Bengaluru up against Mumbai
BENGALURU: THE SREE KANTEERAVA STADIUM WILL WITNESS A FIRST WHEN THE HOME TEAM, BENGALURU FC TAKES TO THE FIELD IN THE COUNTRY’S TOPTIER LEAGUE.
Bengaluru FC will maketheir IndianSuperLeague (ISL) debut when they face with lastseason’ssemi-finalistsMumbai City FC on Sunday
TheSreeKanteeravaStadium willwitnessafirstwhenthehome team,atwo-timeI-Leaguechampions, takes to the field in the country’s top-tier league.
The clash between the two rivals would be interesting, for they hardly know each others’ game.
“Itisthebeginningofanewera inthisclub’shistory,buttheboys knowtheycan’tgetcarriedaway bytheoccasion.MumbaiCityare agoodsideandwewillhavetobe at our best if we are to take anythingawayfromtheclash,”BFC head coach Albert Roca said.
It will be interesting to see the team fielded by Roca, given the inclusion of Braulio Nobrega, Edu Garcia and Miku, who join defender John Johnson in the Blues’ squad for the ISL.
Bengaluruhavebeengiventhe green light to play goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, with leaguerulesallowingtheFederation Cup winners to replace injured Lalthuammawia Ralte. Also missing out for upto three weeks will be Dimas Delgado.
“It’s unfortunate that Dimas andMawiapickedupinjuriesbut atthesametime,Iamhappythat Gurpreet can fill the void. He makes us secure and will play a crucial part tomorrow,” Roca said.
Guided by Brazil-born Costa Rican Alexandre Guimaraes, Mumbai come into the game on thebackofapre-seasoninSpain, wheretheyplayedsevenfriendly games.
WithformerBluescustodians Amrinder Singh and Arindam Bhattacharja in their ranks, the Islanders have also brought in some flair with as many as five Braziliansheadliningtheiroverseascontingent,whichwillbeled by Romanian defender Lucian Goian.
Asked about Mumbai FC, Rocca said, “Mumbai have a coachwhodidwellwiththemlast season and they have got good foreignerswhocancausetrouble ontheirday.Butwewillfocuson ourgameandlookforwardtoputting out a performance that will make our fans proud.”