Carles Cuadrat: Indian players getting minutes good sign for Indian football

The Bengaluru FC head coach spoke ahead of his side's clash against Chennaiyin FC on Friday.

One would have been forgiven for seeing Bengaluru FC at the top end of the Indian Super League (ISL) table at the start of any campaign However, this time around the Blues are on the back of two draws leading into a tough encounter against Chennayin FC. Coach Carles Cuadrat was a figure of calm as he so often is, but also did not shy away from indicating where they have lacked in the last few games. 

“Everybody in the camp is on the same wavelength. We have a clear plan and we are showing the same consistency in following this plan. For a brief period against FC Goa, we had a few difficult moments, otherwise we were in control. In both cases (Goa and Hyderabad FC), the opposition did not create chances,” observed the Spaniard. 

“But, we know that we have to arrive at the box for the final pass and we may not have taken good decisions in the final part of the pitch. We will get that momentum with each passing game,” assured Cuadrat. 

The coach confirmed that the team is regaining much-needed physical fitness given the significantly shortened pre-season, especially for the foreign players and that he had a fully fit squad to choose from. 

“Normally, we have 4-5 games in the pre-season. We did not have that this time. It is the same for all teams. We hope for our best performance in the coming games,” said the Blues coach. 

“Some of the players have been in training for two months, namely the Indian contingent. The foreigners will take some time. We are working hard to get them ready to full strength as soon as possible. We have closer matches now. Sometimes, matches give you that extra preparation that you need. I hope in the next few games we see a stronger team,” he went on to add. 

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Two of their new attacking signings in Cleiton Silva and Kristian Opseth are yet to hit the ground running, even though Silva opened the Blues’ account for the campaign against Goa. Carles Cuadrat explained that the highly-reduced preparation time for the foreign contingent is a significant reason for this. 

“I am happy with Cleiton and Kristian. When you ask a player to give his best with 10 days training, it's something you should be happy about. Some players may ask for more time to settle given this short time. Cleiton and Kristian have given consistency to the team and they are giving everything to the team in conditions they were not ready for.” 

The Spaniard knows that Chennaiyin are not an easy opposition, despite their southern neighbours undergoing a host of changes themselves. 

“We are expecting a tough game. They have brought on some good foreign signings. They have a strong Indian contingent who have been in business for a long time. The players that have been learning in India for the last 3-4 years are getting minutes and it is a good sign for Indian football. Like for us, we have Ashique (Kuruniyan) and Suresh (Singh Wangjam), who joined us last season and they have had good number of minutes under them,” Carles Cuadrat signed off.