The Brazilian tactician is looking for more than victory in his team’s Kagame Cup tie against Djibouti Telecom in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Gor Mahia coach Leonardo Martins Neiva feels just winning their CECAFA Kagame Cup match against ASAS Djibouti Telecom FC on Saturday will not be enough if they do not do it in style.
The Brazilian tactician is keen to quickly implement his philosophy at K’Ogalo and feels the tournament offers his team a good opportunity to learn what he wants from them.
It is for that reason that he will be looking at how his players implement some of his tactics in the match and not just the result. “Both teams are looking for a win. This competition is a preparation for both teams and we are going to use it as a laboratory test for the players and me,” said Neiva.
“I need to observe them and then we are going to check about the performance. For example, now, it does not make sense if we just win. If the players get it tactically correct, I am satisfied.”
Gor Mahia lost their opening match against Red Arrows of Zambia 1-0 and will leave themselves in a bad position to advance from their group if they lose to the Djibouti side, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Al Hilal of Sudan. However, Neiva wants K’Ogalo fans not to look just at the result, as playing well will be more important at this point when they are building towards the new season.
“The last game against Red Arrows, the first half was not so good for us but in the second half, we fixed it and got better, and that is why I was pleased and satisfied,” he added.
“So, what is the message now, even for the fans who are thinking about winning? In pre-season, we must put focus on the tactical way step by step to implement some issues. I cannot change so quickly and today [Friday] we had an intense training. We put the focus in a tactical way and I hope tomorrow [Saturday] we can get both things right: a win and playing well.”
