Bengaluru FC have been a part of Indian football for just 3 years, and each time they have given the fans something new to cheer about.
They won the I-League in the debut season, the Federation Cup next time, then regained the league title and had a dream run in AFC Cup. This season, under their new head coach Albert Roca, they are trying to take it to the next level, and the squad shows that.
The Indian internationals, the youngsters at the top of their game... Bengaluru FC have held onto their core team and rightly so. There's Sunil, Eugeneson, Udanta, Vineeth, Rino, John Johnson, Cameron Watson... the familiar names that the fans have come to love. But adding some sheer strength are new recruits like Hermanjot Khabra and Mandar Rao Desai. And they have added striker Roby Norales in the mix too. The intention is clear: the measured gameplay and reliance on young Indian players worked very well in AFC Cup, but to make it in the AFC Champions League they have to add some raw power in the team. And that's what they have done.
This is a squad geared towards Asia. And if some I-League clubs get caught in the crossfire and suffer badly they don't care.