Neroca FC and East Bengal clash on Saturday in I-League top draw

A new coach at the helm of affairs to usher in a style of football different from last year Neroca FC face heavyweights East Bengal in their opening match of the ILeague here on SaturdayNeroca almost pulled off a sensational debut title win last season before finishing an honourable second while East Bengal could only manage a fourthplace finish at the end of a nervewracking final day which saw Minerva Punjab clinched the coveted crownBoth teams look equally balanced on paper and both outfits having Spanish coaches will lock horns at Imphals Khuman Lumpak stadium for the initial bragging rights as a fresh season beginsThe home side have brought in Spaniard Manuel Fraile who was earlier with Aizawl FC three years ago as head coach while retaining the nucleus of the side from last seasonNeroca have signed a few foreign players prominent among them being the tireless Japanese winger Katsumi Yusa who was earlier with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal Besides Katsumi Brazilian defender Eduardo Ferreira Nerocas another signing will also be up against his former team on SaturdayIn attack Neroca still have striker Felix Odili Chidi and winger Singham Subash Singh who had 11 goals between them in the last edition Australian Aryn Williams is also retained from last year and brings a lot of maturity in midfieldVeteran custodian and captain Lalit Thapa should be a safe house guarding the Neroca goal but Italian Mauro Boerchios presence in the goalkeeping quartet someone who was with coach Fraile in Mongolia suggests Thapa might face a tough competitionFraile seemed undaunted at the prospect of facing East Bengal sounding positive at the prematch press conference when asked about their opponents preseason in MalaysiaWe are a small club with a big heart Every team has their own training methods I am here to win every match and feel at the moment Neroca is the best team in the world he saidEast Bengal have also roped in a Spanish coach in Alejandro Menendez Garcia and had a very successful preseason under him in Malaysia where they won three matches and drew one Garcia has also had immense success in Thailand and China and would be looking to help the Red amp Golds from Kolkata break their ILeague jinxAt the goal Garcia has options between Rakshit Dagar Mirshad and Ubaid CK all of whom have had their days under the bar Then there is the trio of Bali Gagandeep forward Senegalese Kassim Aidara midfield and Kamalpreet defender who were secured from defending champions Minerva Punjab The two Raltes Laldanmawia and Lalrindika will look to martial the midfield along with Aidara and local boy Yami LongwahHowever the two trump cards up Garcias sleeve will undoubtedly be Mexican striker Enrique Esqueda and Costa Rican defender Johnny Acosta who played all three group matches for his country in the World Cup Finals in RussiaEsqueda has not only played in the Copa America but has the distinction of scoring goals against clubs like Real Madrid AC Milan and Manchester City in competitive international club football We are very confident before tomorrows match We know that we can win the match This is a very difficult opening but we hope to get three points Garcia saidHe also disclosed that Syrian midfielder Mahmoud AlAmna has not travelled to Imphal due to personal reasonsCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever