4 Best Moments for Bengaluru FC under Albert Roca

Bengaluru FC's Spanish manager Albert Roca decided not to extend his contract due to personal reasons, bringing an end to a scintillating tenure he had with the club from south India.

The former Barcelona assistant manager replaced Ashley Westwood as the manager of Bengaluru FC in 2016 and led them to two major trophies in two years. In his two years in charge at the club, he was given the responsibility to rebuild his team for the ISL, and a huge task of achieving continental glory.

When he took charge at the Fortress, BFC were already a team that were hungry for more, and what he did was instil a playing style in them. Roca had a fruitful and memorable two years at the club, and he leaves the club on a high.

Let us look at the best moments he had with the club from Bengaluru.

#1 Federation Cup win in 2017

Enter cap — Bengaluru FC- Champions of the Federation Cup 2016-17.

When he took charge at the Fortress, he had a tough job ahead of him. In his first season, Bengaluru FC finished 4th in the league and lost their title to Aizwal. It was not the season Roca would have expected in the league but the team had performances to forget in the middle of the season.

The Federation Cup in May was a game changer for the club. The team had a different spirit in them to win the cup. They finished second in their group ahead of Shillong Lajong and DSK Shivajians. They knocked out the I-League champions Aizwal in the semi-finals.

A brace from CK Vineeth ensured a Bengaluru FC victory over Mohun Bagan in the final and this was the first trophy won under Albert Roca. This victory kick-started the Roca era in Bangalore.

The first trophy at a new club is always special for the manager and the fans.

#2 ISL 2017-18 Season

Enter captio — Albert Roca leading the way for Bengaluru FC.

The mighty blues were in a transitional stage as they had finished 4th in the I-League last season and were going to play in a new league - the Indian Super League, in the next season. Albert Roca was given the chance to rebuild his own team, and he made no mistake.

Bengaluru FC had a rock solid season in the ISL, even though they lost the final to Chennaiyin FC.

They were the table toppers with 40 points (becoming the first team to reach the 40 point mark), and had a five-match winning streak as well as a ten-match unbeaten run.

The brand of football played by Albert Roca's men was something Indian football had never seen before. Sunil Chhetri was quoted saying that he was amazed by the way BFC played under Roca this season. They beat Pune City FC 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before losing the final 2-3 at home to Chennaiyin FC.

Even though they missed out on the trophy, their performance in the league did not go unnoticed. Roca's Philosophy reinvented the club from Bangalore.

The team had a grand debut in the ISL, and Albert Roca's style had started to charm Indian Football.

Bengaluru FC will be one of the favorites going in the next season, and the credit has to go the former Bengaluru FC manager.

#3 The Hero Indian Super Cup

The defeat in the finals of the ISL to Chennaiyin FC did hurt the team, but they went to Bhubaneshwar for the Super Cup with a changed mindset. In spite of the I-League getting over months before the Super Cup, there was very little time between the ISL and the Super Cup and BFC's AFC Cup commitments. Roca never complained about the schedule, rotated his squad perfectly and the results were fruitful.

In the scorching heat of Bhubaneshwar, BFC played with a different intensity. In most of the games when the opposition looked tired, BFC stepped up their game. They made a comeback against Gokulam Kerala, Mohun Bagan, and East Bengal in the final, with most of the goals coming in the last half an hour of the games.

They beat East Bengal 4-1 in the final, with Sunil Chhetri scoring a brace, Miku and Rahul Bheke scoring one goal each.

The Super-Cup was the result of tremendous hard-work throughout the season. They were the table toppers in the ISL but missed out in the final to Chennaiyin FC. The victory in the inaugural Super Cup marked the fifth trophy for BFC in five five years and also Albert Roca's second in as many years.

It also marked the end of the Indian football season for the team, and they ended the season on a high. Albert Roca's magic had started to conquer Indian football, but no knew what was coming in the future.

#4 AFC Cup Final 2017

Bengaluru FC was started with an aim to put India on the footballing world map, and since then they have always hunted for continental glory. Ashley Westwood had led BFC to the round of 16 in the AFC Cup, but Albert Roca did the unthinkable.

The club had started to make a name for themselves in the continent with consistent performances in the AFC Cup. In 2017 when BFC beat Johor Darul Ta'zim(JDT) 4-2 on aggregate, they became the first Indian team to qualify for the AFC Cup final.

This feat achieved by Bengaluru FC was a moment of pride for Indian Football, and the man behind this was Albert Roca. AFC Cup was always something he never sidelined, he went all guns blazing for continental glory. The final did not go in their favor, they lost the match 1-0 to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in Doha but they had already reached a historic milestone. The club only being 3 years old (in 2017) had achieved something that no other football club had done before.

It was the last AFC Cup home game in 2018 against Aizwal when the fans were heard chanting "We want you to stay, Albert Roca, we want you to stay"; he had become a fan favorite and no one wanted him to leave. His last game in charge was a 0-4 away win in Bangladesh against Dhaka Abahani, which ensured that BFC go through to the next stages of the AFC Cup.

Albert Roca was a fan favorite, and the club had to bid an emotional goodbye to him. He has left his legacy behind, and it will be a difficult task for the incoming BFC manager to replace him.