<p>Football clubs all over the world are routinely attacked for not giving local players a chance to shine on the national stage. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Bengaluru FC, which won the I-League title on Monday, have a solid core and not one player from that have their roots from Karnataka, let alone Bangalore. <br /><br />Defending BFC’s composition of players, assistant coach, Pradhyum Reddy – who was integral in identifying the players that was bought by the club, said that the club doesn’t run a quota system and merit was the sole criterion. <br /><br />He also mentioned that teams in the past have badly suffered because of the need to feature local players in the starting XI. <br /><br />The Scottish-born Pradhyum, who returned to India after a stint in the US, also revealed that the club offered a trial to current Karnataka skipper Xavier Vijaykumar but he did not turn up for the trials. <br /><br />But Pradhyum did say that there was promise in the Under-19 team. “The under-19 team is full of local players. Next season, our idea is to induct some of the good players into the first team.” <br /><br />Speaking of the current team that won the title, he attributed the team’s success to being a very young outfit. “We are a very young team, a very young club and that’s one of the reasons why we have managed to connect with everyone so well.”<br /><br />On why he made the decision to join BFC, Pradhyum said: “When they gave me the call and asked me whether I would be interested to come on board, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t resist. <br /><br />“It was a dream job to me. An equivalent of going to England to work in a Championship club but only in Bangalore. I feel that I have learnt more in the last years than in the previous 14 years of my career,” he signed off.</p>
<p>Football clubs all over the world are routinely attacked for not giving local players a chance to shine on the national stage. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Bengaluru FC, which won the I-League title on Monday, have a solid core and not one player from that have their roots from Karnataka, let alone Bangalore. <br /><br />Defending BFC’s composition of players, assistant coach, Pradhyum Reddy – who was integral in identifying the players that was bought by the club, said that the club doesn’t run a quota system and merit was the sole criterion. <br /><br />He also mentioned that teams in the past have badly suffered because of the need to feature local players in the starting XI. <br /><br />The Scottish-born Pradhyum, who returned to India after a stint in the US, also revealed that the club offered a trial to current Karnataka skipper Xavier Vijaykumar but he did not turn up for the trials. <br /><br />But Pradhyum did say that there was promise in the Under-19 team. “The under-19 team is full of local players. Next season, our idea is to induct some of the good players into the first team.” <br /><br />Speaking of the current team that won the title, he attributed the team’s success to being a very young outfit. “We are a very young team, a very young club and that’s one of the reasons why we have managed to connect with everyone so well.”<br /><br />On why he made the decision to join BFC, Pradhyum said: “When they gave me the call and asked me whether I would be interested to come on board, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t resist. <br /><br />“It was a dream job to me. An equivalent of going to England to work in a Championship club but only in Bangalore. I feel that I have learnt more in the last years than in the previous 14 years of my career,” he signed off.</p>
