After their dream run in the AFC Cup in 2016, Bengaluru FC will harbour loftier ambitions in 2017. They will begin their campaign on January 31st with an away fixture against Al Wehdat of Jordan.
After their run into the final this year, the Blues do not have to play in the first stage of the preliminary round. They will have to win two single-legged ties away from home to make the group stage of the continent’s premier club competition.
If the Blues win their game in Jordan, they will face Al Wahda of UAE on February 7th in Abu Dhabi. Should the Blues lose any one of those two preliminary fixtures, they will drop back down to the group stage of the AFC Cup – a competition that holds happy memories for the Blues, after their run into the final this year, where they lost 1-0 to Iraq’s Air Force Club in Doha in early November.
Albert Roca’s men will have a tough challenge for them against seasoned opponents in both of their matches. What will make the task additionally tougher for Bengaluru is the fact that before the final last month, they had never played West Asian opponents. Now they have to beat two of them to make the group stages of the Champions League.
This is because a tweak in AFC regulations now sees the Blues competing out of the West Zone unlike last year, when they competed in the AFC Cup as part of the East Zone.
The Blues have already a lost a hugely important player in Alvaro Rubio. The mercurial Spaniard was terrific in the knockout stages of the AFC Cup this year and in the five games that he did play for the club, he became a favourite of all the fans. Within the squad too, he was hugely respected as players like CK Vineeth and Rino Anto have repeatedly spoken of their admiration for the former Real Valladolid player.
Also, Read – Interview with CK Vineeth: "I am getting the goals but not at my best yet"
Mohun Bagan don’t qualify directly for AFC Cup group stage
The tweak in the AFC regulations does not do any good for Mohun Bagan either. The Mariners would have made it directly into the group stage of the AFC Cup under the older regulations, but this time, Bagan will have to play in the qualifying stages of the AFC Cup. India have been placed in the South Asia region and the Mariners will have to battle it out it against clubs from Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for a spot in the group stages.
Both sides have gone nowhere near confirming their squads for the next season. Bengaluru will retain a lot of their Indian players and foreigners like Cameron Watson, John Johnson and Juan Antonio. But there is still a slot open for one more foreigner in the Bengaluru squad. Bagan meanwhile have uncertainty looming over the ability of their star Haitian winger Sony Norde.
It will only be clear after the end of the ISL as to which Indian players Bagan decide to retain and which new players they decide to sign.
