By Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay
I-League Media Team

BENGALURU: Could you imagine in your furthest dream that you might end up watching an Indian club rubbing their shoulders with who’s-who of World football in the likes of Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester City? Could you visualize an Indian club plying their trade in Asia with utmost hegemony and badass demeanour within 2 years of seeing the daylight? Could you expect an Indian club with an extensive fanbase comprising of Gen-Y Indians who used to be more passionate for European football earlier and would struggle to figure out how many clubs feature in Hero I-League? There is no prize for guessing the reply, mostly the country, especially Gen-Y football maniacs cheer their heart out for Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, but while it comes to Hero I-League or any other national level tournament, the same set of fantasists prefer to take a sharp u-turn apart from certain pockets of our country where people devour football. Come 2013, Jindals stepped in the I-League map and Indian football embarked on a new voyage.

Bengaluru FC is not a football club anymore. The 2 year toddler already showed the mettle and grit on the field while they signed off with their maiden I-League trophy on their inception. Come second year, they just took off where they left it last season. The sturdy boys, under the tutelage of rough-n-tough General Ashley Westwood, shut the critics up with the Federation Cup and came back strongly in the Hero I-League after a devastating start and they were impeded by none other than a spirited McDowell Mohun bagan, who eventually lifted their maiden I-League trophy.

The major impact of Bengaluru FC is not something which could be objectified and calculated. In a nutshell, the effect is going to be a long term and significantly it’s getting dug deeper with time. The trend Bengaluru FC set over the two years made an Indian mid-age classy girl preferring to step into the stadium putting on home team jersey rather than spending an evening with his loved ones in some sassy shopping mall- a momentous change in Indian football demography.

Parth Jindal, MD & CEO of Bengaluru FC, son of Mr. Sajjan Jindal, vents out his game plans, view on ISL  and other projects withwww.i-league.org over a cup of coffee at a glitzy Bengaluru hotel. To be frank, the prince of JSW Empire, currently pursuing MBA from Harvard University, knows the pulse of the Youngistaan and here lays the crux of their success. Sheer confidence, clear vision, uncompromising line of thought and never-to-die attitude- the 25 year old guy is not here just to cheer from the sideline and pose for the photographers.EXCERPTS:

Parth, Bengaluru FC already set a benchmark on & off the field. How could it be possible within so short duration?
 

To be very frank, we didn’t expect Bengaluru would support us with such a strong belief. They came out in numbers for our support. They showed the aggression, the passion for Bengaluru FC which could be only compared to some English teams. We are really thankful to them. As I feel within myself, there was a dearth of something amongst the Bengaluru population, who are enough educated and qualified. Bengaluru FC just chipped in and it clicked. Both of the entities needed the other, they just complemented each other and magic happened.

Don’t you think Bengaluru FC was a default choice for them?
 

Not certainly. Bengaluru FC fans don’t just comprise of the Bengaluru people. Bengaluru, one of the frontliner IT City of India, is home of not less than 10 million people, who are from different parts of India, even a good chunk of population hail from other countries as well. They did have ample options to choose apart from Bengaluru FC but they didn’t. They might have felt at home with Bengaluru FC, Bengaluru FC might have responded as per their intuition- whatever reason it might be, end of the day, Bengaluru embraced Bengaluru FC with both hands. The atmosphere they create on the matchdays, the hostile reception the away teams get from them- just mind-boggling. Management can distribute flags, sell out merchandise, but end of the day the fans flaunt the flag, they cheer their heart out for the team and they need to pay from their own pockets to buy those merchandise. Cumulatively, the passion can’t be bought, can’t be garnered. It’s something which comes from within, which Bengaluru showed in bigger stage.

Going back to 2013, why did you guys think of something like launching a football team?
 

See, my dad is a sports maniac, especially Squash. During the Football World Cup or Olympic, we all feel so depressed. Isn’t it? Definitely we cheer for Germany, Brazil or go gaga over the humongous feats attained by Michael Phelps, deep down somewhere we get hurt. While AIFF opened the bidding process back in 2013, my father had a long conversation with Mr. Praful Patel, one of our closest family friends, and set his mind to go for it. By god’s grace, eventually we won the bidding process and Bengaluru had its own I-League team.

If I’m not wrong, ISL was very much in air while the bidding process was advertised. It would be a glitzy and swanky option to own an ISL team rather an I-League team. Why?
 

We have a strong belief to enhance the football quality of India, by whatsoever means it could be. It can’t be done overnight. An ISL team deals with players for not more than 4-5 months, we didn’t find it quite comprehensive to build a proper FOOTBALL TEAM. We might end up in a commendable position with world famous players, but how much would it serve Indian Football? An I-League club is like an extended family where players stay together, eat together, sleep together for not less than 8-9 months. Although the calendar is reshuffled a bit, we persuaded ourselves that I-League serves Indian Football more like anything.

While I would come to Olympic sports later, what is your dream with regards to football?
 

A lot, frankly speaking (grins). While we embarked our journey with Bengaluru FC, Ashley was very clear about our expectations and he made it very clear that overnight success is not possible; it’s not a cupcake after all. Realistically, even we conceived it and there is no harm to confess that winning the I-League on the first year was not in our dream by any chance. All of us want to see Indian football grow bigger and mightier which can be served only through a firm supply line to National team. Last year we had only Sunil and Robin were part of the national team while Mr. Stephen Constantine has chosen 6 players from current BFC squad, which is remarkable. On the long run, to see an all-Indian BFC lineup would be the dream-comes-true for me.

Apart from being head coach, how much Ashley Westwood gel with the players and influence them?
 

Waah!! What a character he’s. I would say he’s just perfect for us. His cutting-edge mentality, clear vision and positive attitude make the players toil hard out at the pitch and he knows how to squeeze the best result out from them.

What’s your immediate plan as the season is over now?
 

We have chalked out our schedule well before and the process does not get over with the season. Our primary agenda is to build a robust youth football structure which can’t be completed sans foreign influences. Mandar Tamane, gaffer and me will travel to Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester City, Manchester United academies to get a thorough insight which could be culminated here. We have already contacted them and the schedule is finalised with those biggies.

Are Bengaluru FC looking for any foreign tie-up with those renowned foreign clubs?
 

No, absolutely not. They are stalwarts while it comes honing youth, that’s the only reason we’d travel to get a clear picture about their arrangement, day-to-day plan and many more. A tie-up is not in plan anytime soon.

Parth Jindal continues to share JSW’s plans beyond BFC. ‘Indian Institute of Sports’, which hones the prodigies day in and day out with a dream of grabbing more silverware in the biggest stage, the Olympics, is another feather in JSW’s hat. Parth Jindal, along with other masterminds, fosters to tag Bengaluru as the ‘Sports Capital’ of the country. BFC is the gigantic foundation step to the hallway, but he’s here not to leave the stage having not finished the palazzo.

Last year BFC took a firm stand against ISL, but now you guys are being pally with. Why the U-turn?

Yes, I second you. Sunil, Robin, Thoi- these guys hogged the limelight in Indian football. We shouldn’t deprive these guys from earning the money while their friends are taking the cake away. See, last year we were paused in perplexity with regards to releasing our players and eventually we negated them. But we all witnessed the ISL, which is no less than a grand success. Who’s-who of World football engrossed us with their exquisite dexterity, Indian boys like Romeo, Sandesh stole the show- what else could you expect from its inception year? Once we don’t release our players next season, there might be a rift, a plight which might cost the harmony of BFC. We can’t let it happen. There is no troubled water anymore with IMG-Reliance about our players’ availability for ISL, but once it gets over, they would come back to Bengaluru FC again.

Are you assured of the fact that all the players will be tapped by IMG-Reliance for ISL?
 

Why not, whole the troop is excellent (laughs). On a serious note, we have an extensive off-season plan. As the season gets over, we would send our players to 2-3 English Championship clubs, whose names can’t be revealed now, for a rigorous 6-8 week training program. Now the players have to select a dice, whoever wants to ply their trade in ISL, would be given the nod from our end. Otherwise he would be welcomed in the training schedule. The bottom line is to stay in shape for the upcoming season. You can’t afford to decelerate the process which would invite an ignominy.

Are BFC planning to come onboard in ISL?
 

Not really in recent future. But yes, I must put it that we were invited last year, by none other than DADA, Sourav Ganguly.  I’m an avid DADA fan, he carries himself so meticulously on & off the field, and it’s truly amazing. He himself contacted us well ahead of the last season to form a consortium with BFC, but somehow it didn’t work out. We never know what awaits us in future.

What’s your take on Olympic Sports?
 

Yes, it’s another sporting periphery which is not-so-much looked after in India. We have already set up our residential academy near Vijayanagar, Karnataka. Firstly we were baffled whether to name it after JSW or something else, eventually we christened the academy as ‘Indian Institute of Sports.’ Currently we have 37 athletes who are nurtured and being trained in the Academy in five different sports, – Track & Field, Judo, Swimming, Boxing and Wrestling. Athletes, backed by us, already showed their grit and mettle in the Commonwealth Games, which provided us immense boost, to least to say. Our next aim is Rio 2016 where we are looking to see a sizable number of athletes in Indian contingent from our academy. Once our athletes can replicate the commonwealth result, it would be no less than the cheery on top.

Which illustrious personalities from the sporting fraternity are involved in ‘Indian Institute of Sports’ to run the show?
 

Yes, absolutely. Mahesh Bhupati, our family confidant, is with us from the scratch. He comes along with loads of expertise. Actually I encountered in the USA and we had a vivid discussion and eventually we had the blueprint of Indian Institute of Sports. Abhinav Bindra is also someone with whom we are working closely. In future, we are looking to chip in a few Bengaluru based cricketers who have already shown their charisma in administration.

You have chalked out an immaculate off-season plan for BFC players. Is there any onsite program for the athletes as well?
 

Spot on you Brother (laughs)!!! We have worked it out too. Graham Hill, South African swimming stalwart, himself handpicked eight of our swimmers who have travelled along with him. They are under his strict regimen at Durban right now. We have quite a few other exposure programs pipelined to hone their skills as much as we can.