Don Bosco High School, Matunga — last season’s U-16 Division I champions — are feeling the weight of expectations as they prepare to defend their title amid a raft of changes to their squad — only four players from last year’s team remain. However, head coach Leslie Machado, now in his 36th year of coaching the school, insists his team is ready to gun for glory again, but is wary of the challenges that come with playing on a different surface.

The 82nd edition of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament kicks-off on Wednesday with a radical departure from playing on the rain-soaked mud grounds of Azad Maidan, CST. The players will instead strut their stuff on the slick, modern artificial turf at Wings Sports Centre in Bandra.

‘Different experience’

“It’s a good opportunity for players to experience a different, more modern surface. We have been training on artificial turf often, but have not played 11-a-side games. Injuries are more likely on turf, so precaution is the key. I’m old school, I still believe that the real test of character comes on the mucky ground, at Azad Maidan,” Machado told mid-day on Monday.