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Time of India
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
NEUFC eye winning start to their Durand campaign
The last edition earned them their first silverware. And the 134th edition of Durand Cup will see them take their first step towards title defence when NorthEast United FC face off against Malaysian Armed Forces FT to kick off their season at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Saturday. While the Malaysian Armed Forces will be their first opponents, NEUFC will also be facing their other Group E rivals in two Shillong clubs in Shillong Lajong FC and Rangdajied United FC in their next matches. After an unbeaten run in the previous edition, Juan Pedro Benali's men will be eager to replicate that feat, starting with a win against the visitors, who were thrashed 6-0 by Shillong Lajong in their opener. "The team has been working diligently over the past three weeks, and we hope we're well-prepared and focused for our opening match against the Malaysian Armed Forces," Benali said at the pre-match press conference in Shillong on Friday. "It's the first final we have to play if we want to defend our title." Alaaeddine Ajaraie, last season's ISL Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner, will once again be crucial to NEUFC's fortunes, along with last season's Durand Cup Player of the Tournament, Jithin MS. The trio of new Spanish recruits — Jairo Samperio, Chema Nunez and Andy Rodriguez — will add to Benali's options in attack and midfield. Golden Glove winner last time, Gurmeet Singh, will hope to start with a cleansheet aided by a defence led by captain Michel Zabaco and the likes of Asheer Akhtar, Tondonba Singh, Buanthanglun Samte, Robin Yadav, Dinesh Singh, Redeem Tlang and Bekey Oram adding to the depth in the backline. The rest will depend on Spaniard Benali's tactical acumen as NEUFC will look to script an even better season for the Highlanders' fans.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
NEUFC begin preparations ahead of Durand Cup
The is in a limbo. But that has not deterred to start their preparations for the upcoming season, set to kick off with the Durand Cup on July 23. And defending champions NEUFC, who will play their opener against Malaysian Armed Forces on Aug 2, began their pre-season training at Arjuna Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex — formerly the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium — in Guwahati on Sunday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "It feels great to come back home and get ready for the upcoming season," head coach Juan Pedro Benali said at the club's media day event, after the first training session, on Sunday. "We are here to fight for Highlanders, we are here to fight for all eight states of the Northeast and fight for the badge." After a memorable season in which the Highlanders added their first silverware with Durand Cup and followed that up with an ISL campaign where they finished fourth in the league stage and earned a place in the knockouts, NEUFC have worked on building their squad for the upcoming sojourn. While they have been able to retain the services of ISL top-scorer Alaaeddine Ajaraie and also roped in the likes of Spaniards Andy Rodriguez, a Real Madrid Academy graduate, former Sevilla FC attacker Jairo Samperio and midfielder Chema Nunez. They have also signed two of I-League's young talents in Mizo players Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia and Lalbiakdika from Aizawl FC. And the excitement among the fans was evident at the training session which they attended in huge numbers and which began by everyone paying tribute to their star striker Ajaraie's late grandmother. "As defending champions of Durand Cup, we don't have any pressure. For us, the most important game is our first game of the tournament. We play for the Cup in the final, we need to win the final, but to reach the final, we need first to win our first game," Benali added at the press conference. Captain Michel Zabaco, who was joined by local favourite Parthib Gogoi and Redeem Tlang at the interaction, too, spoke of the importance of the three weeks of pre-season training in getting them ready for the title defence. "We have three weeks before we play our first game. We keep working hard to improve. We don't feel any pressure (as defending champions). There are other teams as well, but we will give 100 per cent to win the title," Zabaco said.
