Manolo Marquez to lead HFC squad who kick-off 2022-23 campaign in Imphal

Hyderabad: Hyderabad FC have named their 27-man squad that will travel to Imphal for the 131st edition of the prestigious Durand Cup, which kicks off on August 16.

In what will be their second appearance in the competition, HFC have named a strong squad led by Indian Super League winning coach Manolo Marquez, having featured in the 130^th edition of the tournament with a youthful squad.

With a few new faces in the squad, HFC will also have all six of their overseas players for the Durand Cup campaign, where they are drawn in Group C.

 

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The 131^st edition of the Durand Cup will be played in an extended format, with 20 teams set to battle for glory in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the sport.

The 20 teams include five I-League teams and four teams from Services along with all 11 ISL teams, with the matches set to be played across three different cities.

Hyderabad will face fellow ISL side Chennaiyin FC in the group stage along with NEROCA FC, TRAU FC and Army Red Football Team who are drawn in their group.

The matches in Group C will be played at Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal. The Salt Lake Stadium and the Kishore Bharati Stadium in West Bengal and the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Assam are the venues for the rest of the group stage games in the competition.

@HydFCOfficial are getting ready to conquer the field in a royal style. Presenting one time ISL champion, Hyderabad FC grinding on the training field, to pull off a stellar performance in the 131st Edition of the historic Durand Cup !#DurandCup #DurandCup2022 #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/awLkamiCx5

— Durand Cup (@thedurandcup) August 10, 2022

The group stages run till September 5, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the quarterfinals.

The Hyderabad FC squad will depart to Imphal later this week ahead of their opening game against TRAU FC on Aug 22.

The Squad:

Goalkeepers: Laxmikant Kattimani, Gurmeet Singh, Lalbiakhlua Jongte, Aman Kumar Sahani.

Defenders: Chinglensana Konsham, Odei Onaindia, Nim Dorjee Tamang, Akash Mishra, Manoj Mohammad, Soyal Joshy, Alex Saji.

Midfielders: Joao Victor (Captain), Mohammad Yasir, Sweden Fernandes, Sahil Tavora, Lalchungnunga Chhangte, Hitesh Sharma, Halicharan Narzary, Borja Herrera, Nikhil Poojary, Abdul Rabeeh, Mark Zothanpuia.

Forwards: Joel Chianese, Aaren D’Silva, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Rohit Danu, Javier Siverio.

Head Coach: Manolo Marquez

Hyderabad FC Fixtures, Group C

Match 1: 22 August – 3:00 pm vs TRAU FC

Match 2: 26 August – 3:00pm vs Chennaiyin FC

Match 3: 30 August – 3:00pm vs NEROCA FC

Match 4: 3 September – 3:00pm vs Army Red FC

*All games will be played at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal.