After a disappointing start to the season which included a defeat against neighbours Mumbai City FC in the Maha Derby, FC Pune City will be hoping to register their first win when they face Bengaluru FC on Monday. The Stallions will play their maiden match on home turf against the 2017-18 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) finalists, which will be hosted at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune.
Ahead of the encounter, indiansuperleague.com caught up with the Stallions’ targetman Emiliano Alfaro for an exclusive interview, where the striker spoke about his club’s performance and how he foresees the future in term of results. Here are the excerpts from the same:

Since the season is long, do you think Pune’s slow start is not something to worry about?

Of course, every season is totally different. If you compare the last season and this, it’s almost the same. We started with a loss and after that, I think we won outside. But as you said, the season is very long. The season is at the beginning and we have worry only about working hard, to try and do our best and to try and change the situation now.

How have the new signings settled in?

Very good. They are good players, all of them. They are also good guys and we have to support them to adapt as soon as possible. They are playing, they are doing their best and I think we are in a good shape.

Anything special these players have brought to the team?

Yes, they are new, they have experience in Europe, so it’s important for us to share their experience with the young players in the squad. We are happy for that.

Thoughts on the young Indian players in the squad.

I have to say that they are good players, as you can see. If you saw last year, nobody knew them and now they are like big players here in India, but of course, as always in life, they have to continue working, continue learning and the most important thing is that they are always ready to learn and we are in the way to share our experience with them. I think that they are good players and can get better in the future also.

Having never beaten Bengaluru before, are you ready to break the jinx?

We are always ready. Could be a good opportunity to win for the first time in the Hero ISL against Bengaluru FC, but they always play good and they have a good team. If you see, they have very big players, but we also have our guns and we will try to win the game and start to change that situation.