ISL 2020:21: We will be competitive – Carles Cuadrat hails Bengaluru’s FC squad strength

Bengaluru FC head coach Carles Cuadrat is optimistic of his team’s chances of going all the way in the upcoming seventh edition of the Hero Indian Super League. Cuadrat feels the team has the players who can take them to glory in the forthcoming season of the ISL.

The Spaniard hailed Bengaluru’s FC collective squad strength and stated that they will be competitive. Bengaluru FC had finished the previous season at the third place in the points table but their journey was ended by eventual winners ATK (now ATK Mohun Bagan) in the semifinals.

“We will be competitive,” said Cuadrat, looking ahead. “The technical staff have identified the good and the bad from last season. We have a better squad and it is my job now to make it competitive enough.” 

Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC had done a fine job defensively in the previous season as they had conceded only 13 goals in the 18 matches of the league stage. Furthermore, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was brilliant for Bengaluru FC as he kept a record clean sheet in 11 matches, including in the first leg of the semifinal against ATK.

However, Bengaluru FC could not come up with a collective effort on the attacking line. They scored only 22 goals throughout the season, which was only one more than the wooden spooners of the tournament – Hyderabad FC.

Furthermore, the club will also miss the services of talisman midfielder Raphael Augusto. However, Cuadrat added that this time the club has players who have great finishing skills.

“The truth is we created chances last year,” insisted Cuadrat. “Even when we lost Augusto for half of the season, we created nearly seven per game. Some of them were from set pieces, but not all. This year, we have players who can finish, like [Cleiton] Silva, Kristian [Opseth], along with [Deshorn] Brown and Sunil [Chhetri].” 

“Cleiton is creative, sees good passes, can dribble well and also finish. Opseth has a powerful left leg. He is a big guy who uses his body to protect the ball and brings other players into play.” 

Bengaluru FC will begin their ISL 2020:21 season against FC Goa at Fatorda Stadium on 22nd November.