Luis Norton de Matos: We'll try to make history for Indian football

"Be confident, be intelligent. Don't lose your concentration. Keep your discipline intact and most importantly, enjoy the moment."

These are bits of advice India U-17 World Cup team's Portuguese coach Luis Norton de Matos gave his players before their debut in the World Cup against USA here yesterday.

Luis Norton de Matos

"We are excited like all Indians. We'll try to make history for Indian football tomorrow," de Matos told reporters. According to the coach, India's weakest point is converting chances into goals. "Europeans or South Americans, can score from every third chance while for us, it is one in every seven. Now, this is not something you can develop overnight. It takes time. My only concern when I took over was we do not play more matches. Every other country, even at this age, has 10 years of competitive experience behind them. So, I tried to play as many matches as possible."

For de Matos, the philosophy of attack as well defence are the two most important aspects of football. "Not only the goalkeeper and defenders are responsible to defend the goal. It is the responsibility of the entire team. Collective organisation is the main thing. We have tried to develop to play a collective game. During a match, however, anything can happen. That is why it is important to maintain your cool and concentration."