Bengaluru, January 20: Bengaluru FC named a 30-man squad for the upcoming preliminary and play-off stages of the 2018 edition of the AFC Cup, which had seven young stars from the reserves.
The squad, which departed for Delhi on Saturday (January 20), will travel to Thimphu in Bhutan on Sunday where they face Transport United on January 23.
The qualifying stage squad consists of seven BFC 'B' players and making the cut are Asheer Akhtar, Myron Mendes, Cletus Paul, Robinson Singh Khumukcham and Bidyananda Singh. Joining them are BFC academy graduates Leon Augustine and Prashanth Kalinga, who were also part of the 2017 AFC Cup squad and along with Robinson, travelled with the first team to Spain for the preseason.
Among the foreigners, Erik Paartalu fills the Asian quota as Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Toni Dovale complete the four-man line-up.
Big win tonight in Mumbai! Need to have the same mentality every match here on in. Boithang what a super game, great to have boys ready to step in when called upon! This is what being in a TEAM is all about. #WeAreBFC @bengalurufc @IndSuperLeague
— ErikPaartalu (@ErikPaartalu) January 18, 2018
BFC, who fell short of making it to their second successive final in one of the biggest competitions in Asian football, are eager of improving on their performance this season after booking their place in the competition courtesy of the Federation Cup win in May 2017. However, Bengaluru, who finished as the South Zone toppers in 2017, will have to go through the two-stage qualifying phase to make it to the group stage this year.
Up against Bhutan National League 2017 champions in the first leg of the preliminary round on Tuesday, January 23, the Blues will host the second leg against Transport United at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium a week later, on January 30. Should they make through to the play-off stage, Bengaluru will be up against the winner of the second preliminary round tie in the south zone between Bangladesh's Saif Sporting Club and TC Sports Club from Maldives.
#travellingblue maa's 😉and that's football culture growing in FAMILY and We call it @bengalurufc @WestBlockBlues pic.twitter.com/17kb8I2l9q
— Ajith Harish (@ajithharish37) January 18, 2018
The winner of the two-legged play-off, scheduled on Feb 13 and 20, will grab the fourth spot in the south zone of the AFC Cup group stages.
Ahead of the team's departure to Thimphu, head coach Albert Roca said, "It's very important for us to make use of the entire squad. We're the only ISL team playing Asian competition this season, and our schedule is hectic. But this is what we always wanted, to represent India in Asia, so there's no complaints. With the competition rules, we can only play four foreigners so that provides a good opportunity for all our Indian boys, especially the youngsters to rise to the occasion. Our 'B' team players have been working hard, and that's why they have been brought into the squad and I hope they will respond to the occasion."
The squad
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Abhra Mondal, Calvin Abhishek
Defenders: Zohmingliana Ralte, Juanan Gonzalez, Joyner Lourenco, Asheer Akhtar, Rahul Bheke, Collin Abranches, Harmanjot Khabra, Prashanth Kalinga, Nishu Kumar, Subhasish Bose
Midfielders: Erik Paartalu, Dimas Delgado, Lenny Rodrigues, Malsawmzuala, Leon Augustine, Robinson Singh Khumukcham, Bidyananda Singh, Myron Mendes, Boithang Haokip, Alwyn George
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Daniel Lalhlimpuia. Toni Dovale, Cletus Paul, Thongkhosiem Haokip
Source: BFC Media