Bengaluru: With the 2018 AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-finals fast approaching, India's Bengaluru FC have kicked off their preparations with a fresh look as newly-appointed head coach Carles Cuadrat and seven new signings took their bow in an open training session at the Bangalore Stadium on Saturday.

Bengaluru, who face Turkmenistan's Altyn Asyr in the 2018 AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-finals, have signed Kean Lewis, Rino Anto, Sairuat Kima, Gursimrat Gill, Soram Poirei, Chencho Gyeltshen and Xisco Hernandez for the 2018-19 season.

The first leg of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-final on August 22 will be Bengaluru's first competitive match and Cuadrat is determined to prepare his squad for what promises to be a challenging assignment.

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"We're aware about the quality of the opponents at this stage of the competition and that we need to be at our best going into the start of the campaign," said Cudrat, who replaced Albert Roca as head coach.

Cudrat's initial stint with Bengaluru was as assistant coach, having joined together with Roca in 2016. The Spaniard left Bengaluru in December, 2018 due to health worries.

"I'm very happy to be back. When you see the kind of supporters we have and the hard work that goes into the club, you feel proud to be part of it. We have a long pre-season now and we will do our best to prepare ourselves for the Asian challenge."

While Cuadrat took to the field as head coach for the first time ever, skipper Sunil Chhetri became the first player to enter a sixth season as part of the club.

"It's a great feeling to be back on the pitch. We've had some time away from the game to refresh ourselves and everyone is now very enthusiastic for the new season.

"There are a few new signings in the squad and with more time at our hand this time around, we want to be better prepared for the knockout stage of the AFC Cup," said Chhetri.

The Blues will shift base to the BFC residential training facilities in Bellary on Monday, before travelling to Spain to continue their pre-season.

Source: Press Trust of India