KOLKATA: ATK Mohun Bagan and Hyderabad FC will wind up Indian football’s 2022-2023 season with a match at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode on Wednesday, with a berth in the preliminary round of the AFC Cup up for grabs.
India have been given three spots in AFC competitions. While ISL Shield winners Mumbai City FC will play in the AFC Champions League, Odisha FC have booked their place in the AFC Cup group stage by dint of winning the Super Cup. ATKMB and Hyderabad FC — current and previous ISL championship winners— will now slug it out for the third spot in Asian football.
“The game against Hyderabad is a big opportunity for us. One mistake can cost us. We saw that in the AFC Cup where one mistake in the last minute saw us lose and go out. It's important to be focused for 90 minutes,” ATKMB coach Juan Ferrando said on Tuesday.
ATKMB will be looking to feature in the AFC Cup for the third season running while Hyderabad are eyeing their maiden entry into the competition.
Last season, Ferrando’s team lost to Kuala Lumpur City FC 1-3 at the Salt Lake Stadium in the AFC Cup inter-zone playoff semifinals.
ATKMB and HFC have faced each other four times in the ongoing 2022-23 season, each winning once, and the other two matches, which happened to be the semifinals, ending in draws before Ferrando’s side ended up winning the two-legged tie via a penalty shootout and progressing to the ISL final.
ATKMB’s Spanish coach is aware of the threat Hyderabad can pose to his team.
“Hyderabad FC won the ISL trophy last season. This season they finished second in the league. It will be a very difficult match. We know the level of their players, level of the team,” Ferrando said.
It will be an emotional campaign for Hyderabad coach Manolo Marquez, who has decided to leave his current job at the end of the season. "It is our last dance. So obviously the emotions are going to be high for us at the club in this game,” Marquez said.
Both teams were knocked out in the group stage of the just-concluded Super Cup. ATKMB will look to keep their date with Asian football. It remains to be seen if Hyderabad can conquer a new frontier and give Manolo a perfect farewell.
