ISL 2024-25: Bengaluru head coach Zaragoza credits ‘good recruitment’ for great start

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC have been on an absolute roll in Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25, topping the league table at the end of the second international break with 17 points from eight matches, thanks to five victories and two draws to their name.

They have conceded the least goals (6) in the whole league and have the best goal difference amongst all teams (+7). The revamp that began in January with the arrival of seasoned India internationals such as Chinglensana Singh and Nikhil Poojary was strengthened in the summer with star-studded acquisitions of Rahul Bheke, Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Alberto Noguera, Edgar Mendez, amongst others.

The Gerard Zaragoza-coached unit have settled seamlessly into his philosophy, taking gradual steps week after week to take Bengaluru FC back to the glory days that saw them lift their maiden ISL trophy in 2018-19. The current squad has a fine blend of players from that squad – such as Bheke, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Sunil Chhetri, along with Zaragoza himself, who was the assistant to Carles Cuadrat in their title-winning run.

Moreover, the Blues have performed a remarkable turnaround from last time, when they finished at a lowly 10th position in the league standings, by sitting at the summit after the first eight match weeks this season.

Furthermore, fresh faces such as Diaz (one goal), Mendez (three goals, two assists), Noguera (one goal), Ryan Williams (one goal), have chipped in with valuable contributions to help them clinch crucial victories consistently. Zaragoza reflected on the transfer activity and his desire to replicate the 2018-19 success with the Blues in a conversation with the ISL.

"We did good recruitment, getting exactly the players we wanted to sign. For a coach, that’s amazing. The sporting director, owner, and everyone concerned is doing their job, giving us our time to show (our potential)," Zaragoza said.

"It was amazing to be the assistant coach in 2018-19 when we were champions, and finally when you are the champions, everything is nice. Cuadrat is a very good friend. We were in touch all this while. I consider myself to be a more attacking coach. Under him, we worked more on our defensive structures. In that time, we had players like Rahul (Bheke), Nishu (Kumar), Juanan – and we worked a lot in that part to hold the structure of the team. I learnt that from him," he added.