Bengaluru: It will be historic moment when Bengaluru FC, one of the most successful Indian clubs in recent times kick of their Indian Super League campaign against Mumbai City FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday. Many former players of both the teams will come across in the historic battle and although emotions will be high, coach Albert Roca does not want his boys to get carried away but focus on a win.
“It is the beginning of a new era in this club’s history, but the boys know they can’t get carried away by the occasion. Mumbai City are a good side and we will have to be at our best if we are to take anything away from the clash,” said BFC coach Roca said at the pre-match press conference.
‘The Blues’ are the very first side to make a switch from the Hero I-League, where they won everything on offer and now will ply their trade with a new ambition in a new league.
Roca however does not rule themselves out of the title contention simply on the basis of being new. “Even if we are new the goal is to reach that and we are ambitious (to be in the semifinals),” he said.
The match nonetheless will have a high esteem for club captain and former Mumbai City FC player Sunil Chhetri, who had earlier stated he will not celebrate if he scores against Mumbai. He confirmed the same on Saturday and further stated that this will be just another match for them. Former Blues custodians Amrinder Singh and Arindam Bhattacharja will be on the other side come Sunday.
The ISL newbies will however miss former Barcelona B player Dimas Delgado and Lalthuammawia Ralte, owing to the injuries they suffered during the pre-season matches, but have been given the free signal to play Indian no. 1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Roca added that although it is unfortunate to miss both Dimas and Mawaia, Gurpreet’s addition will bring the much needed stability in the backline and he will play a crucial part tomorrow.
Mumbai City may not be as successful as their opposition in the Indian circuit, but have a experience of playing in the league and even reached the semi-finals last season. They will miss two of their stars in Chhetri and Norde both of whom played influential roles the previous time, but Guimarães was soon to rule out such claims and played his hopes on the players available, to carry the team over.
“We tried to solve all these changes – it was not just about them (Chhetri and Norde). It is about a lot of other players as well. But I am satisfied with how we have solved these individual absentees,” Mumbai City head coach Alexandre Guimarães said.
‘The Islanders’ however have assembled one of the most experienced squad led by Lucian Goian and with five Brazilians up in their ranks, Samba magic may just be enough to shatter the home fans’ hopes on Sunday.