ISL 2018-19: Bengaluru FC's Philosophy Will Remain the Same, says Coach Carles Cuadrat

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Bengaluru FC's new coach Carles Cuadrat

The fifth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicks off on 29 September and Bengaluru FC will be playing in their second season after finishing as runners-up in the 2017/18 campaign despite topping the table in the league phase.

This time, they have a new coach who has taken over the side - Carles Cuadrat. Sportskeeda caught up with the Blues coach to talk about the new season.

This is Cuadrat's first season as a head coach. The Spaniard had previously been under former Blues Albert Roca for many years, all the way back to their time together at Galatasaray under Frank Rijkaard.

So what is the most important thing he has learned from Roca after nearly a decade under him at Galatasaray, Saudi Arabia, El Salvador, and Bengaluru?

"The philosophy," he explained. "The way we work has been the same for a long time now. We truly believe in that, we cannot change certain aspects that we like about the game.

"I have learned a lot from Roca and I've learned a lot from Rijkaard. And now I hope I can transfer that knowledge to my players. I believe in a good way of playing football and that is what we are going to try to do.

"I obviously like to play the Barcelona way but I have to be realistic and I know that we cannot play that way here."

"The most important thing for us is that we have to keep our mentality intact. We want to win trophies and we also want to reach the final stages of competitions. The club has always been competitive. When you reach that stage, it’s the last few games which decide whether you become champions or not."

Cuadrat working on improving Bengaluru's all-round game

Bengaluru played a good brand of possession football last season and when that did not work it was Cuadrat's set-pieces that saved the day for the Blues. But they did struggle against highly physical teams.

So if neither of those approaches work, what does he plan to do when it comes to strategising?

"It's funny, here in India I was told that I was a master of set-pieces," he said. "But I'm sure the rest of the teams are also doing their job to improve.

"We will try to take advantage of the physical aspects and also the tactical aspects. It's a complete approach that is required to win games."

How will Bengaluru tackle teams that sit back?

Last season saw many teams sit back against Bengaluru (and even FC Goa who are coached by another coach who prefers the Barcelona way, Sergio Lobera). So what is Cuadrat's plan for such teams who prefer to sit deep and play on the counter-attack?

"Every game is going to be different and you have to prepare for what the other team has planned for you," Cuadrat said. "In football, when you play at home you usually play a certain way and when you play away the team plays in a different way."

Carles Cuadrat replaced Albert Roca (L) as Bengaluru FC's head coach

"What I think is that it comes down to team dynamics which bring you moments," he explained. "If the team starts well and has a good dynamic, they can get results playing a certain way. The dynamics will always decide how the team plays.

"For example last season we went 15 games in a row without losing [in both the ISL and AFC Cup]. That dynamic gives you a way to work even in training.

"We will always try to look for a good dynamic. And the results define that dynamic. Last season some teams had a wonderful team but they were losing games and that put them in a bad dynamic. For them, it was difficult to reach playoffs due to starting with a bad dynamic.

Importance of pre-season?

Bengaluru's pre-season tour saw them travel to Spain where they played teams such as Barcelona B and Villarreal B. The Blues lost all four games but it wasn't the results that bothered Cuadrat.

"No coach will tell you that results are important in pre-season," he said. "You get to choose your opponents. If you want to win every game then you pick relatively weaker opponents. It's not about that.

"To manage pre-season, coaches want opponents where you can improve the way you play the game. So we picked these teams to improve our tactics to get ready for the competition."

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