ISL 2024-25: East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon hopes to 'celebrate new era' with victory against Mohammedan

Add as a preferred source on Google

East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon is hoping to kickstart a new era at the club, and he believes the upcoming ISL match will commence that.

East Bengal are up against Mohammedan SC in the ISL on Saturday (November 9). The Kolkata Derby will be an opportunity for the Red and Gold brigade to get their first points on board, having lost all six league games so far this season.

East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon says they will be trying to play with a fast approach against Mohammedan. He also wants to find the correct balance between the attack and defence, which has been lacking for East Bengal in the league.

"Our approach will be playing a fast circulation on the ball, trying to connect with Central areas, use our speed outside. And the most important is how to balance the team in the moments that we lose the ball, because we are getting penalised game after game, especially in our defensive transitions," Bruzon said.

However, he acknowledged the challenges faced by the team with recent matches and hopes to find a way out of it.

Moving to the coaching staff, Coach Oscar assessed Mohammadan's strengths and weaknesses. "Mohamedan has good players in Central areas...they are a team quite balanced," the Spaniard said, clearly respecting his opponents while maintaining an air of confidence about his own side.

Coach Oscar also touched upon the support he has received from fans, expressing gratitude for their patience with the team following early losses.

"I could never expect such a good welcome but everybody was patient with the results," he commented.

In terms of squad dynamics, he emphasized performance over nationality, stating, "I understand the language of performance. So every week, we are challenging all our players on the best performance."

The coach showed confidence in his players, assuring that decisions are made based on current form rather than past performances. And he also confirmed that both Provat Lakra and Nishu Kumar are likely to be out with injuries, and also gave a hint on the availability of Hijazi Maher.

"Lakra can't play tomorrow. Nishu is recovering from injury. So, of course, we consider all the players to be the best in solving the situation of the club. So your question is if Hijazi is going to play tomorrow or not, that gives me 24 hours and you will see the starting list. I'm not going to give clues to our rival because we have been working on a lot of models this week," the East Bengal coach continued.

East Bengal player Nandha Kumar also attended the press conference. The Indian winger has shown form in the AFC Challenge League and reflecting on the changes brought by new coach Oscar, Nanda noted the enthusiasm that often accompanies a coaching change.

"Every time there's a change in a coach, there is a new optimism, energy that comes into a club. We have to try to keep the clean sheet and get the result. Because in the clean sheet, we are giving the points, you know, the 1-1 points. I think this is what we are lacking," the East Bengal player said.

Oscar also stresses the distressing sight of fans leaving early in the derby against Mohun Bagan. And he wants a change in that with a win over Mohammedan.

"In my first derby here with Mohun Bagan, I saw the fans leaving the stadium in the minute 88 or 90. That was really painful. I hope that we get the best result from them and at the end of the game, we can celebrate with them the new era, the new beginning of this derby," the East Bengal coach concluded.