Bengaluru FC are Durand Cup champions

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC added yet another piece of silverware to an already impressive collection when they were crowned champions of the historic Durand Cup, beating Mumbai City FC 2-1, at the Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Sunday. Sivasakthi Narayanan (11’) opened the scoring for Bengaluru early with a delightful take, before Apuia Ralte’s (30’) tap-in from close saw Mumbai draw level. But Alan Costa’s (61’) thumping header from a corner was enough to see Simon Grayson begin his reign as Bengaluru manager with a title. 

Grayson made two changes to the side that took on Hyderabad FC in the semifinal as Sivasakthi replaced Rohit Kumar, while Alan Costa started ahead of Parag Shrivas at the back. Des Buckingham recalled the services of Apuia, while Greg Stewart and Lallianzuala Chhangte continued in attack.

Bengaluru started the stronger of the two outfits, and scored with what was their first chance of the game. Aleksandar Jovanovic, spotting Sivasakthi with a chance to run at the Islanders backline, lifted a punt over the top that Mourtada Fall missed. Sensing the opportunity, Sivasakthi continued his run and nudged the Senegalese defender out of the way, before lobbing a mature finish over Phurba Lachenpa to put his side in the lead.

Grayson’s side attacked with intent down both flanks as Naorem Roshan Singh and Prabir Das stretched play at every opportunity. Ahmed Jahouh had Mumbai’s first chance, with his effort from distance flying off target, before Buckhingham’s side found the equalizer through Apuia on the half hour mark.  

Stewart’s quick free-kick allowed Mumbai a shot on target that Gurpreet Singh Sandhu managed to parry. However, Apuia was alert to the danger and managed to slot home on the rebound past Sandesh Jhingan’s attempted last-ditch challenge.

Only eight minutes later, Sivasakthi almost reclaimed the lead for Bengaluru after Alan Costa’s header from a corner fell to Roy Krishna. The Fiji International’s shot found its way to Sivasakthi, who attempted a flicked finish, but Jahouh hooked away off the line to keep things level. 

Into the second period, Bengaluru had the first chance when Sivasakthi forced Lachenpa into a wayward pass that Chhetri intercepted before feeding Krishna in space. Krishna’s attempt from distance seemed to be heading toward goal, but for Mumbai defender Royston Griffiths, who nodded over.

The Blues continued to push forward in search of the lead and almost found it when Jayesh Rane’s deft chip found Chhetri unmarked in the box. The skipper took a touch and composed himself, but his shot was met by a fine save from Lachenpa. From the resulting corner, however, Bengaluru would retake their lead.

Chhetri’s delivery, floated in with pace, was met by a thumping header from Brazilian defender Costa, which flew past Lachenpa and gave Grayson’s side the lead once again. Costa would be replaced soon after, as Grayson rang a first change of the evening, introducing Parag Shrivas.

Into the final quarter, the hosts rang in two changes as Fall and Vinit Rai were replaced by Alberto Noguera and Mehtab Singh. Bengaluru had a chance to put the game to bed in the 87th minute when Chhetri was found in the box by Sivasakthi, but the skipper, who managed to skip past two defenders, saw his effort fly over the bar.

Into added time, Mumbai almost drew level through Stewart, who managed to get a shot away but it rolled off target. The Blues return to Indian Super League action next, where they begin with a clash against NorthEast United at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on October 8th.

Bengaluru to conclude AFC Cup campaign with clash against Maziya S&RC

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC will look to end their AFC Cup campaign on a good note when they take on Maldivian side Maziya S&RC at the National Stadium, in Male, on Tuesday. Although both sides are out of the running for the knockout stages of the competition, there’s much to play for with a win potentially lifting the Blues to second place on the group, while defeat will mean a bottom-placed finish.

“It’s true that Maziya have played two games and lost both, but we need to respect them as a team. We need to focus on our style and do our best against them. From the game against Tribhuvan Army FC in April to the one against Bashundhara Kings on Saturday, we have made several steps forward. Ours is a young team and we are looking to progress with each game we play,” Pezzaiuoli said.

The Blues fell 2-0 to Mohun Bagan in their opening group stage clash before a goalless draw against Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings on Saturday. Despite the stalemate confirming their elimination from the tournament, Pezzaiuoli maintained that his side were eager to finish on a high.

“In football it’s not always about winning. Yes, we wanted to do well in the AFC Cup but it wasn’t to be. It was tough to accept, but we trained this morning and I saw good team spirit and mentality from my players. We are eager to do well and finish on a good note against Maziya,” the Italian added.

The Blues’ boss confirmed that winger Ashique Kuruniyan would continue to miss out, having suffered an ankle injury in their playoff clash against Club Eagles. In a bid to give minutes to different players across positions, Pezzaiuoli handed debuts to summer signings Danish Farooq, Bidyashagar Singh, Rohit Kumar, Jayesh Rane, Alan Costa and Sarthak Golui in the first two group stage games. B Team graduate Sivasakthi Narayanan also clocked his first minutes for the senior team. 

Maziya, who began their AFC Cup group stage with a 2-0 loss to Bashundhara Kings, fell 3-1 to Mohun Bagan on Saturday, confirming their elimination from the tournament. The Blues have faced Maziya six times in the AFC Cup, winning on four occasions, and losing twice.

Kick-off at the National Stadium, in Male, is scheduled for 9.30 pm IST and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports Network, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.

Bengaluru bow out of AFC Cup with a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings

Bengaluru FC Media 

Marco Pezzaiuoli’s Bengaluru FC side bowed out of the reckoning in the group stages of the 2021 AFC Cup, following a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings, at the National Stadium in Male, on Saturday. The result meant the Blues stayed third in Group D with one point, while Bashundhara climbed to the top with four points, ahead of ATK Mohun Bagan’s late clash against Maziya S&RC.

Pezzaiuoli made three changes to the team that faced ATK Mohun Bagan, with Parag Shrivas, Danish Farooq and Bidyashagar Singh replacing Sarthak Golui, Ajay Chhetri and Udanta Singh. At the other end, Oscar Bruzon fielded an unchanged side from Bashundhara's 2-0 win over Maziya S&RC.

The Blues started the game on the front foot, and the first good chance came with just five minutes on the clock when Danish's lob picked out Bidyashagar's run, and the youngster's shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Bashundhara skipper Topu Barman. Jayesh Rane's effort from the rebound rolled wide.

Bashundhara won a free-kick on the edge of the box in the 15th minute after Danish tripped Barman, but Suresh intercepted Robinho's pass and made sure the set piece came to nothing. Naorem Roshan Singh’s long diagonal in the 21st minute found Cleiton Silva, but the Brazilian’s attempted give and go with Bidyashagar found the winger crowded out by the Bashundhara defence. From that move, the Bangladesh side went on a counter-attack that forced Musavu-King into a tackle that saw him pick up the game’s first yellow card.

Three minutes later, Cleiton’s ball into the box was met by a diving Yrondu Musavu-King, whose header was straight into Bashundhara ’keeper Anisur Rahman’s gloves. At the other end, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did well to get his palms to Jonathan Reis’ effort from well outside the box, to push away Bashundhara’s hopes of a first half goal.

On the stroke of halftime, Pezzaiuoli made the first substitution of the game, bringing on Sarthak in place of Parag. The Blues then had the final chance before the break, when Tariq Raihan Kazi tugged Cleiton back to give away a freekick and pick up a yellow card. The Brazilian’s effort was blocked and Bidyashagar’s shot from the rebound sailed high and wide.

Bashundhara made a change of their own on the other side of the break as Mohammad Ibrahim replaced Mahbubur Rahman. The visitors came close to taking the lead in the 57th minute through Brazilian winger Robinho, whose effort deflected off Gurpreet’s foot and was sailing goalward until Roshan cleared with an acrobatic effort. The ball almost spun back in before Gurpreet pushed away with an outstretched arm.

Attacking with intent, the Blues came close on several occasions. Cleiton skipped past his marker in the 72nd minute and saw his low cross was blocked by Topu. Only minutes later, Alan Costa’s header from Cleiton’s corner deflected off the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal line, before ’keeper Anisur managed to collect.

The Blues had a flurry of late chances as they looked to break the deadlock, with Cleiton involved in the thick of things. The Brazilian’s deflected shot was pushed away by Anisur in the 82nd minute, and Chhetri was first to get the rebound. With the ’keeper off his line, Chhetri found Rane unmarked, but the midfielder’s effort was blocked by Topu. Minutes later, Leon tried to turn Kazi in the box but the defender stood his ground and did enough to block the winger’s attempted shot.

Pezzaiuoli’s final throw of the dice saw B-Team graduate Sivasakthi Narayanan make his debut, replacing Suresh, but it wasn’t enough as both sides took a point each in their penultimate group stage game. 

The Blues will be back in action on August 24, at the same venue, when they take on Maziya S&RC in their final Group D game.

Bengaluru FC squad for AFC Cup playoff clash against Club Eagles, Maldives

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC, on Monday, announced their 29-man squad for the 2021 AFC Cup playoff against Maldivian side Club Eagles, on August 15. Skipper Sunil Chhetri will lead the side, which includes as many as seven new signings. 

Defenders Alan Costa, Yrondu Musavu-King and Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva make up the Blues’ foreign contingent, which also features six new Indian signings in Harmanpreet Singh, Jayesh Rane, Bidyashagar Singh, Sarthak Golui, Danish Farooq and Rohit Kumar.

The graduates from the club’s reserve side include goalkeeper Sharon Padattil, midfielder Muhammad Inayath, as well as strikers Akashdeep Singh and Sivasakthi Narayanan, who finished as top scorer in the Blues’ BDFA Super Division League campaign.

The Blues’ playoff clash against Club Eagles will take place at the National Stadium, in Maldives, on August 15. Victory in the playoff will send the Blues into Group D, which includes Indian Super League side ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings (Bangladesh) and Maziya S&RC (Maldives).

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Lara Sharma, Sharon Padattil

Defenders: Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang, Ajith Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Parag Shrivas, Yrondu Musavu-King, Biswa Darjee, Alan Costa, Sarthak Golui

Midfielders: Suresh Wangjam, Namgyal Bhutia, Jayesh Rane, Danish Farooq, Rohit Kumar, Muhammad Inayath, Ajay Chhetri

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Cleiton Silva, Leon Augustine, Naorem Roshan Singh, Bidyashagar Singh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Akashdeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh

Head Coach: Marco Pezzaiuoli

Assistant Coach: Naushad Moosa

 

 

Bengaluru sign Brazilian defender Alan Costa on loan from Avaí FC

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC, on Tuesday, announced that Brazilian defender Alan Henrique Costa had signed on a two-year loan deal from Campeonato Brasileiro Série B side, Avaí Futebol Clube. Thirty-year-old Costa, who stands at 6’4”, is the Blues’ second foreign acquisition under Marco Pezzaiuoli after Gabonese defender Yrondu Musavu-King signed a new two-year deal on Saturday.

Having begun his career in the youth ranks of Ferroviária in Brasil, Costa had stints at Palmeiras, Internacional and Coritiba, and loan spells at Sao Bento and Vitoria, before joining Avaí in 2020.

Costa, a native of Araraquara, has spent the entirety of his professional career thus far in Brazil, and expressed excitement at his move to Bengaluru. “I’m really happy to have signed for Bengaluru FC and I have good expectations about Indian football. I didn’t know too much about the Indian Super League, but I have friends who have played here, who have only great things to say,” said Costa, after completing the formalities on his loan deal.

Costa, who lifted the Campeonato Catarinense State Championship with Avaí in May, winning 3-2 against defending champions Chapecoense over a two-legged final, said he was looking forward to the move, and to do well for the Blues. 

“The new project at BFC is one that excites me, and I am eager to repay the trust of those who showed the faith to bring me here. I am aware that the club hasn’t had a great run of late, but I want to show my experience and make sure that this season is different,” Costa added.

Bengaluru ran out 5-0 winners over Tribhuvan Army FC in a Preliminary Stage Two clash of the AFC Cup in April, in what was Marco Pezzaiuoli’s first game in charge. The Italian said that Costa’s presence and leadership could prove vital to his squad.

“I’m happy to welcome Alan to Bengaluru FC. I think he is a very important player on the pitch and has a commanding personality off it. He is a natural leader and has captained teams that he has been part of in the past,” said Pezzaiuoli.

Incidentally, Costa scored his first goal of the Brasileiro Série B season in a 3-1 win against Londrina Esporte Clube, on Thursday. “Alan’s quality with the ball is very impressive and he has been scoring goals over the last few seasons which makes him a very interesting player to have. His presence will definitely improve the overall quality of the team and I wish him success on his new journey with us,” added Pezzaiuoli.