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Bengaluru FC have named a 29-man squad for the upcoming 2019-20 edition of the Hero Elite League which kicks off with an away game against Stadium FC at the Dravid Padukone Centre for Sports Excellence in Yelahanka on Sunday, December 15.
The Junior Blues, who qualified for the final phase in previous editions of the competition, will be hoping to go one step further this season as they take on six other teams in the Chennai and Bengaluru Group of the zonal phase. In addition to Stadium FC, the Blues will be up against Bengaluru-based Ozone Football Academy and Boca Juniors Football Schools, while FC Madras, Chennaiyin FC and Raman Vijayan Soccer Schools are the Tamil Nadu teams part of the group.
Naushad Moosa, the Blues Head of Youth Development, will take charge of a Bengaluru FC side for the first time in the Elite League, and was optimistic ahead of the opener on Sunday. “In the build-up to the biggest challenge of the season, we have been working really hard. We played a U18 Residential Academy tournament, Vedanta Youth Cup, in Goa, apart from playing a number of friendly games in the city in the past couple of months. The Youth Cup was an important one for us, given that we played against some tough opponents in SESA FA, Tata Football Academy, and RFYC. All these games helped me understand the strengths and weaknesses in our squad and we have been working on adapting our club’s style. Although we lost in the final, the boys understood the importance of staying focussed in crunch situations.”
The youngsters have been in action for the Blue Colts in the ongoing BDFA Super Division League and while it mostly featured reserve team boys and a few from the first team so far, a handful of U18 players have regularly featured in the competition, “The likes of Bekey, Akashdeep, Jagdeep, and Rafi have constantly played for us in the Super Division. The level of competition is really high in the city, and that has helped them learn a lot and gain valuable minutes. We have also slowly integrated other youngsters, giving them chances, and the more they play, the more they learn. We are expecting a tough competition in our group and there’s no question of taking any team lightly,” added Moosa.
The Blues will host all their home fixtures at the South United Training Facilities, located opposite Ulsoor Lake with games slated to kick off at 3.30pm.
BENGALURU FC U-18
Goalkeepers
Dipesh Chauhan, Raj Biswas
Defenders
Anish Mazumder, Lalhmunmawia FC, Likmabam Rakesh Meitei, Laishain Johnson Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Robin Yadav, Mohammed Rafi, Lastborn Mawphniang, Manish Chaudhary, Rajanbir Singh, Joshua Wilson, Sarath Rajkumar
Midfielders
Damaitphang Lyngdoh, Bekey Oram, Fredy Chawngthansanga, Shighil NS, Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha, Gautham Rajesh, Vinith Venkatesh, Aryaman Biju
Forwards
Lalthangliana, Akashdeep Singh, Ronik Singh Moirangthem, Sridarth Nongmeikapam, Ngangom Gunendro, Chaphamayum Ratanbi Singh, Macarton Louis Nickson
Fixtures
15-Dec-2019: Stadium FC vs Bengaluru FC – Dravid Padukone Centre for Sports Excellence – 4.00am
26-Dec-2019: Boca Juniors FS vs Bengaluru FC – Centre for Sports Excellence, Yelahanka – 8.00pm
01-Jan-20: Ozone FA vs Bengaluru FC – Bangalore Football Stadium – 9.30am
06-Jan-20: Bengaluru FC vs Raman Vijayan SS – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
12-Jan-20: Bengaluru FC vs FC Madras – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
15-Jan-20: Bengaluru FC vs Chennaiyin FC – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
18-Jan-20: Bengaluru FC vs Stadium FC – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
24-Jan-20: Raman Vijayan SS vs Bengaluru FC – MIRS School Ground, Sriperumbudur – 3.30pm
29-Jan-20: Bengaluru FC vs Boca Juniors FS – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
03-Feb-20: FC Madras vs Bengaluru FC – FC Madras Arena, Chennai – 3.30pm
08-Feb-20: Bengaluru FC vs Ozone FA – SUFC Training Facility – 3.30pm
16-Feb-20: Chennaiyin FC vs Bengaluru FC – SSN Football Ground, Chennai – 3.30pm
