Pragmatic Costa provides Mumbai with hope

by Chittu Shetty March 5, 2019

At the start, it seemed like Mumbai City FC would miss the Hero Indian Super League play-off bus again, but coach Jorge Costa managed to steer his side to the last-four with a match in hand.

Mumbai have only once qualified for the play-offs and never made it to the ISL final. So, up against FC Goa who hammered seven goals past them without any reply in the two league matches, does Mumbai still stand a chance? A pragmatic Costa would certainly believe so.

Throughout the course of the season, Costa’s Mumbai have shown the ability to take a pragmatic approach towards games and make it work. Despite some big wins including a 6-1 thrashing of Kerala Blasters, Mumbai have not been the most prolific of teams to have booked a playoff spot.

Costa’s men have, in fact, scored less goals (25) than Cesar Ferrando’s Jamshedpur FC (29) and pale in comparison to Goa who have scored as many as 36. Their goal difference of just five is nothing to shout home about either.

However, it shows that the Islanders’ pragmatic approach has worked wonders. Costa has employed a ‘results first’ mentality and that has been the hallmark of Mumbai’s successful campaign so far. “For me, as a coach, my only brand of football is the one that will get me three points at the end of the game,” said Costa. On the basis of the evidence we have seen so far, the Portuguese has been true to his words.

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Costa was furious with his team’s showing against FC Goa when his side lost 0-5 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa. Costa accused his players of “giving up” before the final whistle and told them that such performances were unacceptable.  That Mumbai were the dominant team in the first 20 minutes had little relevance.

Since that defeat, Mumbai rose from the ashes, quite literally, and climbed up the ladder, losing to Goa again in the second leg when some of their key players were missing. So, what gives Mumbai confidence that they can turn it around in the semi-finals? This is the same side who defeated the undefeated Bengaluru FC.

A strong defensive structure is just one half of Costa’s modus operandi with the team equally capable of playing some electric offensive football on the counter-attack. It has been this strategy which paid dividends for Mumbai this season in some of the big games including their 1-0 victory over high-flying Bengaluru.

Costa’s pragmatic approach might just be the perfect antidote for Mumbai when it comes to countering Goa’s venom.

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