Kevin Galvin (@kjgalvin93)

Albert Roca’s shock departure from Bengaluru FC for personal reasons, right on the eve of their Intercontinental qualification campaign, came as a huge shock and even bigger blow to the Blues and their supporters.

The Spaniard had enjoyed a wealth of success in the Karnatakan capital, taking just four months to bring his then I-League Bangalore side to the final of the AFC Cup – the first Indian club to achieve the feat – before going on to win their second Federation Cup, and narrowly losing out to Chennaiyin in a pulsating Indian Super League final last year.

In that game, with Subashish Bose unavailable through injury, Boca departed from the usual 4-2-3-1 formation that made the Blues so compact at the back, and dangerous in transition. Instead, the Spaniard opted for a 3-4-3 lineout, switching occasionally to a 4-3-3 on the occasions when Rahul Bheke drifted back.

It was a fatal change of plan from the Catalan-born manager, whose high-pressing and fast-countering style had been so successful – particularly when he could count on the likes of Miku and Sunil Chhetri to hit the target when necessary – as the Marina Machans ran out 3-2 winners.

The Blues’ miserly defence – built around experienced centre-backs John Johnston and Juanan – conceded just 16 goals in their 20 regular season games, the lowest in the league last season, while pacey native full-backs Bose and Bheke offered dangerous overlapping options at a fraction of the price.

That’s been the key to Bengaluru’s continued success since their inception with Ashley Westwood as manager, buying non-flashy, competent foreign signings, and blending them with the best Indian talent, both upcoming – in the case of Bose – and experienced internationals – like Chhetri and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh.

It’s also why, when Boca departed, the decision to install former assistant coach Carles Cudarat was the logical one to take, and despite having missed a large chunk of the second-half of last season after a bizarre knee injury sustained while travelling to Pune, the right-hand man, taking his first job as fully fledged manager, promised to carry on his former mentor’s work.

“The philosophy…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” Cudarat said after his appointment.

“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.”

A 3-0 defeat to Barcelona’s second side gave the former Barça prospect a chance to assess his side against tough opposition for the first time since taking over as manager, but having promised consistency, the 50-year-old then changed tack completely as his side entered their latest AFC Cup campaign against Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr.

While Roca – when player availability allowed – opted to play Miku as the focal point of a pacey offence, using Chhetri and Udanda Singh to cut in from the flanks, creating a potent three-pronged attack, Cudarat opted to switch to a flat 4-4-2, handing Chhetri and Miku the opportunity to form a partnership up front.

An early risk that wouldn’t pay off for Roca’s successor, as he found his side 3-0 down at half-time in a disasterous first-half of their first leg at home, before clawing things back with goals from Bheke and Paartalu to keep them in the tie. Getting back to basics is what one would imagine Cudarat would do at that point, but instead he persisted with the formation change, and saw his side go down 2-0 in Ashgabat, and out of the tournament.

It was a formation that provided little cover to a back four which had lost half of its components to fellow ISL teams in the off-season, with Johnston leaving for ATK – a decision, with hindsight, he probably now regrets – and Bose heading to Mumbai. As cover, Cudarat brought in fellow Catalonian Albert Serrán, while Rino Anto arrived from Kerala as cover to Nishu Kumar, promoted to the starting XI at left-back.

Further forward Xisco Hernandéz was a straight replacement for ‘Toni’ Dovale, who left to ply his trade in the equally lucrative Cypriot league, but with the deadly trio of Miku, Chhetri and Singh, the heart of what made the Blues so good going forward under Roca was still there.

No surprise, therefore, to see the Blues return back to that familiar 4-2-3-1 formation that made them so successful, when they hosted Chennaiyin back at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on the opening day.

With Paartalu and Harmanjot Khabra providing the necessary protection in front of a settling back four, the Blues looked altogether more solid; the pair’s work in transition giving Bengaluru more balance in midfield, allowing that deadly front three to do their work, ably assisted by a Hernandéz who looked comfortable further forward up the pitch.

Since then Cudarat’s Blues haven’t looked back, drawing one and winning three of the four games since, and using just 16 squad players – Bhutanese striker Chencho Gyeltshen getting 15 minutes in their win against Kerala at the beginning of the month.

While Roca – as we saw in last year’s final – was forced to change things up on occasion, Cudarat hasn’t flinched from that 4-2-3-1 since the failed experiment in the AFC Cup – bar the sharing of attacking-midfield duties between Hernandéz and Dimas Delgado – much to his side’s benefit thus far in the league.

Even taking into consideration the fact that the Karanatakan side have played less games than any other team in the league, conceding just four goals in five ISL games thus far suggests that the early teething problems in their defence have been comprehensively ironed out, and scoring the tied-second most amount of goals in the league despite their bare early-season schedule shows that Bengaluru are no slouches going in the other direction either.

The real test will be after this international break, when the Blues face the prospect of playing six games in three weeks – beginning on Thursday November 22nd with a trip to league leaders FC Goa, and ending on Thursday December 13th hosting ATK – including an energy-sapping trip North-East.

Then we will truly see what the understudy has learned from his predecessor – who himself had previously commented on the scheduling of the league, having navigated an extremely busy February last season – and how Cudarat plans to stamp his own authority on the side, having to adjust to the inevitable suspension and injuries a packed pre-Christmas schedule brings.

Expect Roca’s legacy to continue with the club under Cudarat for some time yet – that winning formula continuing to deliver for the Spaniard well into Season 5. But Bengaluru’s doomed AFC Cup campaign has at least shown that the former assistant manager is capable of stepping out of the shadows and making changes to this Bengaluru squad.

When, and how often, at least for the moment, remains to be seen.