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The season that wasn't for BFC

Football I-League: Bengaluru finished fourth with Chhetri the lone bright spark
Last Updated 01 May 2017, 19:04 IST
When the 2016-17 I-League season began early this year, Bengaluru FC were tipped as the favourites to retain their crown.

A team high on confidence after reaching the final of the AFC Cup, a head coach who seemed to have hit the right chords in his very first attempt and a host of big-name signings during the break, Bengaluru were a force to reckon with. And the manner in which they began their campaign, one wouldn’t have thought otherwise.

Comfortable wins against Shillong Lajong, Chennai City FC and Mumbai FC at home first up meant Bengaluru had laid down the marker. The team responded well to head coach Albert Roca’s philosophy of pass-and-move football and their forwards, especially CK Vineeth, looked to be in good touch.

But as the team faced their first real test — a tie against East Bengal in Kolkata — things took a turn for the worse. The Red and Gold brigade rode on the brilliance of Ivan Bukenya and Robin Singh to subject Bengaluru to a 1-2 loss, kick-starting their free-fall which eventually ended with them finishing fourth (30 points).

Though Bengaluru signed a number established names this season, not all seemed to fit the system Roca wanted to implement. Lenny Rodrigues and Mandar Rao Desai came in with a lot of promise but struggled to replicate it on the field. Striker Roby Norales was a guest for a few days while his replacement Marian Jugovic didn’t perform up to the expectations.

“One thing that didn’t go according to plan was our transfers, especially the foreigners,” admitted Roca. “If you look at us, our foreigners have scored only two goals. But if you look at other teams, that’s not the case. Like, for East Bengal, their foreigners scored 18 goals, for Shillong (Lajong) their foreigner (Dipanda Dika) is the top scorer of the league. It’s a big gap.”

Walking into a side and expecting the players to perfect your philosophy in a few days is never easy. If a team is known for its playing style then that’s the fruit of hours of training and meticulous planning. Though three-and-half months was enough time for the AIFF to wrap up it’s domestic league, it’s wasn’t for Bengaluru to adapt to something new, and that played a big role in them enduring a below-par season. “I brought in a different kind of football. So the players took time,” the Spaniard admitted to another reason behind his side’s poor show.

“Not their fault, but that’s how the game is. You can’t expect a player to play in a certain way overnight, it takes time. But now it looks like guys have slowly understood what I expect from them and the results reflect that. In three and half months the boys have responded in well,” he added citing the run of form that his team enjoyed in the last few games.

Off late, Bengaluru looks to have adapted to Roca’s philosophy. And if their recent wins over DSK Shivajians and Churchill Brothers are anything to go by, one can expect nothing less when the team lines-up in the Federation Cup and the AFC Cup in the coming days.
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(Published 01 May 2017, 19:03 IST)

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