“We have to play tough, hard from the first minute of this championship, if [we] are to achieve [our] title aim” – Albert Roca
Speaking ahead of their first game of I-league 2017, the head coach of the Champions of India – Benguluru FC , was in high spirits, but was in no mood to take their opponents of tomorrow – Shillong Lajong FC, lightly.
“We have to go 100%, otherwise I know that the difference between them and us [is] not so big so we have to do our best reallya nd be a little bit lucky to start [the season with a win]”
Cameron Watson, BFC’s Australian midfield battler had joined his coach on the podium. He was effusive in his praise for his old, and new, and said that the AFC Cup had helped the squad gel even closer together. With that dream run to the AFC Cup Final, they certainly had caught the imagination of the Indian public, the champions of India will be looking forward to building on.
Watson also appeared pleased with BFC’s transfer dealings and said that the new signings were “settling in really well’. He went to add that they have added “depth, strength and competition to our squad which is going to make our team better”
He was also asked about how he, and BFC, will miss Alvaro Rubio and he acknowledged that the Spaniard was a “class player”, like he said “you don’t play that many games in Spain at the highest level [otherwise]”
He went on to add “it was a shame that he left. He brought so much to the team, so much experience, so much finess on the field. The language barrier did not matter as his footballing knowledge just prevailed on the field and it was actually a privilege to play alongside him”.
But he was confident that despite all that, and despite how good a player Rubio is, BFC would not miss him that much in midfield and that they would have a good central midfield partnership what with the signing of Lenny Rodrigues, Harmanjot Khabra and the others who are all experienced professionals who are more than capable and “it’s all just a matter of getting in a few more games under the belt and just getting to know each other a little better”.
Senor Roca, too, was upbeat about his new signings saying that despite it being little difficult for new signings (everywhere) and that had displayed the right attitude in training and that they knew each other from having played in the country’s domestic scene for so long that they know the pitches, the players, and the teams even more than him, so “it’s time for them to show that they are of the level that we deserve”. He added “it’s not easy, but we have to help them with the project, but they have the quality, otherwise we [they] will not be here! so let’s see if they help our team become even stronger”.
Also, Read – 5 key players for Bengaluru FC this season
With respect to the ‘project’, though, there is one hiccup – the departure of Alvaro Rubio. When asked about how the departure of his midfield pass-master will affect the short-passing philosphy that the former La Masia man holds dearly he said “You told the truth. Alvaro helped us have a style [with which] we arrived at the final of the AFC Cup and he was an important player, but he is not here anymore. We have to adjust to things... tomorrow there is Khabra, there is Lenny, so many Indian footballers [who] have the quality to understand what the football we want to put on the football [is]. We can’t change so much, but we have to adjust ‘cos the players are not the same”
He went to add – “This is the case everywhere... I would like us to play like Barcelona, you know... tiki taka..., but that’s impossible, for sure. Even for Barcelona, when someone leaves, they also have to adjust so you can imagine here. There is no magic here, it’s always the same.”
“We just have to see the quality of the players to see [if they can] adjust to what we want and if it’s not possible to play tiki-taka, we’ll play tiki-long, taka-goal”, he concluded with a chuckle.
If the moods of Roca and Watson are a reflection of the general attitude that is prevelant in the Bengaluru camp, the defending champions will take some stopping this season.
