Carles Cuadrat, the Spanish football manager has had a long journey from a ball boy to a player, then to being the physical coach, assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach, finally took the next logical step of being the manager of a football club for the first time. Cuadrat was given the reins in 2018 to be the head coach of Bengaluru FC and he changed the complexion of the club with just one season in.

Talking to DNA, Cuadrat opened up about his two and a half years journey with the club, his learnings, his approach and much more. Talking about his start at Bengaluru FC as a full-time football manager, Cuadrat said, “Being Head Coach was a challenge for me, after being a ball boy, a player, physical coach and assistant coach, the logical thing was to take the opportunity to prove myself making the last decisions for the team. I will always be grateful to Bengaluru FC for giving me that opportunity. I am very happy that that decision I took led us to be Champions.”

A high-flying start and some outrageously good numbers

Cuadrat had a dream start with the side as it felt like how this Blue Army is going to lose under Cuadrat. It felt like the other teams were jostling for the other spot in the final as the Bengaluru side breezed through the final and eventually won the 2018-19 season. This team didn’t know how to lose. 11 straight clean sheets, 6 games unbeaten in a row, invincible at home Kanteerava Stadium among many other such outrageously outstanding numbers that this team under Cuadrat managed to achieve.

Talking about the glorious past, the 52-year old said, “The title winning team in 2019, broke many records and this will take some beating to be bettered. The 6 game winning streak from that season still stands and despite the great superiority of Mumbai City and ATK Mohun Bagan in the 7th season, neither of them have managed to win that many games in a row. The 11 clean sheets that we achieved in 2020 have not been exceeded either, despite the fact that with 11 teams more rounds have been played than ever. Not to mention all the records achieved in our house, Kanteereva (2 years without losing, more minutes without conceding a goal, more points as a local team).

“Every game on The Fortress was magical, the communication with the fans was special, and that has been sorely missed in the last season. We really were a very compact team, worked tactically and with a lot of quality and intelligence on the pitch to handle the games. This core of players won a Federation Cup, a Super Cup, an Indian Super League and repeatedly reached the Finals and Semi-finals of major tournaments such as the AFC Cup or the ISL. They will be remembered, because they marked an era in Indian football, greatly increased the Indian ranking in the Asian confederation, and were even awarded as the sports club of the decade in some media,” the former FC Barcelona player said.

The Downward Slope

Bengaluru FC had a mad ride in the first two seasons under Cuadrat. After winning the first one, the club narrowly lost to the eventual champions Atletico Kolkata 2-3 in the semi-finals. It will take a club or two to play out of their skins to even perform a smidgen of what this side achieved in those couple of years. However, the recent season wasn’t even a shadow of the first two.

Yes, they had a decent start but a couple of close defeats and a route by Mumbai FC by 3-1 just derailed their campaign, which was, unfortunately, Cuadrat’s final game in charge of the Bengaluru side. Asked about what hurt him the most about the side’s performance this season Cuadrat said that seeing the side finish 9 points behind the playoffs after the league stage was the toughest thing.

‘We’re on course for playoffs’

According to him, the side looked on course for another playoffs berth but they couldn’t take advantage of the chances they created in the two close 1-0 losses. “It always becomes emotional having to be separated from a group of players and from a club with whom you have been with a long time and dedicated 5 years of work. According to me the team was looking set for another playoff berth. During the last few games, we lost 2 games with a narrow score line of 1-0 against teams that were in playoffs positions. If we could have taken advantage of the chances we had created, we could have either drawn or secured all 3 points against both ATK and Jamshedpur,” he said.

Elaborating on the ouster and the communication Cuadrat said that he wasn’t surprised or shocked as he had seen that coming especially after the performances.

The Hint

“Being an experienced coach, you get a faint idea when the team run is not great. We did have a fantastic run always, with a lot of records (6 wins streak, 11 clean sheets, 2 years not losing in Kanteereva) but sadly three bad results in a row to remove the coach out of the job. It’s fair, football is very emotional.”

But, he was proud of his journey with the club having taken Bengaluru FC to such great heights in the last two seasons especially and also for contributing towards the improvement of football in India. “Players like Rahul Bheke, Nishu Kumar, Suresh, Ashique Kuruniyan have grown during my regime and have represented the National team. Players were given platform during my regime and everyone stepped up and showcased their skills.”

Cuadrat, who considers himself as a hands-on coach, talking about his style said, “I would say that I am one who pays a lot of attention to details. Perhaps the best thing about my time at Bengaluru FC was how we worked out the match plan. We studied the rival conscientiously, we knew where they could harm us, and we planned accordingly. That’s why we got such good defensive results.”

The love for 3-0 and favourite memories

Lastly, asked about his favourite moments from his time at Bengaluru FC, Cuadrat replied by saying the 3-0 results and they had many. Sit back and relax and listen from the coach the full story of 3-0.

“There were many good nights. Interestingly, one of the results that was repeated the most at my command was 3-0 in the derby against Chennaiyin, also against Goa, NorthEast, Pune, Odisha … but perhaps the most difficult and unforgettable match was against Goa at home in February 2019.

“Goa had everyone who has been champions in the 7th season; Jahouh, Hugo, Fall, Mandar, Sergio Lobera. We had Sunil in the stands, and we lost Nishu to an undeserved red card in the 42nd minute, so we went to halftime 0-0 and with one less player. But in a fantastic 2nd half, we scored 3 goals through Juanan, Udanta and Miku. Last one was one of the best our Stadium have seen, Miku invents a goal out of nowhere, dribbling two players and kicking a rocket to the goal from quite a distance. Kanteereva pushed us all game long and in the most difficult circumstances we all lived together these 45 unforgettable minutes. That gave us incredible strength. The next home game was again 3-0 (against NorthEast, in the second leg semi-finals). And in the Final, again against Goa a few weeks later, I think that memory of 3-0 made us stronger and we won the Title.”

The Waiting Game

Cuadrat is still taking his time to sign on anything new as he said that he didn’t want to take up anything hurriedly as when he was still in Goa he was approached by a couple of teams. He considers himself to be a better football professional and a better person after last few years in India, and now is ready to face new challenges.