Bhubaneswar: Ahead of Odisha FC’s Indian Super League (ISL) season opener against Hyderabad FC in Goa, Monday, fans of the club have set up a graffiti art in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha FC fans, who go by the moniker ‘Juggernauts’, have put up a graffiti, painted in club colours, on the sidewall of the flyover in front of Big Bazaar in Nayapalli.
The artwork is the brainchild of city based graffiti artist and member of ‘Juggernauts’, Radhamadhab Panda.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still waging its war against fan culture and the 2020-21 season of the ISL being held in Goa, ‘Juggernauts’ have many interesting activities lined up for the duration of the tournament.
“Because the matches are not being held at Kalinga Stadium, on ground activation is very limited in our action items for this season,” said ‘Juggernauts’ member Projjal Das.
“However, there are a few recreational, promotional and fitness activities that we are planning for the upcoming weeks, keeping in mind all safety norms issued by the government. There are cycling events, collaborations with street artists and a Christmas Charity to name a few that are in our pipeline apart from our usual matchday routine which unfortunately would have to be done virtually this time,” he added.
“On matchdays, we would be going on the Discord App which enables video/audio ‘watch along’ on its platform. There will be members who would be a part of the official fan wall by Star Sports and a select few who would be invited as fan analysts on the pre-match show,” said Projjal.
Speaking of the game, Odisha FC did the double against their opponents in the last season of the ISL. But OFC coach Stuart Baxter remains adamant that past success means nothing as both the teams have experienced chop and change in the close season and would be approaching Monday’s game with a completely new mindset.
“That’s history and it doesn’t help anybody. We’ve got two new teams now. They’ve got new players and we also got new players so things have changed at both ends. We will be playing a new Hyderabad,” Baxter stressed.
Baxter has attractive options in attack, with the signing of Brazilian striker Diego Mauricio and the capture of Marcelinho from Hyderabad — both players capable of changing the game in an instant.
But the English coach reiterated that his game plan involved a lot more than just relying on individual players to produce moments of magic.
“I think relying on players is risky. You’ve got to able to play without (depending on) anybody if you can. In football, there are no comfort levels. Your job is to stretch those levels.”
Hyderabad finished at the bottom of the table last season, recording just two wins. Part of the reason for this was their poor start to the season that saw them lose four out of their first five games.
New coach Manuel Marquez Roca will be keen to avoid a repeat and get off to a good start.
“Winning the first game is important,” he said.
“Although given a choice, I would take a loss in the first game if it meant winning the remaining 19.”
The Spaniard has a youthful squad at his disposal and was pleased with the potential of his young guns.
“Guys like Rohit Danu, Liston Colaco and Akash Mishra have a lot of potential. I’m sure that they can continue improving and become huge assets for Hyderabad in the future,” he said.
Odisha will miss defender Jacob Tratt and Jerry Mawihmingthanga for the clash while Hyderabad will be without the services of Francisco Sandaza.
PNN/Agencies
