Always Vocal About Everything To Do With Bengaluru FC, Club CEO Parth Jindal Spoke To The Club Website About A Tough Season, His Appreciation For The Way The Fans Have Stood By The Team And How He Cannot Imagine A BFC Season Without Asian Competition. Excerpts…
On what’s been a tough season so far for the Blues…
It’s been a strange season and not the easiest to deal with given the kind of success we have always been used to. But football has taught us enough to realise that there will be phases where things get tough. What is encouraging and important though is the willingness of the team to put this run behind and get the season back on track.
A word on the fans and their support
I can understand how frustrating it must be for our fans and I cannot thank them enough for what has been a tremendous show of support for the club. They have stood by the team and staff through a tough phase and that says a lot about how much this club means to them. I want to assure them that the club is doing everything possible to give them the results they deserve.
The positives so far…
I’m really excited to see how the youngsters have been stepping up and delivering at every chance they have got. Udanta, Ranjan, Daniel – they have all been working so hard and it’s pleasing to see their progress. They have matured so much from the time they played their first game for Bengaluru FC. We’ve been really unlucky with injuries in the left-back position but it’s been amazing to see how Nishu has shouldered the responsibility. He was so impressive in the game away to Chennai and if he keeps at it I’m sure he will be a force to reckon with. I’m also thrilled that as many as seven Bengaluru boys have made the national team for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Bengaluru FC was founded with the idea of being a feeder club for the national team and I think we have been doing consistently well in delivering what we set out to.
More young blood…
While the season may be on we are already looking at all possible areas to add to and strengthen the team. We’ve begun scouting for more youngsters who we can bring to Bengaluru FC and further hone. The technical staff has been keeping a keen eye on the ongoing Santosh Trophy and I’m eager to see what they return with. While there is a lot left to play for this season, we’ve already begun charting our course for the season ahead.
On the goals for the remainder of the season…
While we are focused on developing players, we also want to win every competition we take part in. Our position in the League makes it almost impossible to retain the title but we want to finish as high as we can. We’ve got our AFC Cup campaign off to the perfect start and the immediate goal is to get out of the group stages. Then there is the Federation Cup that we want to bring back to Bengaluru. Importantly, we want to do everything to secure another season in AFC competition. I cannot imagine a Bengaluru FC season without AFC games in it!
I’ve said this many times before but will say it again, the ultimate dream would be to win the League with 11 Indian players on the field.
