BENGALURU: In the last four years, Bengaluru FC have scripted a pretty inspiring story for Indian football fans with four titles and a runners-up finish in the AFC Cup. Their tale suggests big dominance. But they did have minor flaws. Despite having an impressive squad, they were not so fluent in terms of scoring, during that phase. Barring skipper Sunil Chhetri, who has been carrying the club’s goal-scoring duties for the last four years, BFC’s attacking force hasn’t been top notch. Despite being their top scorer each year, Chhetri has also been losing his edge with age.
Also, the initiative to reinforce the department hasn’t been very successful. Apart from Australian Sean Rooney during Ashley Westwood days, BFC’s foreign attackers have struggled.
With BFC entering a new and more competitive version of ISL, the issue needed to be addressed. While Kerala Blasters and ATK opted for marquee strikers in Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, BFC coach decided to go with Venezuelan Nicolas Fedor (Miku). The 32-year-old, a product of the Valencia youth academy, has spent almost his entire career in Spain with the most recent being his two-year spell at Rayo Vallecano.
Miku isn’t one of the big names in the league, but what he offers is what BFC need the most — a perfect No 9, who can work with Chhetri. And the new man has already settled in well. “When I arrived in India, I had no idea about how they play. I just heard three names —Sunil, Udanta (Singh) and Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu) who were top players. But when I started playing with them, I got to know about their abilitites,” Miku said. “With Sunil, I’ve already built a good partnership. We both know that we need each other’s support, that’s what the coach said on the first day.”
But from Spanish league to India, the transition hasn’t been that easy. He struggled to adapt to the style, where the game is more physical. Added to that, he had to adjust to the cultural differences. “Here almost everything is different — the language, the culture, food. Then, there is the style of play. The two friendlies we played, I struggled, as the defenders were more physical. I like to maintain a distance of at least 2-3 metres to play freely. That’s something I’m still working on.”
However, Miku, who is one of ISL’s top earners, is not new to the country. He was a member of the Venezuela team that played a friendly against Argentina at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in 2011. “ISL is a growing league and has a large viewership. That’s what attracted me the most. So when the offer from Bengaluru FC came in, it wasn’t a very difficult choice. I had heard about BFC when they reached the AFC Cup final. I also talked to the Spanish players here and I think it’s a good step for me at this stage of my career. It will be a new challenge,” he said.
Sandhu replaces Ralte
India’s No 1 goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who signed for BFC from Norwegian club Stabaek FC, will replace an injured Lalthuammawia Ralte in BFC’s ISL squad. Ralte sprained his ankle during training and will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Sandhu, who was expected to make his ISL debut in January, will now start the league as the club’s first-choice custodian against Mumbai City FC.
krishnendu@newindianexpress.com