Medio Alvaro Rubio leave Bengaluru FC, returns to Spain

Bengaluru FC Media

Spanish midfielder Alvaro Rubio has called time on his short but impactful Bengaluru FC sojourn after seeing out his contract that ended on November 30.  Brought in by coach Albert Roca in July to add experience to Bengaluru’s AFC Cup campaign, 37-year-old Alvaro was a vital factor in the Blues reaching the final in Doha. 

The former Real Valladolid captain who came to Bengaluru having played more than 300 La Liga games didn’t need time to stamp his class in midfield. 

“I had a stupendous experience at BFC. Personally, it was a positive development for me and I am very grateful to the players, management, fans and everyone associated with the club. I wasn’t from the country but they always made me feel home. I am sure that this club has a great future ahead. I would like to thank everyone again and I hope we meet soon,” said Rubio from his home in Spain.

Donning the No.9 shirt at Bengaluru, the wiry Rubio made light of his age and frame, controlling play in the middle for the Blues. His composure on the ball and his distribution caught the delight of teammates and fans alike. “Alvaro was brought with a specific plan in mind for the AFC Cup and he leaves having done everything that was asked of him. He’s been a great professional and in a short time has managed to be an influence on the youngsters in the team who I believe, have learned much from him. We wish him luck and thank him for his time with Bengaluru FC,” said Roca. 

Bengaluru beat Dempo in U16 Youth League, through to final round

Bengaluru FC Media 

Goals on either side of the break from Amay Morajkar and Lalrintluanga Chawnglut gave Bengaluru FC U16s a 2-0 win over Dempo and qualification to the final rounds of the U16 Y-League at the Duler Stadium, in Goa, on Wednesday. Needing just a point to progress, the Blue colts refused to leave things to chance with solid performance that saw them finish atop the Rest of India, Zone-1 standings with three wins in as many games.

The opening goal came in the 11th minute when Saqlain Khan was brought down at the edge of the penalty area. Amay’s perfectly placed free-kick beat the wall and went past the reach of the Dempo ’keeper, giving BFC the lead. 

John Kila made just one change to the BFC side that had won against Sporting Clube de Goa on Monday with the suspended Nonganba Singh replaced by Lalrintluanga. The midfielder’s through pass come closest to doubling the lead but for Lalrinzuala Lalbiaklana, whose shot could only rattle the Dempo woodwork. 

Refusing to sit back, the Blue Colts continued to dominate proceedings and twenty minutes into the second half, a strike from 30 yards saw Lalrintluanga double BFC’s lead. 

“I am very happy with the performance of these boys. We’ve had little time to prepare but they’ve gelled well together and the results are there for all to see. We are excited to have made it through to the final round but it’s going to be tougher and there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Kila following the game. 

The Blues wrapped up their group commitments in dominating fashion scoring ten times and conceding just once and Kila lays it down to discipline. “We trained these young boys on the pitch and in the gym, giving them a mentality to win football matches. It was a balanced effort from defending well at the back and attacking with discipline and we hope we can do the same in the final rounds.” 

The final rounds of the U16 Y-League are scheduled to begin in January.

Bengaluru FC colts beat Sporting in U16 Youth League

Bengaluru FC Media

A strong display of attacking football from Bengaluru FC’s U16 Academy side saw them go top of the charts in the U16 Y-League with a 4-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa at the Duler Stadium, in Goa, on Monday. Following up on their victory over Salgaocar in the opening match on Sunday, the Blue Colts have now scored eight goals and conceded just one in the Rest of India, Zone-I group.

The young Blues attacked from the word go with Rahul Rajan having a go in the opening minutes, followed by tries from Lalrinzuala Lalbiaklana and Nonganba Singh. Rahul made it two goals from as many games when Lalrinzuala’s square pass found him unmarked in the area to slot home the opener in as early as the 9th minute.

The John Kila-coached side went in at the break having doubled their advantage with midfielder Amay Morajkar’s perfectly placed strike finding the top corner from over 25 yards. 

Rahul turned provider as a reverse of the first goal allowed the 16-year-old to grab his third assist of the group stages, setting up Lalrinzuala for the Blue Colts’ third on the day. Winger Nonganba made it 4-0 with a neat finish in the 64th minute, only to receive his marching orders for a second bookable offense moments later.

The Blue Colts will face Dempo SC U16s needing just a point to qualify to the final rounds from the Rest of India Zone-I, at the same venue on Wednesday.

Fixture: 6th Parikrma Champions League 2016

Day 1 - 24th November, 2016  

• Anns High School, Goa 3 (Raj Pratap-11', Rahul R-12', Sevil P in the 13') vs Ryan International School 0  
• Inventure Academy 0 Tie-breaker 4 (Rahul Menon, Aryan Kamdar, Yashodave Joshi, Rohan Xavier) vs Jain International School 0 Tie-breaker 2 (Nikhil Daswani, Bob Chengappa) 
• Greenwood High School 4 (Sidarth Bargava-17', Chirag-34', Rishab Harjani-35', Suman S Dev-37') vs Stonehill Government High School 0 
• Indus International 3 (Kevan Keane Lyndoh-23', Ghalib Halin-25', 33') Vs St. Josephs’ Boys High School 1 (Kevin-27')
• DPS East 2 (Xavier Dmelo-37, Aaron Barreit-40') vs St. Loyola High School, Goa 0
• Farook Higher Secondary School, Kerala 3 (Jawad P P-7', Akhil K-31', Muhammed Shahbas K-33') vs Vidyashilp Academy 0 
• Parikrma 3 (Prem-10', 17', Sanjay N-48') vs St. Aloysius High School 0 
• Vidya Niketan School 0 vs DPS North 1 (Jagruth-14') 

Day 2 - 25th November, 2016 - Quarter final

• St Ann’s School 3 (Sunil P Dessai-6', 27', Diptesh D Naik-40') vs Inventure Academy 0 
• Greenwood High School 0 Tie-breaker 4 (Siddarth Bargava, Naman, AKS, Suman S Dev) Vs Indus International 0 Tie-breaker 5 (Kevin Babu Chirmel, Adrien Lee, Ghalib Halim, Shikrith Poddar, Parishith Ramesh Babu) 
• Farook  Higher  Secondary School, Kerala 2 (Akhil K-3', Fawad K-34') Vs St. Loyola High School, Goa 0 
• Parikrma 2 (Hafiz Basha-28', Nandha Kumar-36') Vs DPS North 0 

Day 3 - 26th November, 2016 - Semifinal & Final

• St Ann’s School 0 Tie breaker 6 (Diptish D Naik, Rahul Vithal, Rahul R Mapsekar, Anil P Desai, Brijesh R Kandolkar, Pranil P Naik) vs Indus International  0 Tie breaker 5 (Kevin Babu Chiramel, Adrian Lee, Parishith Ramesh Babu, Paz Sangma, Nikhil Chengappa )  
• Farook Higher Secondary School 2 (Girish Raju-23rd min, Akhil K-39' min) Vs Parikrma 0

Final 

• Farook Higher Secondary School, Kerala 0 Tie breaker 4 (Favad K, Mohammed Ishal, Akhil K (jersey, Girish Raju ) Vs St. Ann’s School 2 0 Tie breaker.
  (Diptesh D Naik , Rahul Vittal Kananaik) 

Awards 

• Player of the Tournament-  Favad K, Farook HSS, Kerala
• Top Scorer (5 goals) – Aaron Barriet, St Loyola School, Goa 
• Best Goal keeper – Mohit  Yeshwanthm, St Ann’s High School, Goa
• Best Defender – Shrikrit Poddar Indus International
• Best mid fielder – Manav Kapoor, DPS North
• Best Coach – Ravi Babu, Parikrma 
• Fair play – St Loyola High School, Goa 
• Best Striker – Girish , Farook HSS, Kerala 

Difficult to think of a top league without top I-League teams: Sunando Dhar

CEO of I-League appeared unfazed about Sporting Clube de Goa’s exit and termed it as unfortunate. Dhar was present at the Garden City today inaugurating the Parikrama Champions League at the Bangalore Football Stadium. He added, “We were talking to everyone about the restructuring of Indian football. Nothing was finalized and everyone was kept in the loop. But Sporting didn’t want to wait that long.”

Apparently, few new teams have shown interest to be part of the I-League and now that the deadline has been extended, AIFF is confident of getting more bids. 

Interestingly while the Goan fans have shunned I-League in past few seasons, ISL is running packed houses. If they had the kind of fan base that an East Bengal or a Mohun Bagan or a Bengaluru FC has today, they couldn’t have pulled out of the league. The fans wouldn’t allow them to do so. Unfortunately that kind of fan base is missing in Goa. 

The fans have increased in Bengaluru, the North East, in Kolkata, and also in other places barring Goa.

On the ISL merger, in which a team per state was an ISL plan, however, for a National League, the best teams should play. In the history and fans, there isn’t a better team that Mohun Bagan or East Bengal in India. 

Dhar sounded confident about the presence of the Kolkata giants, “Don’t think there is anyone looking at a top league without Bagan or East Bengal. The discussions are going on and we hope to reach a conclusion. Not to forget Bengaluru FC, who has been the best team in last three years and it is difficult to think of a top league without the top team.” 

Bengaluru FC inter school soccer shield

The second edition of the BFC Inter School Soccer Shield will kick off at The GameChanger sports facility, in Mathikere, on December 12, 2016. 
The six day tournament, which will be conducted in a seven-a-side League and knockout format, will be held across three age categories (U10, U12, U14) with 16 teams in each category. 
For more details and to register, contact: +917406495605, 09480499017 or mail in at contact@bengalurufc.com 

Mumbai lifts India Football Tour Championship

Team Mumbai won the national finals of India Football Tour, the official qualifiers of Football Fives World Cup (F5WC), they will be representing India at the F5WC world finals in Beijing, China.

India Football Tour, one of the largest amateur football tournaments in India that has traveled across 8 cities to pick the best amateur teams from the country. The tour started in February 2016 with Delhi and went on to Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Navi Mumbai and Panvel. 

The national finals leg was played in the FSV Arena and had the following team groupings: 

• Group A - Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai
• Group B - Panvel, Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru

Pune and Mumbai qualified from Group A and Delhi and Bengaluru from Group B qualified to the knock-out stage. Semi-finals was played between Pune Vs Delhi and Mumbai Vs Bengaluru. 

In the first semifinal between Mumbai and Bengaluru, the former thrashed the host city 5-1. The other semis witnessed Pune defeating Delhi 2-1, and eventually making it a Maharashtra Derby.  

The mega final saw Mumbai peaking at the right moment on the other side Pune had one of their key players injured during the semifinal against Delhi. Pune tired their best but eventually came out short and Mumbai won with a 4-0 score. 

Various awards were given out at the presentation ceremony. 

• The Best Arena - FSV Arena
• The Best Host City - Delhi
• The Golden Ball - Cajetan Dias, Navi Mumbai
• The Golden Glove - Pulkit, Delhi
• The Best Design Agency - Studio Illuzion

Skill Challenges

• Obstacle Challenge - Nihal, Bengaluru
• Ultimate Precision Challenge - Nihal, Bengaluru
• Goalkeeper Challenge - Goal keepers, Pune, Delhi, and Mumbai 

6th Parikrma Champions League commencing next week

The 6th edition of the U-16 Parikrma Champions League will be played from November 24 thru 26 at the Bangalore Football Stadium. A total of 16 teams, 13 of Bengaluru’s, 1 team from Kerala, and 2 teams from Goa will battle it out for this year’s cup. 

Parikrma Humanity Foundation has always had the enthusiasm for sports, this year the teams will battle it out for the Equality Cup, which that symbolizes the breaking down of social barriers and celebrating the spirit of football in its truest sense. 

CEO of I-League will be inaugurating the tournament. In keeping with the belief of fair play, the players undergo a Bone-density test to determine their ages correctly. 

Matches will be played in knock-out format of 20-20 minutes and the semifinals and final will have 30-30 minute duration.  

[Football Venue] Ekam Sports Arena - Marathahalli

Here is a ground with natural grass for 7 or 5-a-side game. Ekam Sports Arena is located in Marathahalli, about 400 meters from the Spice Garden end of the Marathahalli Bridge. It has a football court with natural grass, ideal for 7 or 5-a-side matches.

Former India international Deepak Mondal joins Ozone, team to play in DSK Cup

In order to bolster defence, BDFA Super Division champion Ozone FC Bengaluru has roped in the dependable Deepak Mondal. A cadet of the Tata Football Academy batch of 1998, Mondal played for the senior national team for 12 years. This will be his 19th season in the domestic scene. Deepak played for East Bengal in the previous season. 

He’s is currently in Pune where Ozone is participating in DSK Cup. Speaking exclusively with GCSStars.com, humble Mondal said he has nothing to prove, especially after playing at the top-level for almost two decade. 

“I love the game, I am a professional player. Ozone is a new team, they’ve made a strong team this year, liked their professional approach. Should be good fun!” added the veteran. 

Ozone kick-off DSK Cup on Thursday

Ozone FC Bengaluru will be travelling to Pune to participate in the third edition of DSK Cup which is starting from tomorrow. 12 teams are divided in 4 groups, Ozone is placed in Group D along with local outfit Deccan Rovers and Salgaocar. 

Ozone’s first match is against Deccan Rovers on November 10 and the last match of the group against Salgaocar on November 14. 

Two teams from each group will at play the knock-out stage. 

Chasing the AFC Cup glory, Bengaluru ready for battle against Air Force Club

Bengaluru FC Media 

It’s been billed as the game that could be the start a revolution for one country and the resurrection of another as JSW Bengaluru FC take on Iraq’s Air Force Club in the final of the AFC Cup to be played at Doha’s Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, today evening. 

After a year of battle that has seen 36 of the top clubs from the continent go head-to-head, the Blues and Air Force Club are the last teams standing in what is a first appearance in the final of an Asian competition for both sides. 

“We’re up against a strong team but it would mean a lot for Indian football if we won the title. That’s a prospect that excites us and will drive us tomorrow. They have scored many goals, have a striker that’s regularly scoring and are physically strong but I’ve told our boys to be ready for battle and we will hope our work ethic gives us a good result,” said BFC coach Albert Roca while addressing the press on the eve of the game. 

Much of the pre-game focus has been on Lalthuammawia Ralte, the Bengaluru ‘keeper who will be playing his first competitive game since turning out for the Blues in a 5-3 home win against Ayeyawady United in the group stages in April this year. Ralte comes in for first-choice Amrinder Singh who misses the big game owing to a suspension. But Roca sounded confident of the shot-stopper from Mizoram who was brilliant in the Blues’ Federation Cup-winning season. “Mawia is a good goalkeeper who has been pushing Amrinder to do well consistently and though he has not featured much this season, he has been a thorough professional at training, which is why we are not the least bit worried about this situation,” he said. 

Suspensions have also hit Air Force who will be without influential midfielder Bashar Rasan Bonyan and defender Samal Saeed. Bonyan picked up a straight red after scoring a brace in Air Force’s 3-2 win over Al-Ahed in the second leg of the semifinal. 

Bengaluru will look to fall back on some inspired performances through their campaign that saw the Blues oust defending champion Johor Darul Ta’zim in the semifinal (4-2) as they come up against a side that has lost just one game in the tournament. The club from Iraq will turn to their talismanic striker Hammadi Ahmad who, with 15 goals from 11 games, is the tournament’s leading goal scorer. 

Roca has a fully fit squad to choose from with the exception of Australian midfielder Cameron Watson who is down with a stomach bug. “Cameron’s been down with a stomach ache but we’re doing all we can to make sure he’s ready for the game,” said Roca.

The Blues are likely to find good support in the stands on Saturday given the large presence of the Indian community in Doha, something Roca said his boys would welcome. “We’ve met so many Indian people since we’ve come here and they have all promised to come out in numbers and back us which is wonderful for the boys.” The game kicks off at 9.30 pm IST and will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and Star HD 1. 

Warm welcome for Bengaluru FC at Doha Airport

AIFF Media
Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC received a warm welcome from Indians staying in Doha as they landed safely at the Hamad International Airport today early morning, 2.30am local time Doha. Caring much about sleep, some 10-15 die-hards were there to welcome the Blues.

JSW Bengaluru FC are the first club team from India who have made it to the AFC Cup Final and will be playing Iraq’s Air Force Club in the final in Doha on November 5, 2016.

Despite the scheduled flight being cancelled, it did not deter the passionate members of Qatar Indian Association, whose four-hour long wait got assuaged finally by the short 'meet n greet' session with the JSW Bengaluru FC contingent.

"We got to know that their scheduled flight was cancelled but there was no question of going back from the Airport without welcoming our heroes,” Mr. Safeer, General Secretary, Qatar Indian Association for Sports and Games (QIA) voiced his passion.

Coach Albert Roca seemed overwhelmed seeing the spillover of enthusiasm amongst the Indians staying in Qatar as he opined: "It was a long and tiring journey but to be greeted by the members of the Indian community despite the late arrival was very heartening to see. I hope they turn out in big numbers on matchday and motivate the boys even more"

Team Captain Sunil Chhetri, also the Indian with the highest number of goals in International Football was not surprisingly the crowd favourite. Chhetri who Captained India to the SAFF Cup Gold in January earlier this year was seen posing with the fans at the airport as well prior to leaving for the Team Hotel.

"Tomorrow, I'll show this photograph to my colleagues and definitely they'll envy me. I'll cherish this for my lifetime,” another member of the association quipped when asked about the 'selfie-session' with the 'Captain Marvel.’

“He is our National Team Captain. He Captains India,” there was pride in his voice.