ISL 2020-21: FC Goa boss Juan Ferrando unhappy with league schedule

FC Goa head coach Juan Ferrando has expressed his displeasure with the ISL 2020-21 schedule that sees his side's play four games in 11 days. The coach complained about the crammed schedule chalked down by the Indian Super League which has not allowed some of his key players to recover their fitness levels in time. "We need more clarity in the last part of the pitch. But this depends on the team. When we have 4-5 days, we have time to work and recover. It's very difficult to prepare for the next game due to a tight schedule. The players are not machines, they are humans, they have stress. They need time to rest."

The player spoke about the Brandon Fernandes situation while speaking about the schedule "Firstly about Brandon [Fernandes], he was ill the last two days. It was a similar situation with Edu Bedia before the Odisha FC game. Brandon missed a training and we decided to protect him. It's the same with Ortiz [Jorge Mendoza] as well. We need to protect our players because we played last Saturday, played today, will play again on Saturday and then on next Wednesday."

Also Read | Ronaldo Nazario Names THE BEST He's Ever Played And Trained With

The FC Goa boss further went on to add that it was important to protect the players and that adequate rest was required. "If we play everyone for 90 minutes, then we will surely have injuries in the future. For us, it is very important to protect the players. If we have five days between games, then no worries. But we don't have time and we need to protect Ortiz, Edu, Brandon and then next Saturday we will need to protect another player because we play again on Wednesday. If I lose two-three foreign players to injuries then imagine what happens. They have contracts and are paid salaries to play and not stay in the hospital or in their rooms."

Also Read | Roma Vs Torino Live Stream, Prediction, Team News, Serie A Preview

ISL 2020-21 FC Goa head coach takes a dig at the Refereeing

Along with expressing his displeasure with the crammed schedule, the FC Goa manager also lamented the poor officiating in the league so far, earlier after the game against Mumbai City FC the manager said he preferred to not speak about the referees. "I prefer not to talk about the referees because everyone knows what is the level here".

And now after 2-3 bad games, the manager commented on it, as he now feels that his team has been subjected to a poor decision from the referees "A lot of people back in Spain watched this game and asked me if this is a joke. It's incredible. Even in our last game against Odisha FC two penalties were clear [which were not awarded]. Even today, the penalty against Ortiz was clear. I have 20 players in the dressing room crying because they worked hard. I don't have a lot of time. We have four games in 11 days. We don't have a lot of time and it is important for us to recover. In the end, now we know that the final score does not depend on us."

Also Read | What Did Mourinho Say To Klopp? Spurs Boss' Comments Sparks Outrage At Full-time

Juan Ferrando further added "Not only today. It's been the same in the last 3-4-5 games [poor refereeing]. In two days we will be back here to play Chennaiyin FC. No time to recover. The final score does not depend on us and now everyone knows. It's repeating. Maybe everyone is laughing and making a joke but I am not so happy. We now decide what happens in the future about the league, if we decide to continue with these referees. You know what happened at the end."

Also Read | OFC Vs BFC Dream11 Prediction, Team, Top Picks, Hero Indian Super League Preview

Image credits: FC Goa Twitter