Bengaluru FC shone brighest in another dull year for Indian football
Two new clubs in Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC were added to the I-League which begins next month.
New Delhi: Bengaluru FC’s runners-up finish at the AFC Cup was a rare moment of glory in what was another year of discontent for Indian football even though the national team climbed to their best Fifa rankings in the last six years.
Just three years into their existence, Bengaluru reached the summit clash of the AFC Cup, the continent’s second tier club competition, eventually losing to Air Force Club of Iraq (1-0) to finish as runners-up.
Despite the loss, Bengaluru became the first Indian club to qualify for the final of a continental tournament. Before this, the farthest an Indian club had advanced in a continental tournament was the two AFC Cup semi-final appearances by Dempo in 2008 and East Bengal in 2013.
If Bengaluru’s exploits were the highlights, the low points were India failing to advance beyond the second stage of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and even worse, they had to face the ignominy of having to compete in a play-offs round to take part in the qualifying tournament of 2019 Asian Cup.
In domestic wranglings, Goan clubs Sporting Clube de Goa and Salgaocar pulled out of the I-League to protest against a proposal of the All India Football Federation to make the Indian Super League the country’s official top competition.
Two new clubs in Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC were added to the I-League which begins next month.
On the positive side, India won the Saff Championships for the seventh time and then jumped to the highest Fifa rankings in six years (135th). Also, yet another successful ISL season saw Atletico de Kolkata lift the title for the second time in three years.
The country also embarked on frantic preparations for the Under-17 Fifa World Cup next year. Six venues were picked to host the matches after inspections by Fifa representatives.
Bengaluru’s domestic success spilled over to the Asian stage and they became the first Indian club to feature in the final of a continental tournament.
They did not begin spectacularly in the AFC Cup and lost to defending champions Johor Darul of Malaysia twice in the group stage. Ashley Westwood left the club after guiding the ‘Blues’ to the I-League title and Spain’s Albert Roca, a former assistant to Frank Rijkaard at FC Barcelona, took charge.
That Westwood had built the foundations of a very good team was evident when after Roca’s arrival, Bengaluru went from strength to strength and even held defending champions Johor and then beat them in Bengaluru in the two-leg semi-finals. Skipper Sunil Chhetri scored one of his all-time best goals to seal the deal.
Bengaluru created history but they came short in the summit clash and Air Force Club of Iraq outplayed them in a lacklustre final in Doha. Roca’s side will now play two rounds of play-offs to qualify for the AFC Champions League, the top-tier club competition of Asia.