FC Goa head coach Zico was in a positive frame of mind ahead of his side’s second leg semi-final clash against Atlético de Kolkata at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday. Talking about the chances his side missed in the first leg in Kolkata to put the game to bed, the Brazilian coach insisted that it was part of the sport and could not be helped.“Creating and missing chances are all part and parcel of the sport. We created many opportunities but were unable to score. I hope in the game tomorrow, we create more opportunities and score. It was difficult to control the ball on artificial turf, as opposed to natural grass where it is much easier,” Zico said at the pre-match press conference today.Zico said that he expected his rivals to play a close game in the first encounter because of their injury problems. “Atlético de Kolkata lost one of their main players, Fikru Teferra. They were expecting us to make some mistakes, and thankfully, we didn’t commit any. But unfortunately, we didn’t score as well. Also, as you saw in the last game, he is a very experienced player who is always disturbing our defenders,” he pointed out.Insisting that the absence of Fikru would not be an advantage to his side, Zico averred, “As I have said earlier, it will be an advantage for us if they come to play with only 10 players. If they are playing with 11 men, it is not an advantage.”Kolkata are one of the two teams in the tournament that Zico’s men haven’t beaten. apart from Mumbai City FC. The Brazilian legend modestly opined that the record could be set right soon. “I think we will be able to defeat them when the moment is right, tomorrow!” he declared.Talking about Narayan Das, who picked up an injury very early on in the first leg, which has ruled him out of the tournament, Zico said, “It was bad that we lost Narayan at the very beginning of the match. He was a strong player on the left side. But (Zohib) Amiri replaced him well and if I play him tomorrow, he will do well, I’m sure.” The former Seleçao midfielder said that there were huge expectations of him and his team and he has enjoyed his stint in India. “I really enjoyed training the players and it was a pleasure. I hope that I have helped them to develop their football and their behaviour and performance really impressed me. It was really a good experience,” he explained.Skipper Grégory Arnolin, who was also present at the press conference, also added that he enjoyed playing the tournament and was impressed with the Indian players: “It was a very good experience for all the players. It was not just them learning from us, but even we learnt a lot from them and from such leagues everyone has benefited.”
