After making headlines for flexing their financial muscle and their steadfast belief of improving football in Bengaluru (and by extension in India), it is now time for Bengaluru F.C. to prove their worth on the field as they kick off their campaign against Mohun Bagan at the Bangalore Football stadium, here on Sunday .
With the inaugural match looming, head coach Ashley Westwood is optimistic about his team's chances. “All 27 players are fit and excited after ten long weeks of getting ready for the game. Hopefully, we can get off to a good start,“ Westwood said.
With a host of marquee signings which includes Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Englishman John Johnson, midfielder John Menyongar, Sean Rooney and Curtis Osano among promising local talents such as Niroshan Mani, Amoes and Vishal Kumar, Bengaluru F.C have built up quite a reputation. But Westwood refuses to take anything for granted.
“We don't have any expectations. This is the first year so we want to put the framework and system in place and keep improving on a daily basis,“ revealed the former Manchester United youth product.
Meanwhile Bagan, who retained their top tier status by the skin of their teeth, after having points deducted for skipping the second half of the match against East Bengal following crowd trouble in a local league match, have undergone a major upheaval in their line-up losing key players in Syed Rahim Nabi, Nirmal Chettri and Manish Maithani to the IMG-R league and Nicolau Borges, Anthony Pereira, Rowilson Rodrigues and Adil Khan to other clubs. Katsumi Yusa, Wahild Sali are, however, stellar addition to the new and young squad.
Manager Karim Bencherifa is also looking forward to the kick off. “We are aware where we stand. We have a young team, so it will take some time to gel,“ he said while confirming that star striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie will be unavailable for the match due to injury.
“We need to win trophies for the fans,“ the former Salgoacar manager continued, “A team must have a good start and consistency to win the I-league,“ In spite of Westwood's light-hearted reply of being worried of “just the journalists“, come Sunday when the referee blows the whistle there will be a lot at stake as Bengaluru F.C look to kick start their debut match on the right foot against an inspired and resolute Bagan.