Football
Debayan Sen 7y

'The most important game of our lives' - Chhetri

On the eve of Bengaluru FC's historic showdown against Iraq's Air Force Club, the captain Sunil Chhetri and coach Albert Roca both expressed cautious optimism in making history as the first Indian team to win the AFC Cup. 

Bengaluru, founded in 2013, have already lifted one Federation Cup and two I-League titles, but victory on Saturday will eclipse all of those achievements. The size of the occasion was not lost on Chhetri, who said he was "living the dream". 

"It's a great day not just for me or my club but the entire nation," Chhetri said. "It's coming at the right time. When we get on to the field, we'll give it everything we've got.

"I'm hoping the impact of this will be massive. I'm proud of the fact that I am a part of the first Indian team to reach the final. If we win, it'll be a huge thing, but even if we don't, it's a massive thing. I just hope it is one of the first things we achieve."

Bengaluru have already written themselves into the record books by making the AFC Cup final; besides them, only two other Indian clubs - Dempo and East Bengal - have ever reached the semis of Asian-level club tournaments.

Chhetri himself has played a key role in lifting his club to where they are now. Besides scoring two crucial goals in the home leg of the semifinals against Johor Da'rul Tazim, he has gone above and beyond as the captain and mentor of the team, putting an arm around the shoulders of the younger players.

Chhetri said that it was important the youngsters did not get overwhelmed by the "euphoria" of the moment on Saturday. 

"One thing about this team is that everybody - from Sajjan Jindal to Parth Jindal to the players to the ball-boy - is on the same wavelength. They all want to win. We sometimes might not like each other, but we all want to improve and we all want to win.

"I just want to make them realise that they need to play their normal game. It is easy to get caught up in the euphoria of this moment and as a young player I know that sometimes you don't know whom to go and speak to.

"So I've been making everybody feel at ease, we've been playing cards and just hanging out. We know it is a massive game, but the result is not in our hands. We just have to understand what our gaffer says and try and execute those plans properly."

The "plans" that Chhetri hopes to execute on Saturday will have a huge bearing on Bengaluru's prospects of winning. Since replacing Ashley Westwood as head coach back in July, Roca has quickly brought about big changes within the team, noticeably adopting a more possession-based approach, and encouraging defenders to play out of the back whenever possible. 

His carefully-drawn tactics gave Bengaluru the edge at home against both Tampines Rovers as well as Johor, and Roca was confident that his team was fully armed and prepared to neuter the physical challenge Air Force will pose in the final. 

"We respect the team in front of us. They are very strong, very physical. They have scored a lot of goals, they have a good striker. All the achievements prove that it will be a very difficult game for us. I have just told the team to be ready for a battle.

"We must keep control over our emotions. We can't get nervous, because they will then not be able to perform. The aim is to play football. Spain is a country where players are not the biggest in size, but they know exactly what they need to do at all times. This is what we've been working on for the last three-and-a-half months.

"The results are coming from their attitude and their talent. As coach, I also have to control my emotion. I need to see the game, and see if there's any change that's needed or not. This is a cup final. You can sometimes play some really good football and not score. We cannot afford to make any big mistakes. We have to pressure them and try to be comfortable on the ball. We have done that in the past, and we'll try to do that tomorrow.

"It's the first final for us, and a strong team against us. For sure, we are really excited about winning the title. It will be very good for Indian football. We're ready for that."

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