Trevor Morgan did a good job but I want to do much better – New EB coach Marcos Falopa

Marcos Falopa might have almost four decades of coaching experience behind him but possibly he hasn’t had too many eventful days like the one he experienced after arriving in Kolkata on Tuesday morning.

Right from the hassling at the airport to the series of queries from more than hundred journalists (photo, print, electronic and web combined) in his first press conference at the East Bengal ground, it was a hectic day and the 64-year-old must have already realised the demands of his new job.

Falopa’s experience though was visible at the presser as he calmly answered all the questions and even presented East Bengal general secretary Kalyan Majumdar a Brazil national team jersey.

“I am starting a new family today which is East Bengal. I am overjoyed by the response of the fans. They have been sending me messages on facebook ever since I was appointed and today even at the airport they came in numbers. I can’t promise you that we will play like Barcelona but I promise you we will work hard in order to take East Bengal to the top. East Bengal are a big club and I am glad to be here. It is a very important step in my career which as you know has been long and taken me to many countries but this is also going to be special,” Falopa stated at the media interaction.

Considering the consistency of his predecessor Trevor Morgan, Falopa has a massive challenge in front of him and was unsurprisingly asked whether he would look to keep the same style of play.

“Trevor Morgan did a great job but I want to do much better. I will definitely ask the players about the previous style and I do not want to complicate things. The idea will be to keep everything simple and play the way that suits the players that we have,” the former Myanmar coach said.

Falopa also explained the key aspects of his coaching philosophy and that he doesn’t follow a rigid formation.

“My coaching philosophy is based on hard work and mental strength. I have been lucky enough over the years to closely follow the work of many great coaches like Rinus Michels, Giovanni Trapattoni, Luis Felipe Scolari and Tele Santana. So I have an idea of various coaching methods but we will adopt whatever suits the players. It can be 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 but all depends on the players and the situation in a match or tournament,” he opined.

Falopa will be assisted by his son Americo, who will be the goalkeeping coach and physical trainer. The pre-season will start from July 15 with a pre-season camp in Kalyani from July 21 onwards. The Brazilian looked ahead to the season and talked about the challenge in the AFC Cup and I-League.

“We will have physical tests and Americo will also be working with the goalkeepers separately. Like Corinthians in Brazil, East Bengal are a massive club in India so I know there is no other option besides winning. I-League is important but first we have the AFC Cup quarter-final. I aim to reach the final but first we must overcome Indonesia’s Semen Padang. It will be a very difficult match so we have to prepare strongly,” Falopa commented.

Falopa impressed by Chidi (Photo Credit: AIFF Media)

The former South Africa technical director revealed that he has an idea about the East Bengal team already and will be relishing the derby clashes with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan. Falopa has only been given a one-year deal and he believes it is possible to impose his coaching methods in such a small period also.

“Yes I have a good impression about my team. There are some good players like the number 10 (Edeh Chidi). The derby is a classic match, we will respect them but will try to play our own game.

“I know it’s a short time but sometimes players pick up things quickly and that is what we will try to do together. It will be important for me and the players to adapt quickly and work hard daily,” he said.