Same Date, Two Emotions: A Journey of Redemption
I am used to watching the teams I support put up consistent performances throughout the season but fall short in the finals. I have experienced the heartbreak of watching the Royal Challengers Bangalore fail to clear the final hurdle three times. It is an emotion I had become accustomed to, but my heart was torn apart and shredded when last season, Chennaiyin FC beat Bengaluru FC 3–2 in the finals of the Indian Super League on the 17th of March 2018. I was there, in the stadium, tearful and angry, wondering ‘Why does this happen every time’?. As the Chennaiyin players and fans celebrated under the golden confetti, Parth Jindal, the CEO of Bengaluru FC, looked up at West Block and pointed to the crest. West Block responded with a tearful and heartfelt rendition of ‘Ham honge kaamiyab ek din’. On the same day, at the same time, there was an air of hope among all Bengaluru FC fans and although losing the finals was tough to digest, we went home, seeking redemption.
Exactly a year later on the 17th of March 2019, in a small corner at the Mumbai Football Arena, the Bengaluru FC players and fans celebrated in unison as the tears of last year were replaced by broad smiles and a sense of accomplishment. For me personally, it was revenge achieved. I was finally able to sleep peacefully without having to ponder over ‘what if’. Exactly 365 days later, the turnaround was complete. But what was the difference this time? I will bring to light three factors, overlooked by others, which contributed to us winning the league.
Sergio Cidoncha’s goal in the 94th minute:- Bengaluru FC’s second match of the season came against Jamshedpur FC. Bengaluru FC took the lead in the 45th minute, courtesy a Nishu Kumar stunner. The defence held firm till the 81st minute but Gourav Mukhi shrugged Albert Serran off and tucked a defensive clearance past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to make the score 1–1. Sunil Chhetri met Harmanjot Khabra’s pin-point cross to give Bengaluru FC the lead once more but Sergio Cidoncha gave Bengaluru FC the first lesson in never giving up. With literally ten seconds of added time left, Juanan failed to clear a long punt from the Jamshedpur defence and Sergio Cidoncha tapped in Mario Arques’s cut-back. The clock read 93:55 as the ball rolled into the net. Jamshedpur FC had equalized with five seconds left on the clock.
That goal told us that it is not over till the last second and that our attack and our defence need to be watchful and opportunist throughout the game.
The perfect implementation of this lesson was visible in the final against FC Goa as there was a sense of urgency and most importantly, a sense of belief that it is not over till the end. Dimas Delgado’s corner was headed in by Rahul Bheke in the 117th minute, which was the tenth goal that BFC had scored after the 75th minute.
Come on BFC! :- Bengaluru FC’s seventh match was at home against Delhi Dynamos. Key players Miku and Erik Paartalu were injured and Dimas Delgado was serving a suspension. After weathering an early storm of Delhi attacks, the Blues retaliated with some chances of their own. Chencho had four glorious chances to get the opener but the Bhutanese winger seemed to lack sharpness. After half-time, both sides sat back and just when a moment of magic was required on the pitch, it came from the stands, from West Block .
“Come on BFC!” was a chant rarely used by the West Block Blues but from the 82nd minute onwards, the whole stadium broke into a chorus of the chant. This wave of encouragement instilled a sense of belief in the players and the tackles went in harder, creating that extra yard. Udanta Singh was the man who pounced this time, latching onto a loose ball and earning us three points. Since then, whenever Bengaluru FC have had their backs against the wall or needed a goal,” Come on BFC!” was the only thing to be heard all over India. It became our rallying cry, our last hope and in many cases, the deciding factor.
Carles Carles set-piece set-piece!:- Set-pieces are a straight-forward yet creative way of scoring goals. Bengaluru FC is blessed to have a mix of creativity and accuracy in the form of a strong Spanish contingent and brute force in some tall and aerially adept defenders and midfielders. This is a perfect blend and a potent weapon for set-pieces. Since the early years of the Ashley Westwood era, Bengaluru FC has banked on set-pieces as an alternative source of goals. Carles Cuadrat, an assistant coach under Albert Roca and the current manager of Bengaluru FC, came to the club with a reputation of a set-piece specialist. The fans did not have to wait long to witness his work in action as our first goal in the Indian Super League was from a well-worked corner. Cuadrat took special emphasis on set-pieces for this season and the result was ten goals from set-pieces, with the last one clinching the trophy. The well-worked and orchestrated run-ups from free-kicks and the usage of angles from corners is a sight to watch. It is poetic justice that an out-swinging corner from dead-ball specialist Dimas Delgado and the subsequent header from Rahul Bheke was the goal which won us our sixth trophy in six years.
All-in-all, it was a team effort which won the league for Bengaluru FC. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was commanding in goal and produced some stunning and important saves, winning the Golden Glove. Rahul Bheke was a revelation. Slotting in at right-back and centre-back whenever needed and giving it all he has every game. The Spanish centre-back duo of Albert Serran and Juanan were consistent throughout the season. Nishu Kumar, who had to fill the shoes of Subhashish Bose, has gone from strength to strength. Erik Paartalu controlled the midfield, doing the dirty work and allowing space for the creative players ahead. An injury ruled him out of the semis and the final but his replacement, Alex Barrera, was equally influential. Dimas Delgado played out of his skin during the latter half of the season. He topped the assists chart for the club with 6. Xisco Hernandez got the crucial away goal in the semi-finals and had 5 assists throughout the season. Udanta Singh had a break-through season with 5 goals and 3 assists. Sunil Chhetri topped the scoring stats for the club yet again and covered up for the injured Miku. Miku, despite missing half of the season through injury, came back strongly. Harmanjot Khabra played at midfield, marking the opposition players to good effect. Notable mentions go out to Kean Lewis, Chencho Gyeltshen, Luisma Villa, Boithang Haokip and Rino Anto, who were always there when the team needed them . It was a trophy-winning season for the academy as well, with the ‘B’ team winning the BDFA Super Division. Edmund Lalrindika, Ajay Chhetri and Sairaut Kima all debuted for the senior team and have bright futures ahead.
The Germans, who know a thing or two about late goals, gave us the quote, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”. This is the motto of the Bengaluru FC players and fans. The Blues will look to defend the Super Cup title next month. With the possible merger of the ISL and the I-League, Bengaluru FC will look to retain most of the players and keep winning trophies season after season after season.
