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As the fifth edition of the all new I-League knocks at the door, twoA�in-form giantsA�of Indian football, East Bengal from Kolkata and Salgaocar Sports Club from Goa, have a matter of ONGC Super Cup to be settled come Tuesday in the national capital. The Super Cup embarks the beginning of Indian football season, just like a�?The FA community Shielda�� in England. Indian Super Cup was started in 1997 by the AIFF as a playoff match between the National Football League (now I-league) champions and the Federation Cup winners. The trophy which is awarded as a shield, eventually decides the champion of champions in Indian football, just before the new season kick starts. It has been won twice by East Bengal, Mohan Bagan, Dempo SC and Salgaocar SC since its inception.
WithA�huge expectations all the Indian football fans are looking forward to theA�new I-League season scheduled to commence from this weekend. The matches are set to be telecast on Ten Sports and local sports channels like News Time Bangla. European giants FC Bayern Munich are also scheduled to play a match against the Indian national football team in January. Rob Baan has been appointed as the Techincal Director for Indian Football, with Savio Madeira joining in as the Head coach of the national team.A�With so many positive changes pouring in, surely exciting times are ahead for Indian football and their fans. As both East Bengal and Salgaocar kick start the season with Super Cup encounter, both the teams would be hoping that there is no serious injury to any of the players, which could otherwise hamper the preparation before the weekend I-LeagueA�kickoff !
This yeara��s edition would see the replay of recently concluded Federation Cup Final in Kolkata. Both East Bengal and Salgaocar faced off in the final with the latter outplaying the Kolkata giants, winning the coveted double in Indian football, as the Goans were already crowned champions of premier division of club football in India. East Bengal got the opportunity to have a shot at the Super Cup for the second consecutive year as they finished runners up in the Federation Cup. TheHardTackle takes a sneak peek into the team profiles and build up to the big game.
SALGAOCAR SC
V
KINGFISHER EAST BENGAL FC
Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi
Tuesday 18th Oct, 19:00 IST.A�Live On: News Time Bangla
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Team News and Tactical Brief:
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East Bengal:
The Red-&-Gold army returned from their venture in Vietnam where the Kolkata based club was invited to be a part of Becamex IDC cup. Coach Trevor Morgan saw his troops lock horns against some quality sides such as Matsubara FC (Brazil), SHB Da Nang (Vietnam), Sai Gon Xuan Thanh (Vietnam). The tournament didna��t churn out well for the Indian torchbearers as East Bengal could only manage to garner a single point from their group matches. Many frailties in the team, specially the lack of concentration at the back in the final quarter of the match, has left coach Trevor Morgan lamenting recently and making a few points in the team report card just before the big league kicks off in Kolkata.
East Bengal would certainly be having revenge on their mind as they challenge the prowess of, a very familiar opponent now, Salgaocar SC. It was well drafted in all the print media around the country as how Salgaocar veteran coach, tactically outplayed Trevor Morgan in the Fed cup final. This would just be a perfect reply by the Kolkata giants and claim their stake in being the title challengers next year. Twice East Bengal let a goal in the dying moments of the match in Vietnam to see themselves knocked out. The team would certainly try to learn from their mistakes, as defending the goal from the likes of Chidi Edeh,A�Ryuji Sueoka and co. A�is no meager task.
Coach Trevor Morgan – Can he get his tactics right?
A�-
Chief Coach Trevor James Morgan has already made it public that although he is giving Super Cup its due importance, East Bengal’s main focus is on the I-League and that is the reason the Red-&-Golds will be without Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Nandy, Raju Gaekwad, Soumik Dey, Baljit Sahni and Naoba Singh in this Super Cup match – all of whom are having slight injury concerns.
Young Jayanta PalA�is expected to start under the bar for the Red-&-Gold brigade with Uga Okpara pairing up with Nirmal Chettri at the back. The duo has been consistently leaking goals and would be hoping to keep a clean sheet this time around.Robert Lalthlamuana and Abhishek Das would pair up with Kham ThangA�Paite and Vashum on the left and the right flank respectively. Penn Orji and Sanju Pradhan are expected to lead the attack from the middle in the absence of Mehtab Hussain. Sushanth Matthew or Harmanjot Khabra could also start alongside Orji, but they are most likely to make their presence felt from the bench in the capital.
Australian goal-machine Tolgay Ozbey could team up withA�promising Robin Singh or the new ScottishA�striker Alan Gow upfront. Robin has failed to impress the purists so far and needs to grab any opportunity which falls his way to help his side win. Here is the expected line up for the game as Trevdor Morgan is expected to deploy a 4-1-2-1-2 formation.
Possible starting lineup: Jayanta Pal, Abhishek Das, Nirmal Chettri, Uga Okpara, Robert Lalthlamuana, Vashum, Sanju Pradhan, Penn Orji, Kham Thang Paite, Tolgay Ozbey, Robin Singh.
A�
Salgaocar SC:
Coach Karim Bencharifa could end up winning three trophies with the Goa club this year if his side overcomes the East Bengal challenge at Delhia��s Ambedkar Stadium on Tuesday. Not many coaches in India have achieved that feat before, which eventually led AIFF to offer the Moroccan the top Indian Mentorship job. Declining that, Salgaocar and Karim Bencharifa, both have their focus locked on Super Cup and then the I-League which starts form 22nd of this month.
The Goan Greens had a forgettable Durand Cup where the side finished second in the first group losing the crucialA� decider againstA�defending Champions Prayag United. Just like East Bengal, Salgaocar SC too had their report cards out after the Durand Cup exit and would be implementing many fixes in the Super Cup to test them before the league. However the team has not been doing well in the Kingfisher Pro League in Goa, lying fifth at the moment. Karim Bencharifa has been carefully switching his first team players to test and provide football action to all his squad players.
Third trophyA�of the year for the I-League champs?
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India number two Karanjit Singh is expected to start as the custodian for the Goan side with captain fantastic Luciano Sabrosa at the heart of the defence. The wingers for Salgaocar have been exceptional throughout their campaign last season and have stamped their authority in the Fed cup as well. Gilbert Olivera and Francis on the flanks have spelled doom for many midfields and they would be hoping to replicate the same performance, which the team show-cased in Kolkata in the final.
Ishfaq Ahmed, former Mohan Bagan striker has also been shrewdly used by Karim on the flanks, mostly in the second half to add teeth to the attack. Chidi Edeh needs no second introduction and he has been lethal since he joined the Goa clubA�in summer transfer window. Ryuji Sueoka, the influential Japanese would once again relish the providera��s role in the middle of the park. Here’s the Salgaocar expected lineup for the encounter
Possible starting lineup: Karanjit, Parmar, Sabrosa, Rahul, Biswajit, Tomba, Lamare, Francis, Sueoka, Gilbert, Chidi.
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TheHardTackle’s Players to Watch Out For:
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Tolgay OzbeyA�( East Bengal ), Chidi Edeh ( Salgaocar )
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TheHardTackle’s Prediction:
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Salgaocar 1-2 East Bengal
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