2022–23 Bengaluru FC season
The 2022–23 season is Bengaluru FC's tenth season as a club since its establishment in 2013.[3] After spending two seasons in Goa, at a centralised venue due to COVID-19 pandemic,[4][5] the club will return to Sree Kanteerava Stadium, despite the concerns raised by the athletes.[6] This season also marks as the final season leading to the decennial anniversary of the club on 20 July 2023.
| 2022–23 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Parth Jindal[1] |
| Manager | Simon Grayson[2] |
| Stadium | Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| Indian Super League | Runners-up (league 4th) |
| Super Cup | Runners-up |
| Durand Cup | Champions (first title) |
| Top goalscorer | League: Sivasakthi Narayanan Javi Hernandez (6 goals each) All: Sivasakthi Narayanan (11 goals) |
| Highest home attendance | 28,001 |
| Average home league attendance | 11,371 |
| Biggest win | 4–0 (vs Indian Air Force) |
| Biggest defeat | 0–4 (vs Mumbai City) |
| All statistics correct as of 10 March 2022. | |
Bengaluru's season commenced with the 2022 edition of Durand Cup, which also acts as a curtain raiser for the domestic season.[7] The 2022–23 season of Indian Super League will see the blues returning to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium after three years despite the concerns raised by the athletes.[6][8] With the Super Cup returning after three years, the inaugural edition's champions will also participate in the tournament which is set to be held in 2023 after the league ends.[9]
Background edit
In the previous season, the rebuilt Bengaluru FC squad led by Marco Pezzaiuoli finished sixth in the Indian Super League,[10] it was the club's second worst finish in the league after ending up in the seventh spot in 2020-21 season.[11] Before the league, Bengaluru FC made their fifth appearance in the 2021 season of AFC Cup where they failed to make it past the group stage after finishing third behind ATK Mohun Bagan and Bashundhara Kings with four points.[12] Later, in the 2021 edition of Durand Cup, Bengaluru fielded their reserve squad with the assistant head coach Naushad Moosa leading the young team. The team's unbeaten run of four games was halted by FC Goa in the second semifinal, where they went down by a 7–6 margin on penalties.[13][14]
After failing to qualify for the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, Bengaluru began to make changes in the squad with the likes of defenders Pratik Chaudhari[15] and Sarthak Golui[16] parting ways with the club along with the foreigners Iman Basafa,[17] Cleiton Silva[18] and the head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli who was on the performance-based contract.[19] On 8 June, Bengaluru appointed former Fleetwood Town coach, Simon Grayson as their new head coach on a two-year contract.[2]
When I spoke to the owner (Parth Jindal), his mindset was the same as mine. I want this club to be winning trophies again. I know that BFC has been very successful in the past, but the last few years haven't worked out like everybody would have liked it to. That happens in football – you learn from it and strive to do better – to get players to work harder on and off the pitch; that's the exciting part for me.
— Simon Grayson, after completing formalities of the deal, Bengaluru FC
Following the head coach's appointment, Bengaluru then handed over contract extensions for Roshan Singh,[20] Lara Sharma and Wungngayam Muirang[21] on two-years each and a three-year deal respectively. Later, on 20 June, Ashique Kuruniyan who had served the club for three seasons moved to ATK Mohun Bagan while Prabir Das from the same club was announced as a new right wingback addition.[22] Two days later, the club strengthened their midfield by signing Spanish international Javi Hernández on a two-year deal.[23] The management further extended the contracts of Parag Shrivas,[24] Leon Augustine[25] and Namgyal Bhutia.[25]
Come July and Bengaluru would make a double deal with the likes of the 22-year-olds from I-League sides, Amrit Gope the former TRAU goalkeeper signed a two-year deal, and Faisal Ali the former Mohamemedan winger penned a deal that ends in 2025.[26] A tragedy shook the Indian football fraternity on 4 July after Adrian Luna, the Kerala Blasters player, disclosed the passing of his six-year-old daughter to whom many players and clubs including Bengaluru FC paid condolences to.[27][28] On 5 July, Bengaluru filled the void created by the departure of left-back Ajith Kumar by signing Hira Mondal from East Bengal. On 15 July, Yrondu Musavu-King, the Gabonese center-back parted ways with the club after serving for one season.[29] Three days later, Bengaluru made their biggest signing of the season after they closed the deal with the Fijian star striker Roy Krishna[30] who had previously won the Indian Super League Golden Ball in 2020–21 season[31]
20 July 2022 marked the ninth anniversary of Bengaluru FC's foundation.[32] The CEO of the club, Mandar Tamhane, tweeted in celebration of the foundation day,[33] along with the former Bengaluru FC players Darren Caldeira, Cameron Watson and the reserve team head coach Naushad Moosa.[34][35][36] On 22 July, Bengaluru completed their Asian slot by signing the six-foot five-inch tall center-back Aleksander Jovanovic from Australia.[37] A day later, the club made four new domestic signings by bringing in the two local talents Sudheer Kotikela and Ankith Padmanabhan from the Karnataka state team along with the two young Goan players, Felixson Fernandes and Clarence Fernandes. They had been scouted from the JSW Youth Cup held a few months earlier in April.[38]
Transfers in edit
| No. | Position | Player | Previous club | Date | Fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | DF | Prabir Das | ATK Mohun Bagan | 20 June 2022 | Undisclosed | [22] |
| 18 | MF | Javi Hernández | Odisha | 22 June 2022 | Free transfer | [23] |
| 23 | FW | Faisal Ali | Mohammedan | 1 July 2022 | Free transfer | [26] |
| 50 | GK | Amrit Gope | TRAU | 1 July 2022 | Free transfer | [26] |
| 20 | DF | Hira Mondal | East Bengal | 5 July 2022 | Free transfer | [39] |
| 22 | FW | Roy Krishna | ATK Mohun Bagan | 18 July 2022 | Free transfer | [30] |
| 2 | DF | Aleksander Jovanovic | Macarthur FC | 22 July 2022 | Free transfer | [37] |
| 24 | FW | Sudheer Kotikala | Kickstart FC | 23 July 2022 | Free transfer | [38] |
| FW | Ankith Padmanabhan | Kickstart FC | 23 July 2022 | Free transfer | [38] | |
| DF | Clarence Fernandes | Dempo U-18 | 23 July 2022 | Free transfer | [38] | |
| DF | Felixson Fernandes | RF Young Champs | 23 July 2022 | Free transfer | [38] | |
| 3 | DF | Sandesh Jhingan | ATK Mohun Bagan | 14 August 2022 | Free transfer | [40] |
Transfers out edit
| No. | Position | Player | Outgoing club | Date | Fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | DF | Pratik Chaudhari | Jamshedpur | 5 June 2022 | Free agent | [15] |
| 16 | DF | Sarthak Golui | East Bengal | 5 June 2022 | Free transfer | [16] |
| 10 | MF | Iman Basafa | Kheybar Khorramabad | 6 June 2022 | Free transfer | [17] |
| 23 | FW | Cleiton Silva | East Bengal | 6 June 2022 | Free transfer | [18] |
| 22 | FW | Ashique Kuruniyan | ATK Mohun Bagan | 20 June 2022 | Undisclosed | [41] |
| 29 | DF | Yrondu Musavu-King | Without a club | 15 July 2022 | Free agent | [29] |
| 19 | DF | Ajith Kumar | Chennaiyin | 28 July 2022 | Undisclosed | [42] |
Loans out edit
| No. | Position | Player | Outgoing club | Date | Fee | Duration | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | FW | Bidyashagar Singh | Kerala Blasters | 17 August 2022 | Undisclosed | 1 year | [43] |
| 20 | MF | Ajay Chhetri | Punjab FC | 1 September 2022 | Undisclosed | 1 year | [44] |
| FW | Rahul Raju | Gokulam Kerala | 31 August 2022 | Undisclosed | 1 year | [45] |
Contract extensions edit
| No. | Position | Player | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | DF | Roshan Singh | 2026 | [20] |
| 30 | GK | Lara Sharma | 2026 | [21] |
| 15 | DF | Wungngayam Muirang | 2025 | [21] |
| 27 | DF | Parag Shrivas | 2025 | [24] |
| 25 | DF | Namgyal Bhutia | 2026 | [25] |
| 31 | FW | Leon Augustine | 2025 | [25] |
Players edit
Bengaluru FC has 38 players under contract; the following list of players is subject to change during the transfer season. The final squad for the ISL will be officially announced by the club later.
Players under contract edit
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Since | Until | Picked for Durand Cup[46] | Picked for ISL[47] | Picked for Super Cup[48] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||
| 1 | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | GK | 3 February 1992 | 2017 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 30 | Lara Sharma | GK | 1 October 1999 | 2020 | 2026 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 43 | Sharon Padattil | GK | 18 April 2000 | 2020 | 2023 | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 50 | Amrit Gope | GK | 12 September 1999 | 2022 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Defenders | |||||||||
| 2 | Aleksandar Jovanović | CB | 15 November 1997 | 2022 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 3 | Sandesh Jhingan | CB | 21 July 1993 | 2022 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 5 | Alan Costa ‡ | CB | 30 October 1990 | 2021 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | — | |
| 15 | Wungngayam Muirang | CB/LB | 16 February 1999 | 2020 | 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 20 | Hira Mondal ‡ | LB | 11 August 1991 | 2022 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | — | |
| 27 | Parag Shrivas | CB | 9 June 1997 | 2019 | 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 32 | Roshan Singh | LB | 2 February 1999 | 2020 | 2026 | Yes[a] | Yes | Yes | |
| 33 | Prabir Das | RB | 20 December 1993 | 2022 | 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| — | Clarence Fernandes | DF | 25 July 2004 | 2022 | 2025 | No | No | No | |
| — | Felixson Fernandes | CB | 28 January 2003 | 2022 | 2025 | No | No | No | |
| Midfielders | |||||||||
| 4 | Ajay Chhetri † | CDM | 7 July 1993 | 2018 | 2022 | — | — | — | |
| 6 | Bruno Ramires | CM | 18 March 1984 | 2021 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 7 | Jayesh Rane | CDM | 20 February 1993 | 2021 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 8 | Suresh Singh | CDM | 7 August 2000 | 2019 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 10 | Javi Hernández | CAM | 6 June 1989 | 2022 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 12 | Danish Farooq Bhat † | LM | 9 May 1996 | 2021 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | — | |
| 18 | Rohit Kumar | CDM | 1 January 1997 | 2021 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 25 | Namgyal Bhutia | RM | 11 August 1999 | 2020 | 2026 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 28 | Amay Morajkar | CDM | 20 June 2000 | 2020 | 2024 | No | No | No | |
| 31 | Leon Augustine | RW/RM | 2 October 1998 | 2019 | 2025 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 35 | Biswa Darjee | LM | 8 November 1999 | 2020 | 2024 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 36 | Thoi Singh | MF | 4 May 2004 | No | Yes | Yes | |||
| 40 | Damaitphang Lyngdoh | CAM | 7 October 2003 | 2021 | 2024 | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 42 | Akashdeep Singh | MF | 18 February 2002 | 2021 | 2024 | No | No | No | |
| Forwards | |||||||||
| 9 | Prince Ibara | CF | 7 February 1996 | 2021 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 11 | Sunil Chhetri | CF | 3 August 1984 | 2013 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 14 | Harmanpreet Singh | CF | 2 September 2001 | 2021 | 2023 | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 17 | Edmund Lalrindika | CF | 24 April 1999 | 2019 | 2022 | No | No | No | |
| 21 | Udanta Singh | RW | 14 June 1996 | 2014 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 22 | Roy Krishna | CF | 30 August 1987 | 2022 | 2023 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 23 | Faisal Ali | RW | 20 October 1999 | 2022 | 2025 | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 24 | Sudheer Kotikela | FW | 20 August | 2022 | 2024 | No | No | No | |
| 26 | Bidyashagar Singh † | FW | 11 March 1998 | 2021 | 2024 | — | — | — | |
| 38 | Sivasakthi Narayanan | CF | 9 July 2001 | 2021 | 2022 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| − | Ankith Padmanabhan | FW | 2022 | 2025 | No | No | No | ||
Last updated: 3 August 2022
Source: Bengaluru FC
† Loaned out.
Injury record edit
| N | P | Nat. | Name | Type | Status | Source | Match | Inj. Date | Ret. Date |
| 14 | GK | Harmanpreet Singh | knee injury | [50][51] | 2021 Durand Cup semifinal vs Goa | 13 October 2021 | 14 September 2022 | ||
| 42 | MF | Akashdeep Singh | Unknown injury | [52] | 2021 Durand Cup semifinal vs Goa | 29 September 2021 | Unknown | ||
| 28 | MF | Amay Morajkar | Unknown injury | [53] | Unknown | 10 February 2022 | 29 March 2022 | ||
| 9 | FW | Prince Ibara | Unknown injury | [54] | 2022 Durand Cup vs Goa | 30 August 2022 | TBC |
- Player is injured
- Player has recovered from injury
Last updated: 10 September 2022
Source: Bengaluru FC
Pre-season edit
Bengaluru FC kicked off their pre-season training on 25 July 2022 with Simon Grayson leading the available squad in Ballari.[55] Sunil Chhetri was part of the initial squad and made his record 10th pre-season appearance for the club.[56] Midfielder Amay Morajkar, who had been out from the squad due to a long-term injury, also returned to the senior team in the training camp.[57] On 27 July, the squad trained at Inspire Institute of Sport, a high-performance training center in Vijaynagar.[58] New foreign signings Javi Hernández and Roy Krishna joined the training camp three days later.[59][60]
On 14 August, faithful of Bengaluru FC reunited with the team for the first time in three years as the club hosted its traditional open pre-season training sessions at Bangalore Football Stadium (BFS), which is an event attended by the fans every season, to watch the club kickoff its new season. This season's event also featured the sale of free digital tickets for the first time.[61] The last time when such an event was hosted at BFS was back in 2019 for the 2019–20 season.[62] During the player announcement at the event, the club took off fans for a surprise after Sandesh Jhingan was announced as their new signing out of the blue. The Indian international had previously donned Bengaluru's jersey in the 2016-17 season.[63][40]
Competitions edit
Overview edit
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Super League | 8 October 2022 | 18 March 2023 | Matchday 1 | 4th out of 11; Runners up | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 54.17 |
| Super Cup | 8 April 2023 | 25 April 2023 | Group Stage | Runners up | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 40.00 |
| Durand Cup | 17 August 2022 | 18 September 2022 | Group Stage | Champions | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 57.14 |
| Total | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 52.78 | ||||
Last updated: 16 February 2022
Source: Competitions
Indian Super League edit
The league returned to its traditional home-away format after spending two seasons at a centralized venue in Goa during the pandemic. In August, the athletes raised concerns about the damage to the athletic track in Sree Kanteerava Stadium due to pitch maintenance work. In response to this, the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Government of Karnataka, had stated that it was regular upkeep work and the stadium could be let out for football purposes as per 'official procedures.'[6][8] The league kicked off in October, and a total of six instead of four top-placed teams qualified for the playoffs.[64]
Summary edit
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Hyderabad | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 16 | +20 | 42 | Knockouts |
| 3 | Mohun Bagan (W) | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 34[f] | Knockouts, Playoffs for 2023–24 AFC Cup qualifiers[a] and 2023–24 AFC Cup qualifiers[b][c] |
| 4 | Bengaluru | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 34[g] | Knockouts |
| 5 | Kerala Blasters | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 31 | |
| 6 | Odisha | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 30 | Knockouts, Playoffs for 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage[d] and 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage[e][h] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) fair play ranking; 8) drawing of lots
(W) ISL Cup winners
Notes:
- ^ Qualified via winning the 2022–23 Indian Super League playoffs
- ^ Qualifed via winning the Indian club qualifiers for 2023–24 AFC competitions
- ^ It was announced by AIFF that 2022-23 will be the last season in which the Cup Winners will be considered as Champions. Starting from 2023-24 season it will be the League Shield Winners that will be given the title of Champions thereafter.
- ^ Qualifed via winning the 2023 Super Cup
- ^ Qualifed via winning the Indian club qualifiers for 2023–24 AFC competitions
- ^ Head-to-head points: Mohun Bagan 3, Bengaluru 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Mohun Bagan 0, Bengaluru 0. Head-to-head goal scored: Mohun Bagan 4, Bengaluru 4. Goal difference: Mohun Bagan +7, Bengaluru +4.
- ^ AMB
- ^ Odisha FC qualified for the Playoffs for 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage by winning the 2023 Super Cup.
Result summary edit
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 14 | −1 |
Results by round edit
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
League stage edit
The fixtures for the 2022-23 season of ISL were announced on 1 September. Bengaluru FC faced NorthEast United on 8 October.[65][66]
| 8 October 2022 1 | Bengaluru | 1–0 | NorthEast United | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Alan 87' | Report | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 19,379 Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta Man of the Match: Alan Costa (Bengaluru) |
| 14 October 2022 2 | Chennaiyin | 1–1 | Bengaluru | Chennai |
| 19:30 IST | Report | Krishna 5' 90+7' | Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 11,564 Referee: Crystal J. Man of the Match: Jiteshwor Singh (Chennaiyin) |
| 27 October 2022 4 | Odisha | 1–0 | Bengaluru | Bhubaneswar |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Attendance: 6,811 Man of the Match: Nandha Kumar Sekar |
| 11 November 2022 5 | Bengaluru | 0–1 | East Bengal | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 12,817 |
| 17 November 2022 6 | Mumbai City | 4–0 | Bengaluru | Mumbai |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena |
| 26 November 2022 7 | Goa | 0–2 | Bengaluru | Margao |
| 17:30 IST | Stadium: Fatorda Stadium |
| 3 December 2022 8 | Bengaluru | 0–1 | ATK Mohun Bagan | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 11 December 2022 9 | Kerala Blasters | 3–2 | Bengaluru | Kochi |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi) |
| 17 December 2022 10 | Bengaluru | 1–0 | Jamshedpur | Bengaluru |
| 17:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 23 December 2022 11 | Bengaluru | 0–3 | Hyderabad | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 30 December 2022 12 | East Bengal | 2–1 | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan |
| 6 January 2023 13 | NorthEast United | 1–2 | Bengaluru | Guwahati |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium |
| 14 January 2023 14 | Bengaluru | 3–1 | Odisha | Bengaluru |
| 17:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 19 January 2023 15 | Jamshedpur | 0–3 | Bengaluru | Jamshedpur |
| 17:30 IST | Stadium: JRD Tata Sports Complex |
| 28 January 2023 16 | Bengaluru | 3–1 | Chennaiyin | Bengaluru |
| 17:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 5 February 2023 17 | ATK Mohun Bagan | 1–2 | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan |
| 11 February 2023 18 | Bengaluru | 1–0 | Kerala Blasters | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 15 February 2023 19 | Bengaluru | 2–1 | Mumbai City | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST |
|
| Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
| 23 February 2023 20 | Bengaluru | 3–1 | Goa | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
Playoffs edit
| 3 March 2023 Eliminator | Bengaluru | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Kerala Blasters | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Chhetri 96' | Report | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 20,301 Referee: Crystal John |
Semifinals edit
| 7 March 2023 | Mumbai City | 0–1 | Bengaluru | Mumbai |
| 19:30 IST | Report | 78' Chhetri | Stadium: Mumbai Football Arena Attendance: 6,124 Referee: R Venkatesh Man of the Match: Prabir Das |
| 12 March 2023 | Bengaluru | 1–2 (a.e.t.) (9–8 p) | Mumbai City | Bengaluru |
| 19:30 IST | Javi H. 22' | Report | Stadium: Sree Kanteerava Stadium Attendance: 21,901 Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta | |
| Penalties | ||||
2–2 on aggregate. Bengaluru won 9–8 on penalties.
Final edit
| 18 March 2023 Final | Bengaluru FC | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (3-4 p) | ATK Mohun Bagan | Margao Goa |
| 19:30 IST | Petratos 14' (p), 85' (p) | Stadium: Fatorda Stadium Attendance: 11879 Referee: Harish Kundu Man of the Match: Petratos | ||
| Penalties | ||||
Durand Cup edit
Bengaluru FC had never won the Durand Cup and made their fourth appearance in the 131st edition of the tournament. They were clubbed in Group A with the defending champions FC Goa, two-time champions Mohammedan SC, Jamshedpur FC and one-time runners-up Indian Air Force, which is one of the four traditional armed forces' teams.[67] Sunil Chhetri was reportedly set to play in Durand Cup after a gap of nine years.[68]
On 15 August, Bengaluru announced a 25-man squad of primary players for the tournament which confirmed Chhetri's participation.[46]
Group A edit
The squad touched down in Kolkata on 15 August and started their preparations on the same day for the first group stage game against Jamshedpur two days later.[69][70] Bengaluru were facing the reserve side of Jamshedpur led by youth team coach Indranil Chakraborty. Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring for the dominant Bengaluru in the 23rd minute before debutant Roy Krishna doubled the lead in the 56th minute, helping Bengaluru kick-off their missing silverware quest with a 2–1 win, despite Rishi's consolation goal for Jamshedpur.[71][72]
In the second game, Bengaluru faced Indian Air Force on 23 August where they breezed past the armed force side after scoring four goals in response to none. Roy Krishna and Sunil Chhetri found themselves on the scoresheet yet again in the first half while the substitutes Faisal Ali and Sivasakthi Narayanan added two more to the tally in the latter half. Bengaluru moved jointly to the top of the table along with Mohammedan.[73][74] After the game, Bengaluru alleged racial abuse on one of their player from one of the opposition's player and raised the issue to the relevant authorities.[75][76]
With two wins in two games, Bengaluru FC then faced the defending champions FC Goa who were fielding a reserve side this time around. Bengaluru yet again took an early 2-0 lead via back-to-back goals from Sunil Chhetri and Sivasakthi but failed to hold the lead after the Goan side with the likes of Phrangki Buam and Princeton Rebello who managed to equalise the score. Despite a draw, it ensured Bengaluru's qualification to the knock-out stage, with a game left to be played against hosts Mohammedan.[77][78]
Bengaluru's final group stage encounter was against hosts Mohammedan SC. With both the teams already making cut into the knock-out stage, the match determined who tops the table in Group A and by virtue of which, will face an easier side from Group D in the quarter-finals.[79] Simon Grayson made nine changes in the playing eleven from their previous game against Goa. A wonderful team combination play saw Mohammedan get an early lead in the 13th minute after Ningthoujam Pritam Singh tapped in the rebounded save from the Bengaluru's custodian Lara Sharma. The game turned into Bengaluru's way after Mohammedan's Abhishek Halder was sent off and his team was down to 10-men on the pitch. Bengaluru kept knokcing on the doors and finally broke it thanks to the Sivasakthi's shot which struck the crossbar and fell inwards before bouncing out. The game ended at stalemate and Mohammedan topped the group while Bengaluru's quarter-final clash was set up against Odisha FC.[80]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MOH | BEN | JAM | GOA | IAF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammedan (H) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 10 | Qualify for the Knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Bengaluru | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 8 | — | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Jamshedpur | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Goa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Indian Air Force | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts
| 17 August 2022 2 | Jamshedpur | 1−2 | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 18.00 IST |
| Report | Stadium: Kishore Bharati Krirangan Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta Man of the Match: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru) |
| 23 August 2022 5 | Bengaluru | 4−0 | Indian Air Force | Kolkata |
| 18.00 IST | Report | Stadium: Kishore Bharati Krirangan Referee: Surojit Das Man of the Match: Roy Krishna (Bengaluru) |
| 2 September 2022 10 | Mohammedan | 1–1 | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 18.00 IST |
| Report | Stadium: Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Referee: C R Srikrishna Man of the Match: Shaher Shaheen (Mohammedan) |
Knockout stage edit
After finishing second in the group stage, Bengaluru faced the toppers of Group D, Odisha in the third quarter-final. Both the sides did not lose a single game until this round, and as a matter of a fact, Odisha had won all their games in the group stage without conceding a single goal while scoring twelve.[81][82] Naorem Roshan Singh who had returned to the squad from an illness was started by Simon Grayson for the first time in the tournament. After a close encounter in the first half, both the teams failed to disturb the scoresheet and it was much of the same in the second half. With only ten minutes left in the game, Shubham Sarangi went into the booking for the second time and was sent off, thus reducing Odisha to 10-men on the field. Bengaluru tried to take advantage of the situation, but were unable to score and hence pushed the game into extra-time.[83][84]
Seven minutes into extra-time and one minute after being substituted, Sivasakthi gave Bengaluru the lead after turning the ball in which was rebounded off former Bengaluru FC's goalkeeper, Ralte's save. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Odisha managed to pull off an equaliser as Diego Maurício headed home a free-kick in to the net in the 115th minute. When the game seemed to be heading towards a penalty shootout to break the tie, Ralte gave the ball away cheaply in the form of a throw in during the added time in the second half of the extra time, which was then picked up by Bengaluru and an attack was initiated with Faisal Ali playing it to Roy Krishna who then scored a 25-yard stunner to take Bengaluru FC into their third semi-final.[83][84]
Semi-final was a barrier that Bengaluru had never been able to cross previously in two different attempts. In their third attempt, Bengaluru met Hyderabad FC in the second semi-final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Hyderabad had topped Group C with three wins in four and had beaten Rajasthan United 3-1 in the fourth quarter-final on their way to maiden semi-final appearance.[85] An evenly poised encounter saw Bengaluru score the opener at the half-hour mark via an own goal from Hyderabad's Odei Onaindia. Jayesh Rane, who had replaced Javi Hernandez from the previous game, played out wide to Prabir Das who put an inch perfect delivery near the goal mouth towards on rushing Roy Krishna, which was then deflected in to the net by Hyderabad's defender.
In the second half, Hyderabad threw everything at the goal, made several attacking moves and earned several set pieces but to no avail as Bengaluru's backline came on top with the likes of trio: Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksander Jovanovic and Parag Shrivas. Bengaluru were in to the finals of the Durand Cup for the first time in their history, and their first final appearance in any tournament since the 2018-19 season's final of Indian Super League.[86][87] Bengaluru also became the only Indian club to play final of every major club competition in the country.[88]
| 10 September 2022 Quarter-final | Odisha | 1−2 (a.e.t.) | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 18.00 IST | Report | Stadium: Kishore Bharati Krirangan Referee: Dipu Roy Man of the Match: Roy Krishna (Bengaluru) |
Final edit
It was Bengaluru's maiden Durand Cup final appearance and their first cup final since the 2018 Super Cup. They were up against Mumbai City, who were also playing their maiden Durand Cup final. Mumbai City had topped Group B with two wins, a draw and a defeat at the hands of East Bengal. En route to the final, they had beaten Chennaiyin FC in the quarter-final in an eight goal thriller which was settled in the extra-time by Greg Stewart's 118th-minute winner, while in the semi-final, Mumbai overcame Mohammedan's challenge thanks to a 90th-minute winner by Bipin Singh.[89]
After the traditional pre-match formalities in the Durand Cup final by the Indian Army, the matched kick-off with Bengaluru starting the game brightly of the two teams. It took only eleven minutes for the first time starter Sivasakthi, also the top scorer for Bengaluru in the tournament to take his side into an early lead. Aleksander Jovanovic's long ball directed at Sivasakthi, who beat the defense of Senegalese Mourtada Fall to successfully chip past the hapless Phurba Lachenpa in goal. Mumbai had their fair share of chances and they managed to convert one of those. It was exactly at the half hour mark when Mumbai pulled things to a level from a quickly taken free-kick as Apuia tapped the ball in off a rebounded shot that Gurpreet parried away. Both the sides went in to the half-time break with everything to play for in the latter half.
After the resumption, Bengaluru continued to attack and take their lead back and came close during the 60th minute when Jayesh's deftly lobbed ball in towards Chhetri saw Lachenpa saving the shot. A minute later, Bengaluru did find their lead as Chhetri's corner found the header of Alan Costa to make it 2-1 for Bengaluru in the 56th minute. Mumbai then initiated several attacks on Bengaluru's defense but one of those attacks was converted into a counter attack by Bengaluru, who almost put the game to bed had Lachenpa not made a wonderful save of Chhetri's shot. Mumbai almost equalised when Greg Stewart's long ranger shot rolled past few inches away from the goalpost. A final free-kick attempt by Mumbai was shot wide and the final whistle was blown, Bengaluru had grabbed their seventh trophy in the form of maiden Durand Cup silverware.[90][91]
| 18 September 2022 Final | Mumbai City | 1–2 | Bengaluru | Kolkata |
| 18.00 IST | Report | Stadium: Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Referee: C R Srikrishna Man of the Match: Bruno Ramires (Bengaluru) |
Super Cup edit
Super Cup returned to the Indian football calendar after it was suspended following the 2019 edition. Bengaluru FC, the inaugural edition's champions, will be participating in the 20-team tournament of eleven teams featuring from ISL and nine from I-League.[9]
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | BEN | SRD | KER | RGP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | |
| 2 | Sreenidi Deccan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4[a] | — | — | 2–0 | — | ||
| 3 | Kerala Blasters | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | — | — | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Punjab FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
Matches edit
| 8 April 2023 1 | Bengaluru | 1–1 | Sreenidi Deccan | Kozhikode |
| 17:00 IST |
| Report | Stadium: EMS Stadium Attendance: 3,214 Referee: Rowan Arumughan Man of the Match: Bijay Chhetri (Sreenidi Deccan) |
| 12 April 2023 2 | RoundGlass Punjab | 0–2 | Bengaluru | Kozhikode |
| 20:30 IST |
| Report | Stadium: EMS Stadium Attendance: 2,375 Referee: Pratik Mondal Man of the Match: Sandesh Jhingan (Bengaluru) |
| 16 April 2023 3 | Bengaluru | 1–1 | Kerala Blasters | Kozhikode |
| 20:30 IST |
| Report |
| Stadium: EMS Stadium Attendance: 22,565 Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta Man of the Match: Javi Hernández (Bengaluru) |
Semi-finals edit
| 21 April 2023 SF | Bengaluru | 2–0 | Jamshedpur | Calicut, Kerala |
| 20:30 IST | Report |
| Stadium: EMS Stadium Attendance: 3,458 Referee: Venkatesh R Man of the Match: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru) |
Final edit
Accolades edit
Bengaluru's captain, Sunil Chhetri, won the AIFF men's player of the year award for the record seventh time. He was nominated by the Indian national team's head coach Igor Stimac.[92][93]
Personnel edit
The German coach Marco Pezzaiuoli, who was previously appointed on a performance-based three-year contract in 2021, was released on 8 June 2021.[19] On the same day, Bengaluru FC appointed the English manager Simon Grayson as their new head coach on a two-year deal.[2] On 29 July, Englishmen Eric Kinder and Andy Beasley were appointed as the assistant and goalkeeping coaches, respectively.[94]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Simon Grayson[2] |
| Assistant coach | Eric Kinder[94] |
| Assistant coach/Reserve team Head Coach | Naushad Moosa |
| Goalkeeping coach | Andy Beasley[94] |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Diwakar M.[95] |
| Team manager | Rosewall Da Cunha |
| Video analyst | Alwin Lawrence |
| Masseur | Manu Prasad |
| Kit Boy | Gireesh PM |
Statistics edit
This section needs to be updated. (May 2023) |
Appearances and goals edit
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | ISL | Durand Cup | Super Cup | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| 1 | GK | IND | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | IND | Lara Sharma | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 43 | GK | IND | Sharon Padattil | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | IND | Amrit Gope | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| 2 | DF | AUS | Aleksandar Jovanović | 6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IND | Sandesh Jhingan | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Alan Costa | 4 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | IND | Wungngayam Muirang | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | IND | Hira Mondal | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | IND | Parag Shrivas | 6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | IND | Roshan Singh | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | IND | Prabir Das | 6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| — | DF | IND | Clarence Fernandes | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| — | DF | IND | Felixson Fernandes | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| 4 | MF | IND | Ajay Chhetri | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | BRA | Bruno Ramires | 6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | IND | Jayesh Rane | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | IND | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ESP | Javi Hernández | 3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | IND | Danish Farooq Bhat | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | IND | Rohit Kumar | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | IND | Namgyal Bhutia | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | IND | Amay Morajkar | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | IND | Leon Augustine | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | IND | Biswa Darjee | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | IND | Damaitphang Lyngdoh | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | IND | Akashdeep Singh | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| 9 | FW | CGO | Prince Ibara | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | IND | Sunil Chhetri | 7 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | IND | Harmanpreet Singh | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | IND | Edmund Lalrindika | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | IND | Faisal Ali | 5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+4 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | IND | Udanta Singh | 5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | FIJ | Roy Krishna | 6 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+1 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | IND | Sudheer Kotikela | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | IND | Sivasakthi Narayanan | 6 | 5 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+5 | 5 | 0+0 | 0 |
| — | FW | IND | Ankith Padmanabhan | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
- Source: soccerway
Updated: 18 September 2022
Goal scorers edit
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Player | ISL | DC | SC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | FW | Sivasakthi Narayanan | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2 | 22 | FW | Roy Krishna | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | 11 | FW | Sunil Chhetri | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 4 | 23 | DF | Faisal Ali | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | DF | Alan Costa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Own goals | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| TOTALS | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | ||||
Updated: 18 September 2022
Clean sheets edit
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Player | ISL | DC | SC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GK | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| TOTALS | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Updated: 15 September 2022
Assists edit
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Player | ISL | DC | SC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | DF | Prabir Das | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 21 | FW | Udanta Singh | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | DF | Aleksander Jovanovic | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 22 | FW | Roy Krishna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | MF | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 31 | MF | Leon Augustine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 19 | FW | Faisal Ali | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 11 | FW | Sunil Chhetri | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| TOTALS | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | ||||
Updated: 18 September 2022