Bagan keen on ending a six-year long drought
The comparison might seem 'far-fetched' but on the eve of the IFA Shield final, Churchill Brothers coach Carlos Pereira admitted they needed to play counter-attacking football, just like Brazil in the ongoing qualifiers of the 2011 World Cup, reports Somshuvra Laha.
The comparison might seem 'far-fetched' but on the eve of the IFA Shield final, Churchill Brothers coach Carlos Pereira admitted they needed to play counter-attacking football, just like Brazil in the ongoing qualifiers of the 2011 World Cup.
The Goa side, though, doesn't lack firepower this time around. With the attack spearheaded by the prolific Okolie Odafe --- back after a one-match suspension --- and the young but enterprising Durga Boro, failing to score within regulation time would spring a surprise.
But such has been the nature of duels between Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers that predictions have been put on the backburner. Over the past year, Mohun Bagan have shown they possess the ability to switch between the attacking and the waiting game.
Case in point — the 1-0 win in the Federation Cup final against Dempo where Marcos Pereira bottled up Beto and Climax Lawrence and the recent semifinal where the Kolkata club resisted Chirag United for 110 minutes with a man down, finally winning on penalties.
The IFA Shield is one adornment that has been missing from the club's shelves since 2003, while Churchill Brothers are yet to win the coveted trophy.
But with Edeh Chidi set to miss out after head-butting Chirag United's Eduardo Chacon, Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa might field Marcos Pereira 'in the hole’.