Cuadrat feels that the defending champions have a balanced squad and it’s a matter of picking the best XI from players available
Bengaluru FC travel to Pune to face Odisha FC for their seventh game of the 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday.
The Blues had 16 points in their kitty at this stage of the competition and were undefeated in their first 11 games last season. Although Carles Cuadrat’s men are still unbeaten after six games in the ongoing season, they have managed to pick up only 10 points.
Having failed to retain Miku ahead of the current season but with additions like Ashique Kuruniyan and Manuel Onwu, the Spanish coach insists that Bengaluru still have a balanced squad in their ranks.
“I think we have a well-balanced team and players who can play at different positions. It is different when we have Albert [Serran], Onwu available. But you need to pick the best XI for that game from the players that are available. Till now I haven’t got a full squad. Not crying for that,” he said.
Bengaluru have fewer options going forward as Onwu hasn’t found his scoring boots yet, leaving the onus on Sunil Chhetri to bag the goals.
“In football, we don’t have to get confused about the style. At the end of the day, it’s about winning. With the players that you have, you should make the best plan to win the game. In Saudi Arabia, we had to play Argentina and if we had tried to play from the back, it wouldn’t have worked. We created a box around [Lionel] Messi, and the game ended 0-0,” revealed the former Saudi Arabia assistant when asked about choosing between style and gathering wins.
Regarding his time in India, he observed, “Some teams in India try to play a particular style but they are not good enough to play that and are not getting the points. [FC] Goa can play that (style) because they have the right players. ATK, JFC (Jamshedpur), Mumbai [City FC] and even Kerala [Blasters] have the players to play a style of football. It’s about managing the situation based on the players you have, like I said last week, you have to keep your eyes in your own house.”
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