With the first round of matches coming to an end, all the teams of the Hero Indian Super League [ISL] have eased themselves into Season 2015. With one win in tow, Atlético de Kolkata look confident to take on FC Goa at Fatorda’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday. In the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, ATK head coach Antonio Lopez Habas spoke about his assessment of the Zico-managed Goan team.“[FC] Goa are very similar to last year. But that doesn’t matter. In a game of 90 minutes, anything is possible.”A constraint, however, faced by both teams in this match would be that of “India players” going away on national duty. Habas said, “It’s the same problem for us, regarding losing players. We are without [Rino] Anto and [Arnab] Mondal. Yes, I did have a word with him [Stephen Constantine, India national coach] a long time ago. We have to collaborate with the national team. It was spoken during the draft and all Hero ISL teams have to comply.”ATK’s marquee signing Helder Postiga sure did live up to the hype with two goals in their season opener against Chennaiyin FC in a 3-2 win. However, that came at a price as he injured himself in the process of scoring his second goal. Commenting on Postiga’s health condition, the ex-Valencia coach said, “Postiga is unavailable, but I have faith in my other players to perform.”The Kolkata side did manage to lap up three points from their first match but they also conceded two goals. “I’m never happy when we concede…what matters is we got all three points,” Habas said.With the entire league up ahead, Habas seemed quite confident about his “fresh batch”. “There’s a big difference. We’ve signed 17 new players. I am happy with them and their performances,” he said.
