Coach's Corner

From The Boss

Hello everyone,

It’s matchday at the Salt Lake Stadium against ATK and it is between two teams who have developed a nice rhythm over the last three games which makes it nothing short of a tough test for us. The home team has more than just a few players who can swing this game in their favour in one swift moment and it’s going to take us to be aware and at the same time rely on our strengths.

While the game remains our focus, I wanted to share something that’s equally, if not more important than victories. A little more than a week ago, we had to bid a very hard goodbye to our goalkeeping coach, Cristian Patru owing to family reasons. While we chose football and all that comes with it, leaving home and going to another country to work on a dream takes a tremendous amount of courage and sacrifice. And it’s something that often goes unnoticed in all the joy of winning a title or losing one cruelly, at the end of a season. That also explains why the cover of this Matchday Programme has a sketch of Gerard, Senen and Mikel alongside me.

I would also take this chance to welcome our new goalkeeping coach Javi Pinillos who comes to us with tremendous experience. I am sure he will soon understand why this club is special. When Albert announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of last season, it was a big decision, but one that he had to take keeping in his family in mind. It isn’t easy to leave home and come here. It’s equally tough to leave behind the club and the family you find here, when the time to return arrives. Albert is always in touch and never fails to ask about everyone, you fans included, every time we speak.

But these new beginnings away from home are also what makes life and football more special. We have always been treated like a family by everyone here and it definitely helps us miss our loved ones back in Spain, a little lesser. I turned a year older on Sunday and the team and staff organised a lovely celebration for me that I won’t forget soon.

At the end of it all, the memories and relationships we make on the road are as important as the trophies and medals we collect. Bengaluru FC is the family that everyone away from home would want to be a part of. And I am certain it will always stay that way.

Soon it will be game time and like always, I hope we can put on a show for all of you and build on the fantastic start to the season. We are BFC!

Love,

Carles Cuadrat