ISL 2020-21: Can Bengaluru FC’s ‘Master Tactician’ Carles Cuadrat weave his magic yet again?

Spanish coach Carles Cuadrat has made a name for himself in just two years of managing Bengaluru FC. Cuadrat who had come as an assistant to Albert Roca in 2016, was appointed the manager of the Blues after Roca parted ways with the club in 2018.

Cuadrat until 2018 had never served a club as their head coach in his whole career but he tasted success on his managerial debut as he guided the South Indian outfit to their maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title in the 2018-19 season.

The Spaniard’s football philosophy is a bit different from his former boss Roca whose teams were more attack-minded. Compared to Roca, Cuadrat is way more pragmatic in his approach to the game.

While Cuadrat’s style might not please the eyes but is extremely effective and more importantly has yielded results for the club. Bengaluru FC, under Roca, had failed to win the I-League and the ISL title in back to back seasons and found success only in the knock-out competitions. Cuadrat won the ISL title in the first year and guided the team to a top-four finish in the second season.

Bengaluru have done exceedingly well when it comes to facing the top four teams in the past two seasons. The Blues have lost one match each in the past two seasons during the league stages, against Mumbai City at home in 2018-19 and against ATK away in the 2019-20 season. This clearly shows Cuadrat’s tactical astuteness against the top teams of the league.

Teams like FC Goa and Odisha FC who played free-flowing attacking football have found it difficult to break Cuadrat’s defensive organisation. Bengaluru FC had conceded just 13 goals last season and had undoubtedly the best defensive record among all the ISL teams.

Another area where Cuadrat specialises in is dead-ball situations. Since his early days as Roca’s assistant, the Spaniard had earned the goodwill of being a set-piece expert. Under Cuadrat,  Bengaluru FC's set-piece record has been impressive. Even after taking charge of the team as their head coach, Cuadrat has continued to focus on set-pieces as an important weapon in his team's arsenal.

No doubt, Cuadrat has played a huge role in Bengaluru FC turning into a balanced, organised and well-oiled unit in the last two seasons. 

This year, Bengaluru FC have made some quality additions to their squad which includes Brazilian forward Cleiton Silva and Norwegian forward Kristian Opseth who last plied his trade in the A-League with Adelaide United in addition to Mohun Bagan's I-League winning versatile footballer Fran Gonzalez.

Despite being a defender or a defensive midfielder, Gonzalez was among the top goal scorers in the I-League last season. He had netted 10 goals out of which majority came from headers from set-piece situations.

With the new additions to the squad this season who perfectly fits into Cuadrat’s style, the Spanish manager is once against expected to weave his magic and bring success to Bengaluru FC.