AFC Cup: It’s do-or-die for Bengaluru FC in their last group stage match against Maziya

Of their four seasons, Bengaluru FC’s 2016-’17 campaign has possibly been the toughest of all to gauge.

Season 1: I-League title. Resounding success.

Season 2: Federation Cup and a near-win in the I-League. Status quo maintained.

Season 3: Second I-League title and a run to the AFC Cup 2016 final, farther than any Indian club had ever been. No doubt about it. Great job.

Season 4: Fourth in the I-League, second Federation Cup victory and on the verge of being knocked out of the AFC Cup in the group stage.

A stop and start season

Difficult to say anything about the fourth. The outcome of a season shouldn’t really hinge on one match but in Bengaluru’s case, the run to the final was the hallmark of their finest season so far.

After a start-stop I-League season, the Federation Cup triumph came as a tonic at the right time but their prior record in the competition really demands that they win it, in order to move on to bigger challenges.

That’s right. Even the most ardent of Bengaluru fans would think twice before calling this season a success, while the harshest of critics would struggle to label it a failure.

For a club which set out with an intention of making the top three of the league in it’s first three years of existence, they – as Professor McGonagall would have marked it – have “exceeded expectations” both on the domestic as well as continental stages.

The truth about this season probably lies somewhere on the continuity plain, at a point between the success and failure slopes. Bengaluru FC have become a hostage to their own success, they have indeed set the benchmark pretty high while other clubs (read Mohun Bagan) play third-string lineups in Asia, treating the continental journey with disdain.

No, the West Block Blues wouldn’t probably rebel if they failed to make it past the group stage of the AFC Cup this time. The point to make here is that it is perfectly alright for the law of averages to catch up with a team after three good, healthy seasons.

The Federation Cup win in Cuttack, sweet as it was, came at a cost with club captain Sunil Chhetri limping out during a group stage match, followed by the withdrawal of speedy winger Udanta Singh during the final against Mohun Bagan.

No Udanta Singh

In all fairness, the schedule in 40-plus degree Celsius temperatures where teams were expected to play three group stage matches within the span of five days was barbaric and brutal, to say the very least, irrespective of whatever AIFF officials may have to say.

Sandwiched in between their five Fed Cup games in 14 days was an AFC Cup fixture, which BFC lost to Mohun Bagan 3-1. That loss would have stung and although they gained some measure of revenge for it, their chances in the AFC Cup may have been dented.

Bengaluru have to win and only a victory will suffice, as they trail Maziya by three points. The group winners alone qualify to the next stage and with head-to-head record as the differentiating factor, their 1-0 win over the same opposition in Male will mean that the margin of victory is irrelevant to the group’s outcome.

Maziya on a high

Udanta’s loss will be the biggest blow to the Blues, as the Manipuri winger has been the club’s best player this season, no questions asked. Chhetri has been passed fit in what will be a massive boost for the club’s hopes this evening.

Harmanjyot Khabra and John Johnson return from suspension and should figure in the starting XI. CK Vineeth, coming on as a substitute in the Fed Cup final but managing a brace, should be handed a start by Albert Roca.

Maziya may not have liked how their welcome was handled but this is a team on a high with four wins out of five, ten goals scored and only three conceded. The Maldives club did the double over Mohun Bagan and the Blues’ victory over Maziya was a late winner from John Johnson.

Striker Mohamed Umair and winger Aleksandar Rakic will be the dangermen from Bengaluru’s perspective and they will need to be stopped by Johnson and Co, if they are to progress to the knockouts. Bengaluru will need to be tight at the back in order to recreate any memories of their magical run from 2016.