Bengaluru FC head coach Carles Cuadrat not thinking about title defence

Bengaluru FC won its maiden ISL title last season under the supervision of Carles Cuadrat. He feels that all the teams are aiming for the championship and it would be wise to go step by step in the tournament rather than think about defending the title.

"If we start thinking about defending the title, then we are not in the right track. All the teams want to become champions and we have to be ready for the fight. We have to think about the first target, which is the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, you have three games to become the champion. And in those three games, anything can happen, because it’s football,” said the coach.

Cuadrat admits that defending a league title is a mental challenge for any team in the world. We have seen many teams struggle in the following year after a title win and so the task is not going to be easy for the ‘The Blues.’ 

"We have seen that in many competitions all over the world, and even in the ISL, the team that becomes champion has often struggled the following year. Maybe it’s a mental challenge. We have to keep being as competitive as we have been in the past. We have to try getting the most out of the League games and try to reach the play-offs,” said Cuadrat.