The champions of the country’s two football leagues — ISL’s Bengaluru FC and I-League’s Chennai City FC — will meet in the first quarterfinal match of the Hero Super Cup under lights at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
Attention will finally be on the contests proper as the tournament enters the business end after seeing seven I-League clubs pull out in a show of solidarity against the national federation — AIFF.
For defending champion BFC, the recent ISL success will make it more confident against the latest evolution in Indian football, Chennai City. While they have tasted success in their respective leagues, this Super Cup meeting will test their strengths.
Bengaluru, under Spanish coach Carles Cuadrat, possess a very good selection of Indian and foreign players making it arguably the most balanced team in the country. This can be gauged from its authoritative ISL performances, showing the right flair in attack, creativity in midfield and stability in defence.
“It is a challenge and I am sure it can be a nice game. It is nice to see the winners of two competitions go up against each other and it can be a good show for the supporters. We played a friendly against Chennai City FC at the Kanteerava Stadium, and they beat us in that game, so we know what they are capable of,” said Cuadrat.
For Akbar Nawas, Chennai City’s coach, the 4-2 win over FC Pune City in the pre-quarterfinals holds immense value. The I-League champion has showed great determination and application in getting a batch of local recruits to coordinate with a group of Spanish talents and attain a great level of excellence.
“For me it is just another game to go and play. But for sure, Bengaluru are definitely the favourites. They have the best players, the highest budget. To beat a team like Bengaluru will be very tough,” Nawas said ahead of the big match.