Sudeep Pakrashi:
Suley Musa believes Mohun Bagan Super Giants’ foreigners are slightly ahead of East Bengal’s new foreigners on paper, ahead of the forthcoming derby in the IFA Shield final, scheduled to be held on 18th October on Saturday.
East Bengal’s former Ghanaian defender, who had an illustrious career with the Red-and-Gold jersey from 1998 to 2004, being the team’s captain in the ASEAN Club championship explained, “The Result of the Derby between these two arch-rivals can never be predicted. But, talking about the difference between the teams, I feel the foreigners of MBSG look slightly ahead of East Bengal’s newly roped-in foreigners. Footballers like Jamie Maclaren, Jason Cummings, and Dimitri Petratos are already experienced, participating in Derby. On the contrary, East Bengal’s newly-recruited foreigners, though good in quality, are yet to gain the experience, playing in a Derby.”
When asked whether East Bengal’s Brazilian midfielder Miguel Figueira could play a crucial role in the match, Musa revealed, “He is a quality footballer. He has an accurate passing ability. He can hold on to the ball. But all these qualities have been observed in the Durand Cup. Can you compare Sreenidi Deccan and Namdhari FC defenders with MBSG foreigners? So, East Bengal foreigners will have the real test in the final and winning the derby always depends on the match fitness and mental strength.”
However, the 31-year-old defender believes Saturday’s IFA Shield final will play an important role for Red-and-Gold brigade’s Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon to make an assessment of his foreigners as well as the team before leaving for Goa to participate in the forthcoming Super Cup, starting from 23rd October.
