Atlético de Kolkata’s round one of the final
Atlético de Kolkata plays for the first part of the semifinal of the Indian Super League this Sunday at 19:00 local time (14:30 on the peninsula) against FC Goa, coincidentally, the same team with which they closed the regular season and with a 1-1 tie at home.
Antonio López Habas has two players cocooned for this match and whom, until the last minute, are not sure to play. It's Fikru, the striker, and Nato, one of the regulars on the rear. The coach recognizes that the path to the semifinals was difficult for Atlético de Kolkata, "especially at the end. We were the only team that has been leading for 10 rounds and the only one that has not fallen from the 'play off' positions during the entire League. At the end we have classified third and we’ll see what happens in this qualifying round."
As to whether the team resembles what his coach wanted to achieve, Antonio López explains that "the team, differences aside, is similar to Atlético de Madrid, which is close to the idea of what I had when I was at Valencia with Rafa Benítez. We are looking for those parameters of a team that plays a leading role with and without the ball. We needed more share of goals in that second line and also in set pieces. But as the first year in which we’ve had to make a competitive team, I think that we’ve met the objectives. Anything that we achieve now is a prize. We will fight without conditions to be in the final."
Regarding FC Goa, this semifinal’s rival, Antonio López says, "we beat them 1-2 on their field and in this last round at home we tied 1-1. They are a difficult team that has very good players. Semifinals are almost never won in the first match, but they may be lost. We have the option of playing a good role at home to win the ticket to an away final."