BHUBANESWAR: There will be increased eyeballs on the performance of the home side Odisha as its capital city is hosting the final round of the 76th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy, which kicks off on February 10, here.
Odisha narrowly missed out on a semi final spot last season, pipped by Karnataka due to goal difference.
"Coming so close to making it to the knockouts last time and missing out only because of goal difference, has given us a lot of motivation. It has lit a fire within the boys. Seeing something snatched away at the last instance has proved to be a catalyst to do better and leave nothing to chance," Salim Pathan, head coach of the Odisha team, was quoted as saying in a media release. Pathan's wards will look to use that to their benefit. The 42-year-old has been in his current role for over a year now, a small fact he hopes to use to the team's benefit when the tournament begins. "For a lot of these boys, the tournament is a chance to shine, to get noticed and experience things they otherwise wouldn't get to," he said.
"The Federation has put a renewed focus on this tournament, and the entire footballing fraternity is excited for that. We are looking forward to playing gracious hosts, but, and I cannot stress this enough, we hope to not be too gracious on the pitch," he added. Odisha has always been a close partner of the All India Football Federation and has, in the past, hosted both editions of the Super Cup and the last edition of the Federation Cup.
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