Bengaluru FC will hope that Saturday’s Indian Super League encounter against Jamshedpur FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium will mark the dawn of a new era.
The 2018-19 ISL champion is down in the abyss, placed ninth on seven points with just one win from 10 matches. With Gerard Zaragoza taking over coaching duties from Simon Grayson, the club faithful will be desperate for the Catalan to sprinkle some of the stardust he may have collected from his time as an assistant to Carles Cuadrat during the title-winning season.
“We need to change the mentality,” said Zaragoza, who will have two matches to work his magic before players break for the Asian Cup next month. “But first, I need to help them recover not just as football players, but as persons. They need to believe in themselves.
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“When we were champions, we dominated possession, counter-attacks and set-pieces. I’m Catalan and I like the offensive style, but there has to be momentum for everything. Now the team needs to organise, not only in defence but also in attack.”
The visitors are also in a similar predicament, down in 10th position with six points from nine games. Scott Cooper’s outfit will be as thirsting as BFC.
“I am not worried because we have created chances and we have not allowed teams to dominate us,” said Cooper. “And Bengaluru has had many changes. The only thing we could plan on was for individual players. We expect a good match.”
