ISL 2019-20 | Odisha FC coach Josep Gambou pleased with facilities in Bhubaneswar

ISL 2019-20 | Odisha FC coach Josep Gambou pleased with facilities in Bhubaneswar

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ISL

Odisha FC’s coach Josep Gambou seemed happy with the facilities and infrastructure provided to him in Bhubaneswar after he personally visited the sites. The coach would now be joining the rest of the squad in Doha on Wednesday, where the players are going through the pre-season.

After Odisha FC was formed to replace the team from the capital city, Delhi Dynamos, which shut down its operations earlier this year,  the coach paid a visit to Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday, which would now be the home for his new team. And the former Barcelona youth team coach sounded content with the infrastructure at his disposal after a thorough inspection. 

“I have never seen the city so closely before. It’s really good in comparison to many cities in India. In my two days here in the city, I gave a few suggestions in regards to the practice ground and I am hopeful in two weeks the state government will make the changes,” said Gambou during a press conference, reported Odisapost.

Odisha FC will be playing their home matches at the Kalinga Stadium, a venue which has previously hosted I-League matches as well as the Hero Super Cup. In fact, India’s home fixture against Qatar in the World Cup Qualifiers has also been scheduled at the 15,000-seater stadium.

Among the club’s notable inclusions to the team are defender Carlos Delgado, midfielders Xisco Hernandes, Diawandou Diagne and Martin Perez Guedes, and striker Adriane Santana. While Carlos and Xisco have already played in the ISL, the others will be playing for the first time in the Indian top tier.

Apart from the above names, Gombau has stuck with goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro and skipper Marcos Tebar. However, Gambou was adamant that the youngsters would be getting chances as well.

“We have a young group who are always willing to learn. There are two local boys in Subham Sarangi and a 17-year-old goalkeeper Ankit Bhuyan,” said the coach.

The pre-season will get over by the first week of October with Odisha FC playing their first ISL match away to Jamshedpur on October 19. Meanwhile, the team will make its first home appearance against ATK on November 24.

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