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Besides the trophies, Bengaluru FC’s coach Ashley Westwood has also won his team supporters and sold-out home crowds, says Laxmi Negi
Do you watch cricket?
Pat comes the reply: “Not really!”
Certainly, why would the coach of the I-League’s ‘best team’ be distracted by the ongoing cricket World Cup?
Within just a year-and-a-half since its formation in 2013, Bengaluru Football Club has taken the I-league by storm, winning the country’s top-tier football competition in its debut season and then the Federation Cup early this year.
Besides the trophies, Bengaluru FC’s coach Ashley Westwood has certainly taken his team from having no supporters to sold-out home crowds. Today, their fans create an atmosphere which is as good as in European football.
Last week, at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai, Westwood's ‘Blue army’ was as noisy as it gets at football derbies when his boys shared the spoils with Mumbai FC in a 1-1 draw.
Thus, one could not help but ask him about the crowd support his team is receiving.
The former Manchester United youth player explained: “It was a good atmosphere at the Cooperage. Almost four thousand people were in the stadium and they were quite vocal. It is what you want to hear as a coach and football player.
“You want atmosphere and fans coming in. Thankfully, they came in great numbers tonight.”
The 36-year-old coach was polite enough to say, “It was a good game of football; hopefully the fans enjoyed. The match was highly-competitive; both teams were trying to win the game.”
5 things you must know about Bengaluru FC:
1. Won the I-League in its debut season in 2014.
2. Their prized possession is national team skipper Sunil Chhetri.
3. At 38, Westwood is the youngest coach in the I-League and youngest I-League-winning coach too.
4. Oh when the Blues go marching, the customary English football chant has become synonymous with Bengaluru FC fans.
5. One day in a year their fans and families are allowed to play on Bengaluru FC turf.