Bengaluru FC, the football club from Bengaluru which has won the I-League title twice in just three years of existence, have been catapulted into Asian football by virtue of their remarkable victories. Now, they're about to play their first competitive match in a new season, and it's a tough way to start.
For Bengaluru FC are up against the Singapore-based Tampines Rovers in the first leg of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. It's a home match, but with the city in turmoil, it's not clear whether the stands will be filled with screaming supporters.
The AFC Cup is the second tier competition in Asian club football and is often referred to as the "Europa League of Asia" to catch the fancy of the local fans who are more accustomed with European football. Still, reaching the quarter-final of the tournament is no mean feat for an Indian club, especially considering the fact that teams from the country have reached this stage on only four occasions in the past.
Sealing a berth in the semi-final will place the newbies of Indian football in an elite group with Dempo (2008) and East Bengal (2013), who are the only I-League sides to have progressed that far.
A changed team
The match, which will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, will also be the first test for the Blues since the departure of their highly successful coach Ashley Westwood, who parted ways with the club at the end of the last season. Albert Roca, who has worked as the assistant coach at Barcelona, Galatasaray and the Saudi Arabia national football team in the past, has taken over the reins.
The foreign contingent of the outfit has also seen an overhaul with defender John Johnson being the only foreigner retained. The club has signed former FC Porto academy midfielder Cameron Watson and former Real Madrid B centre-back Juan Fernandez to fill the void.
The most impressive signing of the summer, however, was that of veteran midfielder Alvaro Rubio, who has made more than 400 appearances in the top two divisions of Spanish football. The 37-year old was part of the Spanish squad alongside Iker Casillas, Xavi and Carlos Marchena, which won the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria.
As captain Sunil Chhetri said recently, “Alvaro has 300 La Liga games under his belt. He’s played with the Ronaldos and Messis week in, week out. Also, we have Eugeneson Lyngdoh, a superstar. The midfield looks really strong. The only worry for us is to understand and execute what the coach wants.”
But if pre-season results are anything to go by, the side has failed to find their mojo. The club has lost friendlies against DSK Shivajians and Ozone FC in the past few weeks, even after having the first team on the field for a significant amount of time. Westwood’s pragmatic approach to the game, which at times meant the side played counter-attack based football, is expected to make way for possession-based tactics under the new manager.
In Rubio, Lyngdoh and Watson, the team has three top-class central midfielders and it will be interesting to see how Roca accommodates all of them in the starting eleven. By signing no foreign striker, the club officials have decided to venture onto a path less travelled and the onus will be on the shoulders on Sunil, Udanta Singh and CK Vineeth to make the opportunity count.
East Bengal and Dempo’s AFC Cup quarter-final wins in the past were aided heavily by foreigners, as only one of the seven goals scored by the two clubs at this stage came from an Indian, namely Climax Lawrence.
Strong opponents
As for Tampines Rovers, who are now second in the S-League table, they will also miss their star forward Fazrul Nawaz, who suffered a knee injury recently. Jermaine Pennant, the former Liverpool and Arsenal winger, remains the marquee name for the visitor and also has the experience of playing in India, having represented FC Pune City in the first Indian Super League. Billy Mehmet, the focal point upfront of the team at the moment, played for Dempo a few years ago, while Jordan Webb, the prolific attacking midfielder of the side, is expected to be a constant threat in the opponent territory.
Tampines were beaten convincingly by I-League runners-up Mohun Bagan in early 2016 in an AFC Champions League play-off, but back then, the Singapore club were in their pre-season phase while the Kolkata giants were midway through their domestic campaign. The roles are reversed this time around, and it is the Bengaluru-based unit that will have to get its act together quickly to secure a comfortable lead before the away leg.
