Chennaiyin FC ready to play dirty to turn things around

A revamped Chennaiyin FC will aim to get off the blocks in style when they start their

ISL

campaign against

Hyderabad FC

at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Tuesday.


After finishing a disappointing eighth last season, CFC have offloaded most of their players and brought in several new faces, including five foreigners. The only foreign recruit to have retained his place in the squad is Rafael Crivellaro. The Brazilian playmaker, though, is nursing an injury and won't be available for their first match. It will be a big blow to the side as Crivellaro is the creative force in the side.

"He has pain. The medical staff is monitoring him and we are trying to find what the problem is. He trained a couple of days ago but had to walk off. Germanpreet Singh is out as well for tomorrow's game," CFC head coach

Bozidar Bandovic

confirmed at a virtual media conference on match-eve.

In Crivellaro's absence, Ukrainian attacking midfielder

Vladimir Koman

is expected to get a start after impressing in the warm-up matches. A major reason behind CFC's dismal performance last season was due to lack of goals upfront and Bandovic hopes that Polish striker

Lukasz Gikiewicz

will be up to the task against Hyderabad.

With Chennaiyin having a new look this season, the 52-year-old coach also clarified that he is not afraid of playing dirty if results come his way.

"We will try to use our strengths and take advantage of Hyderabad's weaknesses. For me, the most important thing is to win the game. There are different tactical solutions we can use to eke out a win. And what I'm trying to do is pick the best strategy to win the games because you know we are playing for the results. Sometimes, when you have a bad game and win, that (shows) the character in the team. So for me the most important thing is to win the games," the coach was candid in his views.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, are also upbeat about their new season and are bolstered by the arrival of Bartholomew Ogbeche, who helped Mumbai City clinch the title last season. "He has been a top signing for us this season. He's an exceptionally good player and we hope he continues in the same form. But we are not relying on him alone. We have a well-rounded squad and the focus is to play good football. After missing out on a semi-final spot narrowly last season, we want to show our fans that we can better the performances from last season. We are going to play positive and entertaining football," Hyderabad coach Manolo Marquez said.