We did good recruitment, getting exactly the players we wanted to sign,’ Gerard Zaragoza on building Bengaluru FC’s title contender squad

by Chittu Shetty November 12, 2024

Bengaluru FC have been on an absolute roll in Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25, topping the league table at the end of the second international break with 17 points from eight matches, thanks to five victories and two draws to their name.

They have conceded the least strikes (6) in the whole league and have the best goal difference amongst all teams (+7). The revamp that began in January with the arrival of seasoned India internationals such as Chinglensana Singh and Nikhil Poojary was strengthened in the summer with star-studded acquisitions of Rahul Bheke, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alberto Noguera, Edgar Mendez, amongst others.

The Gerard Zaragoza-coached unit have settled seamlessly into his philosophy, taking gradual steps week after week to take Bengaluru FC back to the glory days that saw them lift their maiden ISL trophy in 2018-19. The current squad has a fine blend of players from that squad – such as Bheke, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Sunil Chhetri, along with Zaragoza himself, who was the assistant to Carles Cuadrat in their title-winning run. Moreover, the Blues have performed a remarkable turnaround from last time, when they finished at a lowly 10th position in the league standings, by sitting at the summit after the first eight matchweeks this season.

“I have a more attacking philosophy”

Furthermore, fresh faces such as Diaz (one goal), Mendez (three goals, two assists), Noguera (one goal), Ryan Williams (one goal), have chipped in with valuable contributions to help them clinch crucial victories consistently. Zaragoza reflected on the transfer activity and his desire to replicate the 2018-19 success with the Blues in a conversation with the ISL.

“We did good recruitment, getting exactly the players we wanted to sign. For a coach, that’s amazing. The sporting director, owner, and everyone concerned is doing their job, giving us our time to show (our potential),” Zaragoza said.

He added, “It was amazing to be the assistant coach in 2018-19 when we were champions, and finally when you are the champions, everything is nice. Cuadrat is a very good friend. We were in touch all this while. I consider myself to be a more attacking coach. Under him, we worked more on our defensive structures. In that time, we had players like Rahul (Bheke), Nishu (Kumar), Juanan – and we worked a lot in that part to hold the structure of the team. I learnt that from him.”

“We can reach the heights of 2018-19”

For Bheke, since moving to Bengaluru FC from Mumbai City FC, he has assumed a similar responsibility at the back. The defender has been integral in building up play, averaging 47 passes per game at 88% accuracy – making six blocks, winning nine tackles, completing 10 interceptions, 32 recoveries and clearances each, in addition to finding the back of the net once. The player, however, does not find much of a difference between his role here and at Mumbai City FC, where he helped them win the ISL Cup by beating Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the final in 2023-24.

For starters, he is a strong believer of the team being in strong contention for the championship this term.

“Surely we can reach those heights in the 2018-19 season. We are progressing upwards as a team. You can see that right from the Durand Cup that the team is on the right track. In the coming games, I think we will do much better,” he added.

“My role at Bengaluru FC is similar to what I played at Mumbai City FC. The only difference is that I was playing as a right-back and now I am playing as a centre-back which I am used to. A defender wants a clean sheet and that’s what we are fighting for (in every match),” he said.

“I really want to win something with this club”

Whilst there’s an established love and respect amongst the aforementioned Bengaluru FC figures for the club, stars like Ryan Williams who joined the team only last year have also developed a fine admiration for the setup. Williams, donning the No. 7 jersey for the Blues, ensured that the Blues snatched a point from a difficult encounter against NorthEast United FC at home last week as he came off the bench to score a cracking 70th minute equaliser.

It was Williams’ fourth strike for Bengaluru FC in the ISL, having averaged 3.1 touches in the opposition’s box, 1.22 key passes, 14.77 successful passes, 3.88 victorious duels, 4.22 recoveries, and a 33.33% goal conversion rate in the competition for the Blues across his two seasons so far. After a disappointing 10th-place finish in 2023-24, Williams is keen to correct those wrongs this year.

“I really want to win something with this club. This club does mean a lot to me. It’s the first place I came to when I arrived in India. They gave me my opportunity here. I love the people. I love the city. My family loves being here. We are settled in well. I want to bring the joy back to the city. It has been well documented that last season wasn’t our best season – not the kind of season that you think of, when you think of Bengaluru FC. So, we want to correct that right this year,” Williams said.

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