Kerala Blasters head coach David Catala: It’s not my responsibility to develop Indians, I will choose the best 11 players

With football providing an opportunity to travel to different places and experience different cultures, David Catala finds himself in India on his latest challenge.

Life at Kerala Blasters has started on the right foot for him when in his maiden game in charge, his side ousted defending champion East Bengal to enter the Super Cup quarterfinals with a comfortable 2-0 win.

The Spaniard is the club’s third head coach this season, after Mikael Stahre and interim coach T. G. Purushothaman, who has been handed the responsibility to change the side’s fortunes.

The 2024-25 Indian Super League campaign saw the Yellow Army finish a lowly eighth after the Blasters made three successive playoff appearances under former head coach Ivan Vukomanovic between 2022 and 2024.

Sportstar caught up with Catala ahead of Kerala Blasters’ quarterfinals clash against Mohun Bagan Super Giant as he spoke about his first impressions, grappling with expectations, and more.

Excerpts:

Q: In your first press conference, you said that you wanted to change the players’ mindset after a disappointing season. Has that happened?

A: Yes, we’re on the way. We’re working on it. My first target indeed is to remove all the bad energy. I notice a little change about the team, the mentality. We need to improve a lot, but we’re on the right path.

READ | Kerala Blasters beats East Bengal 2-0, knocks defending champion out of Super Cup

Q: You say you need to improve a lot as well. Can you tell us where do you think the team needs to be better?

A: There will be things to improve all the time. I have to adapt as fast as I can since I’m new and coming from another country. We are trying to improve in this short period of time, but it’s not easy. The team is going step by step with the performance it wants.

Q: What were your first impressions when you met the team and the players? Is there anybody who stood out? How have Adrian Luna and Noah Sadaoui, who are used to Indian Football, helped you adjust?

A: There is no doubt that we have a lot of good players with experience in the league. They were obviously disappointed after the season. So I spoke to them to see how they are feeling and to let them know that the Super Cup is a new opportunity for them to show how important they are for us.

Q: Have you been able to implement your style or are you allowing the players to play the way they have been doing this season?

A: I have tried to introduce a little bit about what I want to try and change. It’s not easy to do it in 20 days because they have been working together for about 10 months. But I’m happy so far that the players are reacting very well.

Q: How do you like your teams to play? Being from Barcelona, is your philosophy influenced by traditional Spanish football?

A: I like to play possession-based football. When you have the ball, you will have more possibilities to score than your opponent but one has to adapt to the league. I’m not a crazy guy who just wants to keep the ball. If I see that I have players who can do it then okay. If I see that I have players who play more direct, we’ll try to play more direct. It’s going to depend on the opponent as well. It’s going to depend on many things but my first target is to win games.

Q: Before coming to Kerala Blasters, what was your idea of Indian football?

A: I’ve been following the league for many years because I have friends who have played or coached here, and I’m in touch with them. I wanted to get their opinion. It’s important to have the support of other colleagues, especially if they are of the same nationality.

Q: You said you spoke to some of the Spanish coaches who have worked in India before coming. What did they have to say?

David Catala will be the third head coach at Kerala Blasters this season.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat/The Hindu

A: I spoke with Manolo Marquez, and Carles Cuadrat. I also spoke with some players who have played in the ISL before. It’s mostly asking about personal things. Maybe with Manolo, he would know some of the national team players. It was just to get some advice and I hope we can have more conversations with them because it’s always good to share opinions with other coaches.

Q: It’s still a short time for you to judge but how different do you think Indian football is compared to the places you’ve worked in before?

A: Whatever I have seen so far, the rhythm is not so high. But it’s another league and it’s very competitive. There are very good foreign players and the Indian players are also growing. It’s a nice challenge for me to grow and develop myself. I hope that we can do a good job here.

READ | FC Goa beats Gokulam Kerala to enter quarterfinals; Punjab FC edges past Odisha FC

Q: As a coach working in the ISL, do you feel you have a responsibility towards improving the national team by developing more players if they are not getting the opportunity to play more minutes?

A: Yes, it’s true that the Indian players have to develop and have to grow. On whether it’s my responsibility, it’s not. I will use the best 11 players who I feel can put up the best performance. I don’t care if they are 17 years old or 36. This is something [developing players] the club has to look into. The basics are to invest in the academies. You have a lot of population here and for sure you will have good players, but they need to have the basis to grow. I like to work with young players and help them develop. If they show me that they can play, I’ll be the first to give them the chance.

Q: Which positions do you think the team needs to strengthen? What are the conversations that you’ve had with the management in terms of transfers?

A: Yes, it’s something that we have spoken about, the positions and what we can improve for next season. Right now, I want to focus on the Super Cup and work with the players I have. The team needs to improve in all the positions and I have ideas to freshen up the team with players but we’ll see.

Q: Do you feel there is a certain sense of pressure on you to deliver or a lot of expectations from the KBFC’s fan base?

A: You will have pressure all the time, it doesn’t matter if you are here or in any other country. People want results and they will be happy if you win games. I like the pressure and the expectations are very high, but we have to handle that. The people and players who don’t know how to handle this maybe are not being able to play here.

Q: You face Mohun Bagan and compatriot Jose Molina in the quarterfinals. Where do you think you need to be a bit more focused against a team like that?

A: When you’re facing a team like Mohun Bagan, you have to be a complete team. You have to be very focused on defence. The quality they have in front makes them a complete team and if you don’t give your best performance, it’ll be tough to beat them. For sure we’re facing the best team in India and it’s not going to be easy.