Four games into the Indian Super League, only two teams remain unbeaten. In a pre-season that was dominated by the transfer window of the Kolkata clubs, the season has begun with both Bengaluru FC and Punjab FC being the only two teams yet to lose a game – with the former champions scoring seven goals in four games and yet to concede a goal.
For the past few seasons, Bengaluru has had to contend with end-season results that haven’t lived up to the club’s early days standards. Last year, the club finished 10th among 12 teams in the ISL, their worst performance since joining the league in the 2017–18 season where they immediately went to the top of the table. But since the 2019–20 season, Bengaluru’s best position on the table has been a fourth-placed finish in 2022–23.
What’s promising this season is Bengaluru have already faced Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mumbai City FC. They earned a 1-0 win against East Bengal and then a mammoth 3-0 home win against Mohun Bagan. Add up another 3-0 rollover of Hyderabad FC and a goalless draw against Mumbai City FC on the road, and it’s becoming clear that while it’s early doors, Bengaluru might be in the running to win the ISL come May.
Coach Gerard Zaragoza, who used to be an assistant coach with the team under Carles Cuadrat earlier and then returned as head coach in late 2023 has already experienced winning the league with Bengaluru and has attributed their training sessions as to why there’s been leap of improvement.
Bengaluru FC Coach Gerard Zaragoza. (ISL)
“It’s amazing, but it’s not the quality; it’s the commitment. How they want, how the team wants. They want to win. We say from the first training session, you need to win every single exercise. Then you know football, you know it’s like this,” said Zaragoza after their win over Mohun Bagan, one of the favorites to take the ISL crown this season.
Bengaluru’s early success has been on the bedrock of strong ball possession and accurate passing. Against Hyderabad, Bengaluru stitched together over 550 passes in a game – and did so while being 90% accurate. Those numbers reduced against higher quality teams like Bagan and Mumbai City FC, but the bedrock of their team is clearly a higher percentage of control over the ball.
In addition to the defensive toughness they have shown this season, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India’s first-choice goalkeeper, has faced a total of 13 shots on target in 4 games and has saved all of them. Bengaluru also signed Mumbai’s Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alberto Noguera to bolster their attack. They next face Punjab FC after the international break. A win against another team that has yet to taste defeat in the league could set Bengaluru up as the team making a return to the summit after the last few years of lull.
Thapa not included in Vietnam lineup
A few years ago, Anirudh Thapa was earmarked as a midfielder who could rule the national team for the next decade. He had mentors like Sunil Chhetri, who even back then would demand that the diminutive midfielder toughen up and win 50-50 challenges.
If one glances through the Mohun Bagan squad, these are the names that stand out – Apuia Ralte, Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Glan Martins and Deepak Tangri. Every one of those midfielders has played for India in the past five years, but barring Ralte, none of the others can comprehensively say they have cemented a spot in the final 23 players selected for the national team at any given point.
Thapa’s omission for the Vietnam game came after Chennaiyin FC’s 21-year-old midfielder Lalrinliana Hnamte was given a call-up by Indian head coach Manolo Marquez. The Spaniard once again chose to call players in form, and getting game-time at their respective clubs over established names.
India face Vietnam on October 12 in a one-off friendly. They were earlier supposed to face Lebanon as well, who later pulled out of the three-team tournament. India will be looking to make it into the 2027 AFC Asian Cup next year when they go into the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Games against Vietnam and other opponents give Marquez the opportunity to blend in with newer players and fixate on what his best team could be.
