FC Pune City begin their 2018-19 campaign of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) with an away trip to the capital to face Delhi Dynamos FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday. The match will see the Stallions new head coach Miguel Portugal return to Delhi to face his former side. Ahead of the game, the Spaniard was present at the pre-match press conference to take questions from the media on his emotional return to the club.

Portugal started off by talking about his time in Delhi as well as how the team is shaping up for the new campaign. “For me, it’s a blessing to be back again and now I am the opponent. But, I have good memories of Delhi because I was here and it was a good year. Delhi Dynamos have good young players and I am very happy for them.”

When asked about Marcos Tebar’s departure during the summer, Portugal jokingly replied that he never got the chance to work with the midfielder in Hero ISL. “He doesn’t want to play with me (laughs). I stay with Delhi he goes to Pune, I go to Pune he goes to Delhi. Tebar doesn’t want to play with me. He played with me in Real Madrid Castilla, the second team, when he was younger, around 18 or 19. But, he’s a very good player.”

The Stallions will be without Iain Hume and Marcelinho for their season opener. Hume is still out with injury while Marcelinho has been ruled out due to a suspension. However, Portugal had faith in Emiliano Alfaro to come up with the goods upfront. “I have Alfaro, he’s also a striker. For now, I have him and I cannot complain. Alfaro, in the two seasons in India, has scored some goals. He’s a good striker and we have another good player. For me, my current players are important and we cannot think about a player who can’t play.”

Speaking about his expectations from the clash with Josep Gombau, the 62-year-old pointed out that the team with the better possession of the ball will be in a better position to win. “Josep plays like me or I play like him, you can say that. I think it’ll be a good match. But, possession in the game is very important. But, it’s more important to finish. The possession is important because it helps you finish. Possession is made for you to finish and win the match. I would like to win the possession against Delhi if I can. But the style is very similar and we both want to win. In this type of game, the team who dominates the possession will win the match.”

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