ISL: Forget the past, Bengaluru FC's Braulio Nobrega to let his game do the talking

Bengaluru, November 17: There was an awkward silence and the smile had disappeared from Braulio Nobrega's glowing face. "I understood what you are saying but I don't want to talk about that," Bengaluru FC's new striker told reporters with teammate Juanan Gonzalez, doubling up as a translator for complicated Spanish answers, adding, "Yeah, don't ask him about Real Zaragoza."

Nobrega, until then, was happily discussing about his time in Atletico Madrid and the rich Spanish camaraderie in Indian Super League side BFC, who play their first game against Mumbai City this Sunday (November 19) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

But what do you do? The question had to be asked. Would anyone skip asking Marco Materazzi about whether he has forgiven Zinedine Zidane for the headbutt during the 2006 World Cup? If one had a chance to interview cricketer Chris Gayle, the truth behind the incident where he exposed himself to a physio would be one of the things a reporter would want to know about.

Similarly, Nobrega was asked how hard it was in the period when he was convicted for sexual assault, and subsequently fired by Real Zaragoza, in October 2011. He allegedly pounced on a woman in Zaragoza, threw her to the ground and began touching her. He agreed to pay 11,400 euros as compensation to the victim to avoid a five-year jail term for sexual assault (three years) and sexual abuse (two years).

Bienvenido, Nobrega! 🇪🇸#NewBlue pic.twitter.com/3El4XMM8Q2

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 7, 2017

Nobrega, however, definitely did not expect the same questions would come back to haunt him far away in India, six years later. It did for a while, with many news outlets questioning BFC's recruitment policy on the day he was signed by the club. However, in Nobrega's defence, the 32-year-old is here to focus on what he does best - scoring goals.

"I am very happy with what I have seen so far. We have top quality players in Sunil (Chhetri), Udanta (Singh) and Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu). I think we can challenge for a top-four place in the league with this side," he said.

Safe to say that #NewBlue Braulio Nobrega is having fun with his new teammates! 🇪🇸☀️🚴🏻#BluesInSpain pic.twitter.com/q4iMcnT88y

— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) August 14, 2017

However, even before he gets on the pitch, Nobrega has to convince coach Albert Roca to hand him a spot in the Playing XI. With only five foreigners allowed in the Starting XI and Venezuelan Miku in good form in recent club friendlies, Nobrega has to go that extra mile within the team itself.

"It will be very difficult (to get into the Starting XI)," he said. "But that's up to the coach to decide. As a player, you just have to ready to the time he calls you. You need to be 100 per cent ready. It's important that you put in your best in the training too. Give your chance for the coach to select you. And being in a team like BFC, it's a tough fight."

The Spanish flavour

And then with a couple of sugar-coated questions, Nobrega's smile returned again. This time, he spoke about how his son joined the Real Madrid academy even though he's an Atletico supporter.

"Real has all the money and glamour, Atletico has always lived in the shadow. So it's a kind of suffering," he said. "My son (Abraham) plays at the Real Madrid academy. He is 13. It's his third year at Real. He earlier played at Atletico and Getafe."

Defender Juanan, who was a Real Madrid B player, butted in. "Yeah your son is at Real because it is the best academy," he said.

"Is it? I don't think so. You see Juanan shoot, you can tell," Nobrega remarked.

Nobrega continued: "My time at Atletico was the best days of my football career. When I started, Atletico was not that big a club, but now it's reached a great height. Gabi is my best friend. We keep speaking every now and then. That's my best memory. I played a number of top players like (Diego) Forlan, Sergio Aguero, Fernando Torres. Those are my best memories."

The glow was back when he posed for pictures with the BFC jersey. Forgive for whatever happened before, Nobrega is here to play.