Bengaluru FC, The history Makers

Bengaluru FC, CK Vineeth, Football, Bengaluru, Bangalore, Bengaluru FC, Indian Football, AFC Cup, Johor Darul Taksim, Malaysia

Pic Credit : JSW Media

Fans were cheering and dressed in blue as the teams walked into the stadium. Albert Roca’s men dressed in blue (home jersey) and the Malaysian side were in their red shirts.A goalless draw would take the home team to the finals. The Malaysian side have never lost to the Indian side in their 4 meetings against them , BFC managed to walk home with a draw in their last meeting.
Peeeep!!! The match started with Bengaluru driving forward , the home advantage has given the blue’s much needed confidence. Blues dominated  the field as Rino Anto troubled the JDT defense with his quality crosses . Both teams played good football , it was a delight to watch both the sides attacking each others goal .Against the run of play the visitors pierced Bengaluru’s net in the 11th minute through their captain,  Safiq Rahim as he scored from the close range.

The goal certainly  made the home team restless as they looked dangerous at the opponent half . They had chances to score the equaliser , but the home team was more interested in wasting the chances rather than scoring from it. On the other hand Roca’s men in  looked dangerous on the break ,but their efforts lacked quality to test the keeper. Bengaluru was desperate to make the score level before the break and their moment came in the 40th minute as the captain Sunil Chhetri headed home the equaliser from Eugenson Lyngdoh’s corner. There were some odd efforts on either ends but the efforts were not enough to break the deadlock. As referee pointed to the half time scores were equal.

The second half began with the same intensity but this time the away team were dominating the field with their possession and their team play , as they were closing down too quickly on BFC players.JDT  made the first substitution of the match and were  bossing the midfield areas .Meanwhile home team looked  dangerous on break and they got in front in the 66th minute . The captain stepped up again , Chhetri scored a 30 yard stunner from outside the box with his right foot . Few minutes later Bengaluru side extended their lead through Juan Antonio as he headed home the 3rd goal from a typical Eugenson Lyngdoh’s freekick. JDT put their bodies forward to make a come back but the home teams defense stood as rock. All the attacks by the away team was knocked off by the Bangaluru defense.Referee signaled the end of the match after a tough 90 minutes and the stadium erupted.

A Historic achievement , Bengaluru FC has made it to the finals of AFC cup, Proud moment for Indian football .The Iraqi Air force Club awaits them in the finals.Surely the newbie of Indian football made us proud.

Match Report by Jithin Baby. Follow his blog here : https://jithinbabymulackampilly.wordpress.com

BOCA JUNIORS FOOTBALL SCHOOL INDIA TO PLAY UNDER 15 I-LEAGUE

Boca Juniors Football Schools, bangalore, UNDER 15, I-league, Youth, Soccer, Bangalore, Bengaluru, GrassrootsBoca Juniors Football School India (BJFSI), the premier football training academy in Bangalore has confirmed their participation in the inaugural edition of AIFF Under 15 I-League.  This participation comes as a consequent of successful completion by Boca Juniors Football School India of the AIFF Academy Certification Program introduced earlier during the year.

BJFSI will be participating in the Under 15 I-League under Rest of India Group and the first round of matches likely to be scheduled during January 2016.

“We are delighted to achieve this milestone through our organised approach and training framework under professional and qualified coaches. This will be fantastic platform for the boys to get exposed to competitive football environment in India. We applaud AIFF on their initiative to launch Under 15 Youth League “said Petros Sideris, Technical Director, BJFSI

WC Qualifiers 2018- India Vs Oman: Why the tie promises to be a humdinger!

India, Oman, World Cup, Qualifier, 2018, Russia, Football, Soccer, Asia, AFC, bangalore, Kyazzonga, Sunil Chhetri, Subrata Pal, Al HabsiHere is a preview by Sumit Bhattacharya

The countdown has begun.

11th of June 2015. 19:00Hrs.Bengaluru.India Vs Oman. First match in the second round of WC 2018 Qualifiers for India. It is going to be a crunch tie for India from many angles. The big question is, can India defeat Oman or at least snatch a point?!Let us examine.

 

History:

 

From a nondescript history, Oman rocket-blasted into the Asian football horizon only in the 1990s. Indian football on the other hand plummeted into the bottom of its history roughly during the same period.

The current FIFA ranking of Oman and India are 101 and 141 respectively. India faced the Red warriors twice in WC qualifiers in 2004.Oman won the away match 5-1 but India managed to pull off a draw in the away match 0-0.The most recent encounter was in 2012 when India was again thrashed 5-1.

However for the past few months, Oman is not in its best of forms. It was battered in the Asian cup 2015 in January by Asian power houses. In preparatory friendlies, Oman was held to a goalless draw by a lower ranked Bahrain on 3th May  and on 5th June, another lower ranked Syria beat Oman 2-1. What it signifies that Oman has still some distance to go to be the best even in Asia. A glance at the social networking sites of Omani football will reveal widespread resentment against the French coach. Some fans even predicted a win for India. (https://www.facebook.com/OmanNationalFootballTeam/timeline)

Meanwhile team India is on an upswing and has improved a lot since they last played Oman. Most of the sloths and technically amateurish players, blessed by the previous coach have been replaced by a far fitter and faster lot of hungry youngsters who are hardly afraid of anyone on ground.

So the match is likely to be played without the baggage of history  and would definitely be a test of character for the boys in Blue.

 

Indian football reloaded:

 

Till date, National team fixtures normally meant no live telecast, sparse crowd consisting mostly of media and security personnel with a few hundred diehard fans. However this time it is a different story altogether. The amount of excitement and enthusiasm that is being witnessed about this match at Bengaluru is unprecedented. The minuscule number of fans who believed that India could make it big in football is growing exponentially each passing day. After the glitzy inaugural edition of the hugely popular Indian Super League and a far improved I-league 2015, expectation is running high. Thousands of guys are hoping against hope for a miracle win by the blue tigers. Sony Six has started airing promos for the match. Various online forums are abuzz with the selection of team and team composition Tickets sales have started online and one is expected to have a full house at Sree Kanteerava stadium. If so, then it will indicate how popular the game of football has really become in cricket crazy India.

 

Home advantage:

 

Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Oman has a capacity of around 34k.All the other stadiums have capacities of less than 15k to below 10k.So it is pretty safe to assume that most of Oman’s players are not used to playing in front of huge crowds. Thus a vociferous, hostile crowd of over 20 thousand might prove to be a factor in a crunch game like this. High humidity of Bengaluru is also going to be a crucial factor. Playing surface of Sree Kateerava is an area of concern for Oman too. Team manager Mohammed Al Alawi had visited the Stadium recently and found the surface “uneven and bumpy”. However all the Indian players are well versed with pitch which will be an added advantage for India.

So it remains to be seen how far India can exploit the home conditions.

Team Oman vis-à-vis team India:

Physicality:

Traditionally West Asian teams are physically stronger than their Indian counter parts. However Oman is an exception. A closer look will reveal that this Indian team has players equally well built if not stronger.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu -1.97 m, Arnab Mandal- 1.79m,  Sandesh Jhingan  1.88m, Dhanachandra Singh- 1.80m, Rino Anto- 1.74m, Dhanpal Ganesh- 1.85m,Robin Singh-1.85m, Lalchhuan Mawia- 1.82, Gurwinder Singh-1.83m , Saityasen Singh -1.78m,Augustin Fernandes- 1.79m,Holicharan Narzary -1.79m are all tall enough to match most of their opponents. Here is a view of Oman player’s heights:

GK-Ali Al Habsi(1.84m),Al Busaidi(1.73m) – Al Musalami (1.75m)–Sallam Amur – Ali Salim(1.65m), Eid Mohammed(1.83m) – Ahmed Kano(1.79m), Raed Ibrahim(1.78m) – Al Hosni(1.81m) – Qasim Said(1.78m), Al Muqbali(1.81m)

 

Department of Fitness:

Fitness of Indian players has always been an area of concern. However with the improvement of training facilities and introduction of professional trainers, team India has made remarkable progress. As evident from the matches against Nepal or the recently held AFC cup matches. Indian players appeared far fitter than their predecessors. They ran full throttle till the very end. Jackichand Singh, Saityasen Singh, Eugensen Lyngdoh,Sandesh Jhingan or Sehnaj Singh can be as fast as anybody. So this time Oman just might find it tough to run past the Indians unlike previous matches.

Game plan:

Anyone watching I-league 2015 or The ISL season#1 will vouch for the improvements of Indian players as far as the passing or ball possession is concerned. The Omanis are known to play short passes too. It will be really interesting to see how the battle of midfield goes. Expect an all out battle as India is expected to go for pressing football to break up the rhythm of Omanis. Oman, if put under pressure is prone to leaving a lot of open spaces for the opponents. It remains to be seen how Mr. Constantine and his boys take advantage of these loopholes.

Former France international Paul Le Guen, in charge of team Oman, has come under fierce criticism off late for Oman’s recent performances. He has made quite a few changes from the squad which took part in Asian Cup in Januray 2015. Regulars like Jaber Al Owaisi(DF), Al Shatri(DMF),Hassan Mudhafar(LB), Yaqoob Abdul Karim(FW) and Said Al Ruzaiqi(FW) have been axed.

Anyway India needs to watch out for the striker Abdul Aziz Al Muqbali, the set piece master Ahmed ‘Kano’ Mubarak, nippy young wingers, Raed Ibrahim and Qasim Said. Experienced customer  Ahmed ‘Kano’ Mubarak is another threat who gets dangerous during his attacking forays.

Meanwhile India would be relying on Mr. Ever Dependable Sunil Chhetri and the brute strength of the mercurial Robin Singh with Saityasen and Jackichand Singh providing ample support. Defence looks solid but availability of the emerging star Sandesh Jhingan might be a dampener as he is carrying a shoulder injury. However the sturdy Dhanachandra Singh’s role will be most crucial along with that of the big kid, Dhanpal Ganesh for quick overlaps and breaking of Oman’s flow. The extremely talented Eugeneson Lyngdoh will have to carry the mantel of midfield.

 

Parting notes:

Oman is obviously the favorite to win the tie. However rest assured that India will come hard at them. It is   going to be a test for Mr. Constantine’s acumen as his team selection, leaving out Romeo or Brandon Fernandes and benching Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, has come under a lot of criticism from the fans. If Oman fumbles a bit and India puts up an above par show then an upset win is not all that impossible for India though even a draw is being considered by many to be a respectable result. If so then this surely will be a watershed moment for Indian football.

Official – Bengaluru FC recruit striking duo

By Sunil A Markal

I-League runners-up Bengaluru FC have confirmed the signings of attacking duo Kim Seng-Yong and SeiminlenDoungel from Royal Wahingdoh FC and ShillongLajong respectively.

A statement on the Blues’ official website read

Bengaluru FC, on Wednesday, announced the signings of strikers Kim Seng-Yong and Seiminlen Doungel as the Blues are looking to build on what’s been a successful second season where they finished winners of the Federation Cup, runners-up in the I-League and made the last-16 of the AFC Cup.

The Federation Cup winners were on the look for a new striker, after Australian striker Sean Rooney’s contract with the Blues expired at the end of the current campaign.

And the champions of last year have signed an experienced campaigner in North Korean Kim to replace the departing Australian. The former Rangdajied United man is a prolific goalscorer, and found the back of the net five teams to propel his side to an impressive 3rd placed finish. The 28-year-old has penned a one-year-deal, with Bengaluru having the choice to extend it for another year.

Talking to the official website, Kim said, “I am extremely happy to have signed for Bengaluru FC. I consider myself lucky to have been given a chance to play for a club like this. They have done an amazing job on and off the pitch over the past two years. I am looking forward to playing under the guidance of Ashley Westwood and the rest of the staff, and I will do my best to contribute towards the team’s success on all fronts.”

Bengaluru’s second addition comes in the form of 21-year-old Shillong forward Seiminlen Doungel. The Manipur born JCT youth product was excited on signing for the Blues, and will present with more options for manager Ashley Westwood upfront.

“It makes me happy to say that I am part of Bengaluru FC. It’s a club where I know I will improve as a player and I cannot wait to be a part of wonderful things the club does,”the former East Bengal man said.

Club COO Mustafa Ghouse meanwhile said of the players that the duo were on the club’s radar for a while, and they are happy to have finally landed their targets.

“Kim and Len are both very talented players and have been on our radar for some time now. We are certain the fans will be happy to see them in the BFC blue next season, just as we are. We would also like to thank Sean Rooney whose contribution to the club in our first two seasons has been immense and we wish him all the best for his future endeavors”

Leave your thoughts in the comments below or discuss with the writer on Twitter: @sunilmarkal17

 

Play for Nepal – Charity Football Tourney in Bangalore

Play for Nepal, Love, Game, Kicks on Grass, Bellandur, Charity, Bangalore, Football, Soccer, Wim FA, Atletico De Kolkata, Live, Streaming, Beam,Folks over at the Love for the Game is arranging two football tourney’s in Bangalore that will raise funds towards helping out the people in earth quake stricken Nepal. The cause is supported by Atletico De Kolkata, Champions of the 1st edition Indian Super League. Following are the details of the event that will be held in Bangalore.

Play For Nepal

Nepal is going through tremendous distress and pain, it is probably one of the toughest times our neighbors have ever been through. In this hour of such great agony Love for the Game has decided to stand up and lend our support to our friends who need help. Champions of the 1st edition of Indian Super League, Atletico De Kolkata has come forward to help us organize these events. We are organizing 2 back to back events in the month of May and June’15 with the sole objective of raising funds to be donated to for the aid of Nepal Earthquake victims.

“Community Cup“ on 31st May, Kicks on Grass, Bellandur (8-a-side) — We are inviting teams for 31st May event from various communities / fan clubs based out of Bangalore.

Teams participating in Community Cup –

  1. Manchester United Supporters Club Bangalore – A
  2. Manchester United Supporters Club Bangalore – B
  3. Chelsea FC Fans Club
  4. Atletico De Kolkata Fans Club
  5. FC Bengal
  6. Blue Stars FC
  7. WIMFA
  8. Avengers FC

All of the above have huge bases in Bangalore and they will play a one-off tourney.

Fan’s Kolkata Derby on 7th June , Kicks on Grass, Bellandur (8-a-side) – Fans of the 2 eternal rivals of Indian Football East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will play a one-off game to earn the bragging right.

For more information on the event get in touch with Love for the Game (Facebook) or www.loveforthegame.in

Play for Nepal, Love, Game, Kicks on Grass, Bellandur, Charity, Bangalore, Football, Soccer, Wim FA, Atletico De Kolkata, Live, Streaming, Beam,

Second Season of The Amateur League (TAL) is Underway

The Amateur League ,TAL, Football, Bangalore, bengaluru, soccer, india, Indianfootball, Amateur,)The Amateur League (TAL) is an 11-a-side football league that takes place in Bangalore and is open to all amateur and professional footballers. The aim of The Amateur League is to provide footballers with constant 11-a-side (that’s where all the fun is!) action throughout the year. The Amateur League takes place only on weekends

TAL (Season 1) took place during June 2014 – September 2014 at BGS IRS with 12 teams participating in a round robin format. Teams were made of up players from all walks of life. Schoolkids, college students, professional footballers, expatriates and corporate individuals all came together to provide diverse footballing action. The season went down to the wire, with Horizons FC and Sunday FC going head-to-head on the final day to determine the winner. Sunday FC needed a win to lift the trophy but a draw ensued thereby crowning Horizons FC as the champions of the inaugural season.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATAL (Season 2 – Division 1) is currently underway with the opening game-week taking place on 22nd March at Holy Ghost Church grounds, Fraser Town. The new season started with more than half of the teams returning from Season 1 while a couple of teams merged to form new teams as well welcoming some new exciting teams. The season is almost at its mid-way point and the quality of action has only gotten better. Defending champions, Horizons FC sit at the top of the table albeit only goal difference from Saints FC. Gremio FC is also in the picture to lift the title only 3 points behind Horizons FC and Saints FC. New additions to the league included the likes of Flipkart FC, Project 7 and Rare Dare FC. Division 1 takes place on Sundays

With the increase of people wanting to play in the league, The Amateur League has decided to create Division 2, which will begin in the second week of May at the same ground as Division 1. With the division system created, TAL plans to have promotion and relegation within the league to increase competitiveness. The bottom two teams of Division 1 will be relegated and the top two teams of Division 2 will be promoted. With teams signing up quickly, Division 2 has only a few spots open. Division 2 takes place on Saturdays.

The Amateur League was created with the objective of providing all footballers a chance to experience the game at a professional standard.All teams get customized jerseys with players’ name and numbers adding league experience. Reports, photos, video highlights and statistics all of which add to the experience of the league accompany the game-days. The Amateur League website, www.theamateurleague.com is currently under construction but all of the data can be accessed on TAL Facebook page as well (www.facebook.com/TheAmateurLeague).

Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai FC aftermath -Abusive Chants – Ok or Not Ok?

Abuse, Chants, Football, Bengaluru, Bangalore, Mumbai, Bengaluru FC, bottle, thrown, incident, Khalid Jamil, Ashley Westwood, fine, Verdict, Pradyum Reddy, Amoes, Gowtham PuraAIFF has pronounced its verdict on what transpired in Bengaluru during the Bengaluru FC vs Mumbai FC match. A lot has been discussed on the social media and other forums about the conduct of the fans and officials.

Now that the verdict is out, we are publishing a short note from a person who is closely connected to football in Bangalore. He knows the Bangalore football scene very well and this is his take on whether the fans should indulge in abusive chants and if so what is the limit. He wish to remain anonymous, so we are not going to publish his name.

————————————————————–

This write up is after the BFC vs. Mumbai FC game in Kanteerava stadium, which ended in a 1-1 draw. I decided to write this for all the fans who have been supporting their club to the best, but also indulge in abusing and use foul language on opponents and their staff.

My friends and I sat in west block A to watch the game and as the players entered, there were cheers and claps for players of BFC, which was a nice thing. Once the Mumbai FC players entered the field and as the game kicked off, I was kind of feeling very bad to hear abuses being hurled at Khali Jamil and their player right from the start whistle. Families who turned up with their kids for the match were feeling discomfort because of the abusive nature of the chants and I did even see some families who had come for the match moving away from the crowd.

Come on, are we cheering the club and encouraging them or the fans wants to just have fun abusing and using foul language on the opponents and coaches, make them furious and in the end get to see what happened in that game?

India is not a country where football is the richest game unlike cricket. If it were, then no one would even bother about all the nonsense people talk. Most of the clubs in India are run with less funds, no proper facilities, unlike a professional setup like BFC who has made huge investments and provide best facilities for players to perform to their best. Most clubs do not even pay salaries to players on a regular basis and not all football players are from well-to-do families to let go everything. Most players are struggling to live a good life and they have to struggle and sacrifice a lot to play in our top tier league – I-league.

Let us also not to forget that BFC is one of the first corporate entities to have invested in Indian football, and they have all the means to provide the best facilities for players to perform well, which is very much appreciated, but that doesn’t mean fans who go to watch matches abuse and insult other clubs and players who are struggling every year to sign good players and form a decent team to play in the league.

Most of the clubs are operating with a much lesser budget/investment than that of BFC. Mumbai FC was about to be shut down like Mahindra United and had not signed a single player even when they had just one month for the deadline as they couldn’t rope in a sponsor for the club. Finally, after roping in a sponsor, they mostly signed players who were either rejected by other clubs and a few were retained from their previous squad.

They struggle so much and though being an underdog club, when they take on most clubs, they still manage to put in decent to good performances. In all their four matches against BFC before this, they managed a draw and I consider that a commendable feat.

Therefore, how the fans behave in stadiums is what the outcome they get too. Abusing, provoking and using foul language on players and coaches for no reason would definitely leave anyone angered and flustered. The composition of players in I-league is seeing a drastic change now. We have some foreigners who have played world cup for their nations. Abusing and taunting players of such stature does not hold good for our football. We have to learn from better players and start playing good football because football should not end just with clubs. It has to take Indian football to higher standards.

Go out in large numbers to support BFC but never indulge in abusing or insulting opponents. We may never know the struggle of the club and the players are undergoing to keep them going at this level.

Football can become a popular game in any country only when there are more number of people attending matches and if that has to happen, the fans who go the to cheer the teams should cheer good football . When I mean good football, even if the away team plays fair and good football we should have the heart to appreciate that too. Now, if cheering or appreciating the opponent team is difficult, let us not indulge in mindless abuse. Let us all enjoy the beautiful game in a beautiful way.

Karnataka Announce team for Santosh Trophy 2014-2015

Karnataka Football Association, Bengaluru, Bangalore, Santosh Trophy, NationalKSFA Announced the 20 members squad for the 69th Santosh Trophy Championship. Karnataka will play the South-Zone matches at MSDA stadium in Manjeri, Kerala. Veteran Xavier Vijayakumar is leading the team.

Team :

GKs : SMD Razak, MP Thomas

Defs : KB Nikhil Das, Prem Kumar, B V Chetan Kumar (VC), Vivekananda, R. Vijay

Mid : Xavier Vijaya Kumar (C), Prakash. B, R. Manivannan, M. Lokesh, P.A Anup Theres Raj, M. Sunil Kumar, Deepan P, Shahzad K.I

Forward: K Gopi, K Kaviarasan, P Pradeep Kumar, V Vinoth Kumar, Vinu K Varghese

Manager : S.T Bhoopal

Coach : J.L Andrew

Goal keeper coach : S.S Shahi

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