Bengaluru FC’s dismal Indian Super League (ISL) campaign, their worst in history, has raised concerns about the team’s leadership and overall direction. After a humiliating 0-4 defeat to Mumbai City FC in December, then-head coach Simon Grayson lamented the lack of leaders on the pitch. Four months later, Gerard Zaragoza, who took over from Grayson, echoed the same sentiment following an equally devastating 0-4 thrashing by Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
This assessment is particularly striking given the presence of two Indian National team stalwarts, Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, in the Bengaluru FC squad. However, as the twin defeats have shown, there is more to the team’s struggles than the absence of a single leader.
The campaign was a stark contrast to the previous season, when Bengaluru FC was back challenging for the biggest prizes in Indian football. They were a penalty shoot-out away from regaining the ISL title and finished runner-up in the Super Cup.
Grayson and Zaragoza may have bemoaned the lack of leaders, but the drift has been palpable for a while. After nearly eight years with just three full-time head coaches, Zaragoza is the team’s third in the last three years. Against superior opponents like Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan, the feeling of being out-coached and out-thought was unmistakable.
The shuffling of playing personnel has also left the side undercooked. The loss of defender Sandesh Jhingan was a body blow, and Bengaluru FC has never quite replaced Brazilian attacker Cleiton Silva, who scored 16 goals across 2020-21 and 2021-22. Ahead of 2023-24, star striker Roy Krishna left after a solitary season.
The development of N. Sivasakthi, who had a breakout year in 2022-23, has also stuttered, and Englishman Curtis Main proved a damp squib in his eight appearances. Chhetri, 39, had just five goals to show, and the net effect was that Bengaluru FC scored just 20 times, another record low.
There were indeed a few quality Indian players who came in, like Halicharan Narzary last June and Chinglensana Singh and Nikhil Poojary this January-February. But they were far from fully integrated.
“The reality is that we need to improve,” Zaragoza said. “But we are on the [right] way. I am happy with the signings of Indian players. We will work with them individually and collectively during the pre-season. I am sure we will be better next season.”
