After a successful 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season, shield winners Mumbai City FC are busy preparing for their group stage qualifier spot in the coveted AFC Champions League. And despite their impressive 18-game unbeaten run at the ISL, coach Des Buckingham is not taking Jamshedpur FC—last year’s shield winners—lightly in the one-off tie at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri, Kerala, on Tuesday.
Jamshedpur finished 10th this year, but challenged Mumbai in both games [1-1 draw and 1-2 loss]. “Jamshedpur are a good team. They showed that to us twice this season. They have a good coach in Aidy [Boothroyd] and players who can cause you problems from different areas. Defensively they are very sound, well set up and very well organised,” Buckingham said in a virtual press conference on Sunday.
One of the players in the opposition, who Buckingham is wary of, is English forward Jay Emmanuel Thomas (JET). “Jay is someone, who has played in the Premier League. To be able to bring players like him, of his calibre and quality is wonderful for the game here. He is one of the players that we are definitely mindful of,” he said.
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After their heart-breaking shootout loss to Bengaluru FC in the semi-finals, the Islanders have got enough time to prepare for the Champions League qualifier as well as the Super Cup. But Buckingham wasn’t particularly pleased with the scheduling. “If you talk to footballers or coaches around the world, they’ll tell you that it would be nice to play this game on the back of a regular season. We haven’t played in two-and-a-half weeks,” he said.
