Buoyed by their recent Durand Cup triumph, NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali believes that they are a pack of wolves having tasted maiden success, and called upon The Highlanders to continue the momentum when they open their Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-2025 campaign against Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting Club on Monday.
Benali, who spearheaded the North East-based outfit’s first ever title win in the club’s 10 years of existence when they hunted down 17-time winner Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Salt Lake Stadium to clinch its maiden Durand Cup in the season-opening tournament, felt that the outlook towards his boys will change from hereon.
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Before this, the club’s best performance had been reaching the ISL playoffs twice, once in the 2018-2019 season under Dutch coach Eelco Schatorrie and then in 2020-21 under Khalid Jamil.
Benali’s arrival in 2023 provided NEUFC with the right tactician to build a team capable of competing against the giants of Indian football, and the impact was instant as the club narrowly missed out on a knockout berth in the previous ISL season.
“We’re a wolf pack, now that we have tasted the bite, we need to continue it and can’t go back to being underdogs. At the same time, it’s important for the side to keep their feet on the ground as the Durand Cup title is just a trailer,” Benali told The Statesman during the side’s Media Day round at its home ground here.
The 55-year-old was quick to point out that the side can’t rest on their past laurels and needed to put in the hard yards every single day as the focus remains on winning the Indian Super League.
“It’s great to win the Durand Cup but we are already past it now. It’s time to move on and prepare for the next challenge. I would still insist on the word Sabar (Patience) even though the Durand Cup triumph has somewhere changed the perspective from ‘We play NEUFC, now they (opponents) will say Be Careful, NEUFC is coming.’”
“At the same time, there can be no complacency. The mood in the camp is the same, it’s a small family but a very strong one. We have a great support system, right from the owner of the club to the management and the support staff,” he said.
The 133rd edition of the Durand Cup showcased the best of Indian football across various tiers, and Benali felt that he was happy to be a part of history when his team made a valiant comeback to pull off a stunning 4-3 penalty shootout win after trailing 0-2 at half time and ending at 2-2 in regular time.
While the Durand Cup — Asia’s oldest existing football tournament, serves as the perfect preparation ahead of the ISL season, the Spaniard felt that both the tournaments are different in many ways — be it in terms of environment or the challenges.
“It’s one of the oldest tournaments in the world, and certainly one of the best in the world. For me and NEUFC, it’s an honour to be a part of history. ISL is completely different, different in terms of the challenges and the environment,” he said.
As the club approaches it’s first game of the ISL season against I-League 2023-24 champions Mohammedan SC at the iconic Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Monday, Benali pointed out that his team will take one match at a time as he felt that the opponents also boast of a strong outfit after making it to the ISL this season.
“We are only thinking of the first game, a good performance in the first one will help set the tone. Mohammedan SC are a strong side with a unique blend of experience and young talented prospects. They have some exciting new signings like Franca Freires and Cesar Lobi Manzoki,” he said while adding the learnings from the Durand Cup campaign.
“First thing that we learnt is there’s no small team to play against, and secondly, you should have the belief in yourself. But at the same time, we need to stay grounded,” he added.
Durand Cup triumph has put us on the right track: NEUFC CEO
The club’s CEO Mandar Tamhane believes that the Durand Cup title triumph has put the NEUFC on the right track but there’s still a long way to go as they are focussed on fulfilling the dream of playing in the AFC Cup.
Tamhane also underlined his vision of creating the pathway for the developmental sides, and give them the right exposure to fine-tune their skills. He also maintained that the NEUFC has made significant progress in hunting the right talent from the grassroots level, and has been successful in taking the club’s vision beyond Guwahati and Shillong, even though the ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur have been a setback.
“This win (Durand Cup) is a sweet moment but it’s just the start. Durand Cup has put us on the right track, we should now focus on the bigger goals ahead. The target is to help the NEUFC play the AFC Cup, and have a pool of players ready for the big stage as the broader focus remains the growth of Indian football. For that, we need to win the shield or the Cup, and that’s the aim when we start our ISL campaign,” he said.
“It’s not only the first team, the idea is to create a pathway for the junior sides too. Along with Assam, we have received immense support from Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, we are making our way to Nagaland and Sikkim, and although the situation in Manipur isn’t very promising, we have managed to scout a few talented players from the state some four-five months back,” he added.
