With the mindset of nothing to lose, Bangladesh champion Dhaka Abahani Limited will be looking to bounce back from their losing streak when they host Indian champion Bengaluru FC in their fourth match of the AFC Cup at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Wednesday at 6:10pm.
Abahani have almost no hope of advancing to the knockout stage after conceding three straight defeats and Wednesday's clash against the reigning AFC Cup runners-up will only be a mere formality for the Sky Blues. Even a draw will see the Sky Blues exit the tournament officially but it will give the Dhaka giant their first point in the group stage and a slice of confidence ahead of their first professional tournament – the Federation Cup – that kicks off on May 13.
The transfer window of the Bangladesh Premier League closed on Sunday. With almost half of the squad’s key players leaving the club and replacements arriving in the last moment, Abahani are still in transition and currently struggling at the bottom of Group E without a single point.
Bengaluru, in contrast, are marching confidently towards the knockout stage as they sit comfortably at the top of the table with nine points. While Abahani were sitting idle in the last four months, Bengaluru are going through busy times due to domestic fixtures. Since the first leg between the two sides on April 18, that Bengaluru won 2-0, the Indian outfit played two matches in the Indian League, winning 7-0 and 3-0.
Abahani had to travel with only two foreign players in their last two matches due to visa complication of 37-year-old Samad Yussif but this time around, they will have the service of the veteran Ghanaian at the heart of the defence, along with Emeka Darlington and Jonathan David Brown upfront.
Abahani's Jonathan David Brown shoots at goal in Dhanmondi
DHAKA TRIBUNEWelshman Jonathan was kept out of the squad for the upcoming premier league season on the transfer deadline day to make way for Gambian midfielder Landing Darboe, who is ineligible to play in the AFC Cup. The Welsh forward is still in the club only to play in the AFC Cup.
Abahani head coach Drago Mamic has another good news in the shape of midfielder Emon Babu, who has recovered from long-term injury.
“Emon is back in midfield. We have three foreign players in the squad after two matches. Samad will also be here. We will be more competitive. Every player's fitness is improving. We have to be more clinical and not make same mistakes which we repeated in the last games. Then we can make positive result,” said Mamic.
“For sure we can make some surprising results but we can’t have continuity of good results at this stage. This team is a new one. We lost at least 10 players from last year and collected replacements just two months ago,” added the Croatian.
Having only been established three years ago, Bengaluru, who already won two Indian top-flight titles, will be playing in Dhaka for the first time. The club have won their last six matches in all competitions scoring 16 goals but their Spanish coach Alberto Roca Pujol expects it to be a different encounter compared to the home leg.
“It will not be same here. It would be tough here because Abahani are a good team and will try to put us in trouble. My players know about it and their ability. We are fully convinced. If we do things well, we can have good result even here,” said Alberto, adding that they have to play three matches in six days starting next weekend.
Bengaluru rested some key players in their last league match against Churchill Brothers, including star captain Sunil Chhetri and defender Nishu Kumar, who scored against Abahani. They are likely to return but the visiting side will be without injured Serbian striker Marjan Jugovic.
Alberto said, “we have enough depth in squad to compete.”
Bengaluru's Sunil Chhetri controls the ball during training at Bangabandhu National Stadium
DHAKA TRIBUNEWHAT THEY SAIDDrago Mamic, Abahani head coachThis is normal. We can't be leader of the group and move to next stage. We must fight every game and show people that we are improving and one day we will come in the same level. This is our second match at home so it is our obligation to give our maximum and try all our powerful weapon to push for a win. We are trying with all our best. But it is the kind of competition that requires much more preparation. We are in a group with Bengaluru who are one of the best Asian clubs. That’s why I was not disappointed. Only I will be disappointed if I see players don’t give their 100%.
Alberto Roca, Bengaluru head coachIt’s always difficult to win away. Now in football, the distance between the teams is not so big. We have to be ready for that. Our expectation in this tournament is very high because we reached the final last year. [Wednesday] is an important game. If we win [Wednesday] we have the possibility to shift to the next stage. It will be a completely a different game than the one in Bangalore.
Mamum Miah, Abahani captainThe situation we are now in is like there is no return. At this moment, we have nothing to lose. We will try to give our best and win the game. We have to take reality into consideration. We have nothing much to do in AFC Cup. We have Federation Cup ahead and now we have to give more focus on that. As we will represent the country in AFC Cup, we have to give our best and if we win the game, we may win the other two.
Abahani's Jonathan David Brown shoots at goal in Dhanmondi DHAKA TRIBUNEWelshman Jonathan was kept out of the squad for the upcoming premier league season on the transfer deadline day to make way for Gambian midfielder Landing Darboe, who is ineligible to play in the AFC Cup. The Welsh forward is still in the club only to play in the AFC Cup.
Abahani head coach Drago Mamic has another good news in the shape of midfielder Emon Babu, who has recovered from long-term injury.
“Emon is back in midfield. We have three foreign players in the squad after two matches. Samad will also be here. We will be more competitive. Every player's fitness is improving. We have to be more clinical and not make same mistakes which we repeated in the last games. Then we can make positive result,” said Mamic.
“For sure we can make some surprising results but we can’t have continuity of good results at this stage. This team is a new one. We lost at least 10 players from last year and collected replacements just two months ago,” added the Croatian.
Having only been established three years ago, Bengaluru, who already won two Indian top-flight titles, will be playing in Dhaka for the first time. The club have won their last six matches in all competitions scoring 16 goals but their Spanish coach Alberto Roca Pujol expects it to be a different encounter compared to the home leg.
“It will not be same here. It would be tough here because Abahani are a good team and will try to put us in trouble. My players know about it and their ability. We are fully convinced. If we do things well, we can have good result even here,” said Alberto, adding that they have to play three matches in six days starting next weekend.
Bengaluru rested some key players in their last league match against Churchill Brothers, including star captain Sunil Chhetri and defender Nishu Kumar, who scored against Abahani. They are likely to return but the visiting side will be without injured Serbian striker Marjan Jugovic.
Alberto said, “we have enough depth in squad to compete.”
Bengaluru's Sunil Chhetri controls the ball during training at Bangabandhu National Stadium DHAKA TRIBUNEWHAT THEY SAIDDrago Mamic, Abahani head coachThis is normal. We can't be leader of the group and move to next stage. We must fight every game and show people that we are improving and one day we will come in the same level. This is our second match at home so it is our obligation to give our maximum and try all our powerful weapon to push for a win. We are trying with all our best. But it is the kind of competition that requires much more preparation. We are in a group with Bengaluru who are one of the best Asian clubs. That’s why I was not disappointed. Only I will be disappointed if I see players don’t give their 100%.Alberto Roca, Bengaluru head coachIt’s always difficult to win away. Now in football, the distance between the teams is not so big. We have to be ready for that. Our expectation in this tournament is very high because we reached the final last year. [Wednesday] is an important game. If we win [Wednesday] we have the possibility to shift to the next stage. It will be a completely a different game than the one in Bangalore.Mamum Miah, Abahani captainThe situation we are now in is like there is no return. At this moment, we have nothing to lose. We will try to give our best and win the game. We have to take reality into consideration. We have nothing much to do in AFC Cup. We have Federation Cup ahead and now we have to give more focus on that. As we will represent the country in AFC Cup, we have to give our best and if we win the game, we may win the other two.