BFC’s feat among best in Indian club football

Bengaluru FC became the first Indian club to reach the AFC Cup final. (Photo: Asian Age)

Bengaluru FC’s achievement in reaching the Asian Football Confeder-ation Cup final can rank amongst the best in Indian club football. It can be rated alongside East Bengal winning the 1970 IFA Shield final beating PAS Club (Iran) 1-0 or winning the Asean Club Cup in 2003 at Jakarta defeating BEC Terro Sassana (Thailand) 3-1 in the final or Moham-medan Sporting winning the 1960 Aga Khan Gold Cup in Dhaka (the first Indian team to win a tournament on foreign soil).

The AFC Cup is equivalent of the Europa League. The performances of strikers Sunil Chhetri, C.K. Vineeth, young defender Nishu Kumar and new recruit Spanish defender Juan Gonzalez are being rightly lauded but the unsung hero is their chief executive officer, Parth Jindal.

An Arsenal fan, Jindal set up this club in 2013 with professional management and has worked wonders in three years. His most noteworthy contribution is that he does not interfere with selection of players or day to day management. Players’ contracts, their training and recruitment are handled professionally. Bengaluru FC have also created a substantial fan base by direct contact with the local community.

Bengaluru FC’s first coach Ashley Westwood and the recently appointed Albert Roca (former assistant manager of Barcelona) were given a free hand in player selection. This is unique in Indian football. In all other I-League and even ISL club, owners interfere in team selection or are guided by agents.

This is evident in the hasty selection of marquee players of Mumbai City FC in the last three years. Freddie Ljunberg (Sweden) remained injured throughout the 2014 season and coach-cum-player Nicholas Anelka (France) left in a huff in the 2015 season. This year Diego Forlan (Uruguay) has already missed three matches due to injury.

Mumbai City FC’s ISL hopes are further dented with Bengaluru reaching the AFC Cup final. The four Bengaluru FC players in the Mumbai squad, Sunil Chettri, goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, midfielders Udanta Singh and Fanai, are now unavailable till the second week of November. By then Mumbai City FC will have completed over half their league matches.

Bengaluru won their semi-final convincingly beating holders Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia) 4-2 on aggregate and 3-1 at home. This victory is very significant as JDT by winning the 2015 AFC Cup had broken the West Asian clubs’ monopoly in this tournament since its inception in 2004.

Also twice before, Indian clubs had stumbled at this stage. Dempo, with many talented Indian players like Mahesh Gawli and Climax Lawrence and foreign stars like Ranti Martins and Beto lost 1-5 on aggregate to Al Safa of Lebanon. In 2013, East Bengal were outclassed 2-7 by ultimate champions Al Kuwait.

In the final on November 5 in Doha, BFC take on Iraq Air Force based in the Rusafa District of Baghdad, one of Iraq’s most successful clubs.