Bengaluru: Founded in 2013, Bengaluru FC have always lead by example about how an Indian football club should go about their business. They won the I-league in their debut season before making history becoming the first club to the reach the final of the AFC Cup back in 2016. Not just about trophies, they took steps in terms of professionalism, setting up youth-academies along with progressive efforts to build connections with the people of the city.
Entering the ISL in the 2017-18 season, they won the league the following season proving again just how good their management and work behind the scenes are. Bengaluru finished the last season at third in the table with 30 points and coach Carles Cuadrat will hope that this season his side will make a firm statement from the start of the season.
On paper, they have a great side looking to counter any challenge thrown at them with certain players that attract a fair bit of attention.
Overseas players to watch out for:
Fran Gonzalez: The Spaniard is a versatile player who spent the last season with Mohun Bagan (currently known as ATK Mohun Bagan) in their winning run to the I-league title and was a constant presence in the squad. This will be his debut season in the ISL and he will be looking to make the most of it.
Juanan: The 33-year-old man from Spain is an astounding presence at the heart of the Bengaluru defence. He led the backline last season with 19 appearances and will be hoping to replicate that as well this season.
Kristian Opseth: Among all the new foreign signings for this season, the Norwegian will be a man to watch out for. Standing at 6 ft 2 inches Opseth is a classic No.9 looking to use his physicality and technical ability to find the back of the net. Also considering how good Bengaluru can be from set-pieces, this is surely a great boost for the side. He spent the last season with A-league side Adelaide United and will look forward to showing his goalscoring prowess.
Eric Paartalu: The Aussie joined the club back in 2017 and since then he has been their anchor in the midfield with his strength, work rate, ability to break-up play, recycling possession and starting attacking moves. Besides that, he is a serious aerial threat. He played 17 times last season scoring two while assisting five and he will be a key player this season too.
Indian players to look out for:
Sunil Chhetri: Considered as one of the best players ever to be produced by the nation and the best over the last decade, 36-year-old Sunil is still the biggest influence for the team whether it is scoring a goal or motivating the side. His hunger for goals is still evident, after finishing last season as the team’s top scorer with 18 goals.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu: The only player from India to play for a European top-division side, the 28-year-old goalkeeper is such a reliable presence under the posts with his ability to launch long kicks from the back and his ability to grab the aerial balls during set-pieces.Sandhu will hope to replicate his prowess in the coming season too.
Ashique Kuruniyan: The 23-year-old lad from Kerala is an upcoming talent with great technical ability played 18 times last season scoring one and assisting one. He will be looking to throw off his youth prodigy tag show that he can be a reliable player as well.
The Indian Super League will kick-off on November 20 and Bengaluru FC will start their campaign against the ISL League Winners Shield FC Goa on November 22.
