Delhi Dynamos FC may have put one foot in the semis but head coach Gianluca Zambrotta insists his players will go into their remaining two matches of the league stage with nothing on their minds but a win. The Lions presently have 20 points from 12 games and might even qualify before they take the field against NorthEast United FC on Wednesday if Atlético de Kolkata manage to get one point from their home tie against Kerala Blasters FC tonight. Speaking to the media ahead of the game at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Zambrotta said: “We, of course, want to win and take the three points and we have this mentality that we want to do our best, and we are playing to win tomorrow. We would also want to win against Mumbai [on Saturday], so with this mentality we want to play our games.”“Tomorrow we know NorthEast are in a must-win situation as regards their semis chances, and we know that tomorrow will be an intense game and we are here to play good football and take maximum points.”Their previous match earlier this season had ended in a 1-1 draw in the capital city. Delhi have also never lost to the Highlanders. When asked if that could be a factor tomorrow, Zambrotta said: “I think what happened in the past is not very important, and my philosophy for this game is to just think about tomorrow’s game and not about the past.”“I think NorthEast is a very good team and it is one of the best teams according to me because they have good quality and play very well.”Delhi have been the most attacking team this season scoring 26 goals in 12 matches. However, they have also leaked 15 goals. Zambrotta though wasn’t buying into the idea that defence was a problem for the Lions. “No, the defence is not a problem and ours is a team which likes to attack and at times we do end up giving an opportunity to the opponents but we are working on this to get better,” he said.When asked if he was looking to rest a few important players for the tie and bring in a few untested ones now that they were very much into the semis, Zambrotta said: “Usually we do not think about the starting eleven. We decide on the same day, and we see which players are fully fit and are the best options, and regarding opportunities for other players…it depends on the match. At the moment we want to wait before we decide the starting eleven.”Zambrotta also clarified his remarks last month regarding trying to bring Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Delhi Dynamos FC. “Of course, it was a joke. I think it is not possible but you can never say never and maybe in the future it might be possible but I want to clarify that I had said it as a joke,” he said.(Please note that following Atlético de Kolkata’s 1-1 draw at home against Kerala Blasters FC on Tuesday, Delhi Dynamos FC also qualify for the semi-finals. Mumbai City FC, ATK and Delhi are the three teams to have qualified as of now. FC Pune City and defending Chennaiyin FC are out of contention, leaving Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC in a tussle for the remaining spot in the semis.)
