbai’s midfield has been enhanced with the arrival of Brazilian Andre Moritz, but with little training with the rest of the team, he may not play from the off. Their Czech pairing of Jan Stohanzl and Pavel Cmovs have been brilliant in friendlies so far. And of course, they boast of Subrata Paul in goal and former Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Friedrich in defence.

The last two days have seen regular bursts of rain in Kolkata — and if the clouds open up during play tonight — expect the artificial turf to become slicker and very fast.

Atletico and Mumbai are probably the strongest of the eight franchisees — and while the latter will be out to prove that the best teams win away from home, the former will look to make a statement of intent and start building what could become a home fortress in Kolkata.