East Bengal captain Mehtab Hussain (from right), coach Marcos Falopa, Saumik Dey and member of the support staff Ranjan Chowdhury, at the club tent, on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: After Marcos Falopa, Kingfisher East Bengal’s new coach, spoke to the media on Tuesday, we have an idea about the man and his methods. But there’s perhaps no better way to understand the coach than seeing him from the players’ point of view.

However, it must be admitted that the Brazilian is just two days old in the city and it is too early to form an opinion about him. But then, first impressions are proverbially very important and so it will do no harm if we can at least know how were the players’ experience in their first interaction with the new coach.

Falopa paid a brief visit to the East Bengal tent on Wednesday morning and interacted with a few players. Among them were senior players Mehtab Hussain and Abhra Mondal. For Mehtab, who has also been named the captain of East Bengal for the forthcoming season, Falopa is “very friendly” with the players. And that is the view of goalkeeper Abhra as well.

“He came across as a very good human being… Obviously, he is vastly experienced as a coach, but as a person too we liked what we saw… He was nice to chat with and we even shared jokes,” Mehtab told The Telegraph.

Abhra, on the other hand, said: “He mixed very well and very easily with the players. In spite of being such an experienced professional, he was friendly all through… Such a cheerful person.”

Both the players insisted that Falopa did not speak on anything serious since it was just their first interaction.

Mehtab, on being asked what were his expectations as a captain from the new coach, came up with an interesting reply. “Why should we have expectations from him? We are players; he will have expectations from us and we will have to try to meet them. He is so senior to us and has so much knowledge of the game that it would be criminal for us to have any expectations from him,” Mehtab said.

While Mehtab didn’t want to compare Falopa with his predecessor, Trevor James Morgan, Abhra said that the Brazilian is just like the Englishman, at least off the field.

“Like Morgan, Falopa too wants us to give our 100 per cent on the field and he wouldn’t settle for anything less. His off-the-field behaviour has been great… Only time will tell how he will be on the field. We expect him to be the best,” Abhra said.

Mehtab took a diplomatic stance as he said: “It’s immaterial to compare the past with the future. Morgan was a great coach, but he is our past… Falopa is our future. He is the person who will take the team forward. Every coach has his own style and it’s not right to compare between them.”

Mehtab has also been bowled over by Falopa’s straightforwardness. “He was very clear yesterday when he pointed out the futility of trying to think of Indian football in terms of European powerhouses like Barcelona. He was straightforward in saying that he would adopt the Indian style… That makes so much easier for the players.”

East Bengal are likely to begin practice under Falopa’s guidance on next Wednesday. They are also planning a residential camp, in Kalyani, though the dates haven’t been finalised yet. But expect Falopa, the professional, to get the matter sorted out in a day or two.