'I want leaders' - Gerard Zaragoza sheds light on Bengaluru FC's potential signings for next season

Gerard Zaragoza is aiming to end Bengaluru FC’s season on a high.

Bengaluru FC are set to face Mohun Bagan at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on April 11th, Thursday, marking the Blues’ final home fixture of the campaign in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 season. The Blues have unfortunately been eliminated from playoff contention following their disappointing 2-1 loss against East Bengal.

Gerard Zaragoza’s side has nothing to gain from this match in terms of tangible outcomes. Nevertheless, they will be determined to conclude a rollercoaster season on a positive note, instilling them with optimism and assurance as they prepare for the upcoming campaign. After Zaragoza’s takeover, the Blues remained unbeaten in their last six matches that they played in their fortress.

Expectations from last game of the season

Despite being out of the playoffs race, the manager remains resolute in their pursuit of success, having suffered only one defeat at home this season. When asked about the expectations from the last game of the season, the coach said, “We want to win. It’s still an important game for us even though we are out of the playoffs race. In front of our supporters, this season we have lost only one match at home. We have a nice home record and since I took over, we have four clean-sheets and our idea tomorrow is to take the three points.”

Rollercoaster season

The Bengaluru FC boss talked about the misfortunes of the season adressing it to be not as good as they expected. But he also mentioned about how they are looking forward in terms of bringing in changes for the next season. The manager said, “Of course it was not a great season. We cannot say that it is a good season when we haven’t qualified for the playoffs. The reality is that we need to improve our away games.”

He further said, “But I think that the five games that we played under me, there are some details that decided the games. But the other ones, there are some details that could change the game and that too in our favour. But finally, football is like this. If we do better away from home next season, we are going to be better. We are going to fight for better things.”

Eyes ahead on the next season

Gerard Zaragoza is brimming with optimism for the upcoming season, eager to reverse the team’s misfortunes from this campaign. Discussing the exciting developments for the upcoming season, the manager provided insight into some changes he plans to implement.

He said, “I want leaders; players who enter the field with their faces ready and win the game with their body language. We had this in the past with players like Miku, Dimas (Delgado), (Rahul) Bheke, (Erik) Paartalu. These are characters that other players are scared to face, and that’s important. This is something we need to work on with the new signings we’ll have.”

Ryan Williams’ words

Ryan Williams spoke about leadership in the team. He stated, “Everyone needs to be a leader, although the captain wears the armband. We need everyone contributing in their own ways. Some people lead by example, some lead with their voice, a lot of people lead on the training ground. So collectively, if we can do that, we’ll be in a much better place next season.”

Williams discussed his aspirations and expectations for the upcoming season and also shed light on how the team will be aiming to earn three points from tomorrow’s game. He commented, “Next season is something we are really looking forward to. For us it’s more than the top-six, it’s higher than that. We’re not looking to qualify for just top-six, I don’t think that’s good enough for BFC. Currently, the objective is to win tomorrow and give our fans something to cheer about and hopefully that brings them back next season.”

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