X

JAC K OF A LL

BENGALURU FC v FC GOA
02
JEFE
TALK
Good evening Blues, take care of itself. I’ve always said this and
will say it again – it is important that while
Today’s game is part of a schedule that has we enjoy this run, we stay humble.
been crazy to say the least and the one thing
that has kept us smiling through it all is the
We sit at top of the table with 30
Ws next to each other on our form guide.
points but I told the boys after the
What is really satisfying is that three of our win over Chennaiyin FC that we
last four wins have come away from home.
Our poor run of form on the road cost us shouldn’t be focusing on the
dear last season and before we began this mathematics of the table.
season, I said we will work very hard on
fixing the flaw. I’d like to believe we’ve I always get asked whether it is a worry that
made amends.
only Miku and Sunil and are getting most of
Shifting focus to today’s game, I would like the goals. Well, they are doing what comes
to extend a warm welcome to the staff and naturally to them! As much as I would like
players of FC Goa. We played an engrossing it, I don’t expect John Johnson to curl one in
away leg game that ended 4-3 in their or Sunil to throw his body on the line and
favour and I have no doubt that tonight’s make an interception. Everyone on this
fixture has the potential to be as team is doing their job and that is why we
entertaining if not more. Both, Goa and us, are clicking.
like to pass the ball around and bomb
Today will be tough for sure, but we need to
forward at the first possible chance. That
draw strength from what we have achieved
said, the defence will have a key role to play
over the last 15 days. The effort is always in
tonight and I am confident the boys at the
wanting to send you home with a smile!
back will get the job done.
Love,
We sit at top of the table with 30 points but I
told the boys after the win over Chennaiyin
FC that we shouldn’t be focusing on the
mathematics of the table. We have to
continue carrying on the good work we are
doing and qualification to the play-offs will
 RECAP I GOAvBEN 30 NOV 2017

A GOAN THRILLER!
The Fatorda Witnessed A Seven-goal Blockbuster When The
Blues Got On The Road For The First Time In The ISL...
The Blues were on the wrong side of a 4-3 with a finish through the legs of Laxmikant
result when Roca’s men made their way to Kattimani, just five minutes later.
the beach city in what was their first away
game of the Indian Super League season, Corominas restore Goa’s lead on the half hour
against FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium. mark, before Manuel Lanzarote added a third
for Goa with a 40th minute penalty that saw
In a battle between two Spanish managers Gurpreet sent off and Abhra Mondal make his
with Barcelona ties, Sergio Lobera'shome Blues’ debut.
side rode on a FerranCorominas hat-trick to
hand the Blues their first defeat in the Indian The Blues took the fight to Lobera’s men in
Super League. the second half and though goals from Erik
Paartalu and Miku restored parity on the hour
Now top-scorer of the League with 11 goals, mark, Corominas had the last laugh with his
Corominas opened the scoring in Goa with a finish past Mondal in the 63rd minute settling
finish past Gurpreet before Miku equalized the score in favour of Goa.
04 BEN SQUAD
Head Coach: Assistant Coach:
Albert Roca Marc Huguet

GOALKEEPERS
1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
28 Lathuammawia Ralte
32 Calvin Abhishek
DEFENDERS
2 Rahul Bheke
3 Collin Abranches
4 Zohmingliana Ralte
5 Juan Gonzalez
6 John Johnson
15 Subhasish Bose
22 Nishu Kumar
MIDFIELDERS
8 Lenny Rodrigues
10 Harmanjot Khabra
13 Eduardo Garcia
14 Dimas Delgado
16 Erik Paartalu
17 Boithang Haokip
19 Antonio Dovale
20 Alwyn George
30 Malsawmzuala
FORWARDS
7 Miku
9 Braulio Nobrega
11 Sunil Chhetri
18 Thongkhosiem Haokip
21 Udanta Singh
25 Daniel Lalhlimpuia
 FC GOA SQUAD
Head Coach:
Sergio Lobera

GOALKEEPERS
Bruno Colaco 1
Laxmikant Kattimani 27
Naveen Kumar 32
DEFENDERS
Amey Ranawade 2
Narayan Das 3
Chinglensana Singh 6
Bruno Pinheiro 16
Seriton Fernandes 20
Sergio Juste 21
Jonathan Cardozo 25
Mohamed Ali 37
MIDFIELDERS
Hugo Boumous 4
Ahmed Jahouh 5
Brandon Fernandes 10
Manuel Lanzarote 12
Anthony D'Souza 13
Mohammad Yasir 14
Pratesh Shirodkar 15
Mandar Rao Dessai 17
Pronay Halder 18
Edu Bedia 23
FORWARDS
Ferran Corominas 8
Manvir Singh 9
Liston Colaco 19
Mark Sifneos 96
 Scored 28 Conceded 15
W W W W L D
Banking on their four-game winning run in
the competition, the Blues are up against FC
Goa tonight in a battle which promises to be
nothing less than an entertaining one. Back
when both sides met in Goa in November, it
was the Gaurs who won a high-scoring
encounter 4-3, but not before the ten men of
Blues levelled scores at 3-3 in second half.
Led by Spaniard Sergio Lobera, the visitors
follow a similar philosophy of
possession-based football as Bengaluru and
have been one of the most consistent
performers in the league. With the League’s
top scorer Corominas (13 goals) among their
ranks, the Gaurs are the highest scorers in
the ISL, having netted 29 times in just twelve
games so far. In fact, they’ve scored in all
games barring the home loss against Pune.
Scored 29 Conceded 23
L W W L
Their main-man Corominas will be partnered
by fellow Spaniard Lanzarote in attack, who
has also netted 8 goals and the duo will be the
primary threat for Bengaluru’s backline.
Having scored in the win over Chennaiyin,
Miku and Chhetri took their combined tally to
20 goals, one behind that of Corominas and
Lanzarote. Moreover, the fact that the Gaurs
are the only side who has failed to keep a
clean sheet this season, will be something the
Bengaluru frontline will be looking exploit
tonight. For the record, Goa has conceded 23
goals, and are only second behind bottom
placed Delhi Dynamos who have let in 29.
Talking former Blues, Mandar Rao Dessai
returns to the Fortress for the first time after
winning the Federation Cup with Bengaluru.
08

KEY
BATTLES!
As Bengaluru and Goa lock horns at
the Fortress tonight, it will be a battle
between two coaches who learnt their
trade in the same stable. Albert Roca
and Sergio Lobera have had the same
philosophy bible at FC Barcelona and
the duo has managed to imbibe a
similar philosophy in their respective
teams, producing results consistently
this season. Here are three key
battles that could determine the
course of the game tonight.
 MIKU vs
SERGIO JUSTE
The Blues’ top-scorer will be marked
closely tonight by Goa’s defender Juste.
The 26-year-old, who has come through the
Barcelona youth setup has been a regular
in the Gaurs’ line-up since the turn of the
year and will be an important figure in the
visitors’ youthful backline. Miku, who netted
a double in the first leg, will hope to team
up with skipper Sunil Chhetri and cause
problems in the final third.

JUAN GONZALEZ vs
FERRAN COROMINAS
Corominas was Blues’ tormentor-in-chief
as he bagged a hat-trick when both sides
met in Goa. Despite going down to 10-men,
the Blues’ fought back to level scores at
3-3, before Coro struck again to seal the
game in the Gaurs’ favour. Juanan, who has
been sturdy as a rock, will have to keep the
League’s top-scorer quiet as he leads
BFC’s backline in this Spanish battle.

DIMAS DELGADO
vs AHMED JAHOUH
With both sides preferring a
possession-based game, this will be one of
the most crucial duels which has the
potential to decide tonight’s outcome.
Ahmed, the league’s top passer, will go up
against Blues’ ace playmaker Dimas. An
ever-present figure in the Gaurs’ midfield,
the Moroccan’s ability to control play is
almost identical to that of Dimas and it will
be interesting to see how the battle unfolds.
 COVER STORY
armanjot Khabra is so brutal with
his honesty, you almost wish he
didn’t say half the things he does.
Then again, he doesn’t battle an
eyelid while he’s at it and within minutes,
you begin appreciating the recklessness as
refreshing. But while the talk from the
bearded Punjabi is far from measured, the
effort to chase accuracy on the pitch is
something he takes very seriously. “The
other day at training, I was working on my
crosses and from the 50 I attempted, 48
were in the zone. I need to have numbers
like these every day,” he says. Some days
it’s about where his left foot should land on
the follow-through of a kick, other days is
about the sweet spot on the ball that will get
it dip viciously – Khabra is always finding
things to perfect.
Loan deals remain just that more often than
not so when Khabra came to Bengaluru FC
from Chennaiyin FC in the 2016-17 season,
he didn’t think he would need to break his
head over finding a school for his daughter.
The season turned out to be a stellar one
that had silverware at the end of it and
Khabra had more than just a bit-part role to
play. “The coach (Roca) opened a whole new
world of possibilities that I didn’t think were
mine to fiddle with. With every passing
game that season, I believed I was adding a
different dimension to my game.”
Then came the draft and Bengaluru had
seen enough of Khabra to go for him as one
of their early picks. Chennaiyin came to the
table for a negotiation that Bengaluru would
decline with a quick handshake. Khabra had
to hunt for a school after all. “Not that I was
down in the dumps before Bengaluru, but
after coming here I found myself again in a
way that’s difficult to explain,” he says.
For all the talk of versatility that usually
surrounds him, Khabra says the turf around
the right-back position is now home. “It’s
flattering to hear people talk about how I
can play in different positions on the pitch. I
enjoyed being a ‘jack of all’ but I’ve now
decided I need to master my role as a
right-back. It’s slowly becoming an
obsession,” he says with air of surety. The
pursuit eats into his evening cup of tea
where he ends up watching how the best in
the world in his position go about things, on
his iPad, long after he’s taken the last sip of
sugarless chai.
The Blues’ dressing room has always been
a special place over the years and Khabra
doesn’t hesitate from giving the vibe its due.
“You could be part of a team that wins
trophies but that doesn’t necessarily mean
it’s a tightly knit unit. I would really like
people to spend a couple of days around our
dressing room at Bengaluru. It can give a
family a complex.”
12
Khabra isn’t getting any younger and while
he admits that every passing day the dream
“It’s flattering to hear
to turn out for the Indian national team gets people talk about how I
tougher, he’s sure it doesn’t get bleaker.
“Who stops dreaming about turning out for
can play in different
the country? I was telling Nishu (Kumar) the positions on the pitch. I
other day that the Indian team jersey with
the new logo looks really nice. But I don’t
enjoyed being a ‘jack of
want to appreciate it while it’s on a hanger all’ but I’ve now decided
or on someone else. I haven’t touched my
India shirt from the World Cup Qualifier
I need to master my role
against Iran. The next time I touch an India as a right-back. It’s
shirt is when I wear it. The plan is to keep
knocking, relentlessly. The door either
slowly becoming an
opens or it breaks, I have to get in.” obsession”
 -
NTER SCHO
CI

OL
BF

The 2018 edition of the BOOST-BFC

Inter School Soccer Shield was
completed successfuly last week at
the Bangalore Football Stadium.
More than 1000 budding footballers
showcased their skills for over 70
different teams in three categories
- the Schools (U10, U12, U14),
Community and NGO.
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
NOVEMBER
19 BENGALURU FC vs MUMBAI CITY FC Sree Kanteerava Stadium 2-0

26 BENGALURU FC vs DELHI DYNAMOS FC Sree Kanteerava Stadium 4-1

30 FC GOA vs BENGALURU FC Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 4-3

DECEMBER
08 NORTHEAST UNITED FC vs BENGALURU FC Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium 0-1

15 FC PUNE CITY vs BENGALURU FC Balewadi Sports Complex 1-3

17 BENGALURU FC vs CHENNAIYIN FC Sree Kanteerava Stadium 1-2

21 BENGALURU FC vs JAMSHEDPUR FC Sree Kanteerava Stadium 0-1

31 KERALA BLASTERS vs BENGALURU FC Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 1-3

JANUARY
07 BENGALURU FC vs ATK Sree Kanteerava Stadium 1-0

14 DELHI DYNAMOS FC vs BENGALURU FC Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 2-0

18 MUMBAI CITY FC vs BENGALURU FC Mumbai Football Arena 1-3

23 TRANSPORT UNITED vs BENGALURU FC Changlimithang Stadium 0-0

26 BENGALURU FC vs NORTHEAST UNITED Sree Kanteerava Stadium 2-1

30 BENGALURU FC vs TRANSPORT UNITED Sree Kanteerava Stadium 3-0

FEBRUARY
03 ATK vs BENGALURU FC Salt Lake Stadium 0-2

06 CHENNAIYIN FC vs BENGALURU FC Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 1-3

09 BENGALURU FC vs FC GOA Sree Kanteerava Stadium -

13 TC SPORTS CLUB vs BENGALURU FC Rasmee Dhandu Stadium -

16 BENGALURU FC vs FC PUNE CITY Sree Kanteerava Stadium -

20 BENGALURU FC vs TC SPORTS CLUB Sree Kanteerava Stadium -

25 JAMSHEDPUR FC vs BENGALURU FC Kalinga Stadium -

MARCH -

01 BENGALURU FC vs KERALA BLASTERS Sree Kanteerava Stadium -